"Double Rainbow" guy Paul Vasquez, RIP
Paul “Bear” Vasquez, aka the “Double Rainbow Guy,” died on Saturday (5/9) in Mariposa, CA at age 57, reports The Modesto Bee. Cause of death is unknown at this time, but Vasquez had posted on his Facebook that he had gone to get tested for COVID-19, adding he didn’t think he had it but was worried that “something else is going on” with him.
Having been a firefighter in Los Angeles, Vasquez moved to Yosemite, CA in 1985 where he worked at the national park, and also spent time as a cage fighter and truck driver. In Yosemite, he lived simply, growing his own vegetables (and marijuana), “When you live alone like this, you connect to nature on a deeper level,” he told CNN back in 2010. “When you can yell at the top of your lungs and no one cares or knows, it gives you a type of freedom that most people have no understanding of.”
Vasquez became a YouTube star when his 2010 video of a twin rainbow — and his ecstatic description of it — went viral. He appeared on talk shows and The Gregory Brothers then turned his video into an auto-tuned pop song that furthered his viral fame. The Gregory Brothers wrote, “He was the spiritual hero behind the Double Rainbow video. He gave joy & wonder to so many. And he was right: We’ll never look at a rainbow again and not think about him. That’s just the way it is.”
Rest in peace, Paul. Watch his original “Double Rainbow” video and The Gregory Brothers remix, below.
Absolutely heartbroken to hear of the passing of Yosemite Bear, aka Paul Vasquez. He was the spiritual hero behind the Double Rainbow video. He gave joy & wonder to so many. And he was right: We’ll never look at a rainbow again and not think about him. That’s just the way it is. pic.twitter.com/9OuSng2ZP7
— The Gregory Brothers (@gregorybrothers) May 11, 2020