A Los Angeles performer who pretends to be a robot on the street earns up to $1,000 a day

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"Automatic" and "the Gold Man" on the streets of LA.

Every morning, Daniel Moss paints his face gold and dons his gold pants, shoes, and jacket to transform into the Gold Man, a robot performer who can be found on the streets of Los Angeles with an open treasure box nearby for cash tips.

He's been at it for 33 years, Marketplace reports.

Once in character, the workday begins, and it's not always sunshine and rainbows.

"It's hard work," he tells Marketplace.

A typical day lasts six to eight hours. It's filled with performances, which he tag-teams with his performing partner, Automatic the Silver Robot.

The two robots draw quite the crowd on Hollywood Boulevard in LA, and as a result, can rake in the cash. On the Gold Man's most successful day, his treasure box was overflowing with about $1,000, he tells Marketplace.

While he occasionally strikes gold, the income is far from steady - on any given day, he could leave with less than $50 of earnings, or nothing at all.

"I could go out there and make 40 or 50 bucks. It doesn't bother me," Moss tells Marketplace. "Because you gotta figure, you went out there with nothing."

It's not all about the money for Moss.

"What I like about it is making people smile, happy, and enjoy their day," he tells Marketplace. "I'm gonna do it, I guess, 'til I'm 99 years old."

Listen to the full interview at Marketplace.

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