Landyn Merwin is youngest person to drive a Batmobile

 

Local youth Landyn Merwin sits in the Batmobile, next to Batman look-a-like Clint Young.

By Clint Young, AKA Batman

I first met Landyn in 2018 at the annual 4th of July Brush Reunion put on by Judy & Shorty Brush of Brush Trucking in Miles City.

Every year they host a big family reunion with live music, entertainment, and lots of good food in Shadehill, SD (just out of Lemmon, SD) and for the past 6 years they have had me come out as Batman with my 1966 Batmobile.

Landyn is the son of Sami Hellickson, fiancé to Kevin Samuelson of Volborg. Landyn goes to school in Broadus.

When Landyn and I met we hit it off right away and became good friends. We had a lot of fun enjoying all the different activities such as go-karting, miniature golf, swimming, riding the train, and of course all the fireworks.

This year Landyn came back to the reunion and right away he was glad to see me and we picked up right where we left off last year.

Then on the 4th of July, when I came out dressed in my 1966 Adam West Batman costume with my Batmobile to give everyone rides, Landyn asked me if he could drive it.


After thinking about it for a few seconds, I said "Sure, you can do it tomorrow." Well with all the activities going on and the rain showers we were having it just never happened.

Finally, on the last day when Landyn and his dad Brian were getting ready to leave, I asked his father if he could spare another 15 minutes or so before they took off.

When he said yes, I told him I was going to let Landyn drive my Batmobile, in a closed, off-road area. Brian got excited and said "You're going to let him drive your Batmobile? I gotta see this!"


Landyn was already in their car so I walked over and said "come on, your going to drive my Batmobile right now." He lit up like a Christmas tree and away we went.

After showing him what to do and how to drive it, I handed him the Batmobile key and he jumped in and started it up. Landyn drove a couple laps out back by the miniature golf course and had a great time.

When we were all finished I asked him what it was like to drive a half a million dollar car and he looked up at me and said "kind of scary" but he then relaxed and beamed a smile of pure joy.

That will be a day he and I will never forget!

Landyn got to do what I always wanted to do since I was 4 years old. I never got to drive the Batmobile until I was 23 when I was hired to become a professional Adam West Batman look-a-like to go on tour with the batmobiles.


It started out as a 2 or 3 week job but it never ended. And after all these years I am still enjoying it just as much as I did way back then.

Clint has been an Adam West Batman look-a-like since the mid 1980's, and has appeared all over the United States and Canada with all the original tv series Batmobiles. Clint purchased his Batmobile from a museum in California and spent 4 years restoring it back to the way it looked on the Batman tv series. Clint's Batmobile is accurate right down to the last detail, it even shoots flames out of the turbine.

Landyn Merwin prepares to drive the Batmobile, in the picture below. (Batmobile photos courtesy Clint Young)

It's also the only Batmobile in the world that has been ridden in and signed by both Adam West and Evel Knievel. Clint can honestly say he has the only Batmobile on Earth that has been autographed by "Adam & Eve...L". Evel's son Robbie Knievel also jumped over it at one of his shows. Clint is currently booking gigs through his website, cyproductions.com, and is available on Facebook by searching for Clint Young.


 

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