Over the past week, the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus has been abuzz with the city’s newest social media vigilante: Nomark.

Amassing tens of thousands of followers and millions of views after a recent light-hearted spat with the “Minnesota Pisser,” Nomark has garnered a substantial following among University students in the span of just a few days. He recognizes the fun in his posts and appreciates the many fans it has brought him, but he feels it’s time to take his work more seriously.

Honoring his oath of secrecy, he refuses to take his mask off for anyone, keeping his identity hidden as he watches over Minneapolis streets. Keeping with his oath, he even kept the mask on throughout his interview, 

This vow to anonymity has drawn comparisons to heroes like Batman and Spider-Man. But Nomark says his work is based much more in reality.

After his comical feuds and meteoric rise, Nomark said he’s looking to shift his image and help vulnerable Minneapolis communities.

“I want to make a change in Minneapolis; I want people to feel safer in the streets here,” Nomark said. “I see in the news all the time, these big crimes and these horrible things that keep happening. Eventually, it would be great to make a change.”

For Nomark, it all started with the police — or lack thereof.

Several times in his life, Nomark said he has contacted police but never felt like he quite got the response he was looking for. Once, he said, he had a shooting outside his house where the police never even responded. 

Recently, Nomark continues to see crime in his area, with little to no police presence. This inaction pushed Nomark to look for change.

By taking justice and community support into his own hands, Nomark believes he can do more to help people than any given patrol officer. Without policing guidelines, Nomark said he has a better ability to help people in need.

“They got to follow these rules, I do not really have those,” Nomark said. “I feel like I can do a little more to help people, to get what they actually need.”

According to Nomark, his vigilante work is not quite like the comics. 

He does not swing through downtown or fly around the city. But, depending on the night, Nomark will investigate tips received from messages or walk around Dinkytown and Como, watching for people in need. 

“I usually just go out, go around the streets and see what’s going on,” Nomark said. “If anyone’s acting weird, I investigate it. I have people DM me, so I go out and look into what they’re telling me.”

These patrols are nightly, according to Nomark. Armed with his wits, combat experience and Narcan, Nomark hits the streets, hoping to help support the people of Minneapolis.

“We’re not stopping, like bank robberies and stuff,” Nomark said. “It’s just community outreach.”

Even with just community outreach, Nomark still recognizes that what he does is very dangerous. He said he doesn’t want anyone else to follow in his footsteps, but it’s work he said needed to be done.

“I don’t think anyone should do this,” Nomark said. “I don’t think any person should go out and try to do this, but I understand the risks.”

With that, he also acknowledges that his services are not for emergencies.

“If it is a tough situation, that’s what the police are for,” Nomark said. “The small things, there’s people like me that can help.”

After nearly two months on patrol, Nomark said he has helped stop fights, protect people from threats, and be a source of safety for those who have struggled to find it. Ultimately, Nomark believes that if nobody else will do it, he should be the one to step out and support his local community in any way he can.

In the long run, Nomark said his sights are set much higher than just day-to-day patrols.

With the notoriety he hopes to gain, Nomark said he wants to see real, long-term fixes to Minneapolis’s problems. Recently, with the Annunciation Church Shooting, he said he wants to see a stronger examination of gun laws in the Minnesota legislature.

“I think we need stricter gun laws,” Nomark said. “I have always felt this way a little bit, but especially now that it happened so close to where I live. That was a huge thing; it makes me sad to see.”

With some notoriety and even some followers in Minnesota’s political sphere, Nomark hopes he can help to make that change.

Above all else, Nomark says he just wants to make the communities he’s a part of better — for everyone involved.