BREAKING: I Received An Exclusive Interview With The Guy Who Took The Iconic Star Wars Vending Machine In Pittsburgh, And His Story Shocked Me
Weeks ago, I came to this blog and told you all how FURIOUS I was that the vintage Star Wars vending machine in Pittsburgh had been tampered with. That vending machine had become a major landmark in the 412, as it stood on the corner of a sloped sidewalk in the Burgh's Mount Washington neighborhood for almost 30 years.
Star Wars fans across the world have gone on pilgrimages to see this thing. I, myself, took a special trip to witness its beauty, and my breath was taken away completely. And then I find out roughly a month later that not only had the machine been taken, but it was replaced with a Temu version that had 5th grade artwork plastered all over it? Yeah, I was pissed.
I promised you guys I'd go on a witch hunt to find the person who did it. I wouldn't rest until they were brought to justice. Lo and behold, the culprit here actually reached out to me over Instagram. I saw that I got a DM and was bummed to find out that it wasn't a hot woman looking to settle down with a pale-skinned strawberry blonde man. Instead, it was a dude by the name of Braeden Days, who admitted right then and there to taking the vending machine.
He asked if I could chat, so we set up a Zoom. And as much as I wanted to hate this guy for fucking around with a piece of history, I actually came to respect him by the end of our call. I won't lie.
Braeden is a content creator online who boasts close to 3 million followers across platforms. His most viral videos are ones that he would classify as heist content, where he films his POV as he goes through entire operations to "steal" certain objects and landmarks. As a Star Wars fan born and raised in Pittsburgh (now living in Los Angeles), Braeden had set his eyes on "stealing" the vending machine and creating a video series about it. He and his friends had joked about the idea for 10 years even. And when he finally did put his plan into action, it set Pittsburgh up in flames. The Yinzers were LIVID.
What Braeden stressed to me, though, was that the machine hadn't been operating right for years, and it was on the verge of being thrown out or put up for sale anyway. So yes, while he was trying to create a fun video series, he was also looking to get the vending machine fully repaired. When he opened the machine up, he said there were soda cans that had fucking exploded in it, and every can remaining was well expired. It apparently needed a shit ton of maintenance, so Braeden is taking the steps necessary to get it restocked and running properly.
"It would legitimately break my heart if that thing just got auctioned off to somebody who could afford to buy it," Braeden told me. "I want this thing to stay where it's at."
In the meantime, as the original vending machine goes through repairs, that replacement machine is just sitting there in Pittsburgh. I stand by what I wrote when I said it looked like dogshit, by the way, but that was kinda the goal of the machine. Braeden and his friend painted it themselves, and they just wanted to have a dummy version in place so people could still take pictures with some sort of monument. But his methods have left some Pittsburgh locals annoyed and confused.
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Braeden bought that replacement machine himself, too. Take those expenses and tack it onto the money that's already going into the repair of the original machine, and you have yourself a project that's running up a $2,000 tab. Braeden said he wouldn't be shocked if he wound up spending a few thousand more when it's all said and done, but it's worth it for him.
"Ultimately, this is meant to be a super fun, super cool project for the city. I really, really want people to be able to visit this thing and use it," Braeden said.
"I think this branches way beyond the bounds of Pittsburgh, to the point where there is a global Star Wars fanbase that knows about this machine. And for years, people have been coming to see this thing and it's been broken. Let's give a functional machine to the Pittsburgh community and to the Star Wars community, and let's just have fun."
Hell yeah. Braeden has already started documenting the journey to get this machine back in Mount Washington again. I'll be following closely. You have my word. I just hope I'm not a pawn in an even more elaborate scheme of his. But I'll keep you guys posted.