@bubblesbyKurth

Kurth Reis, also known as the bubble man throughout San Francisco California is a 48 year old Bay Area native. Reis was born in Hayward and ventured out to live in downtown San Francisco at an early age of thirteen.

Ten years ago you wouldn’t find Reis walking the streets of San Francisco creating gigantic bubbles. He had been on what some might consider to be a dangerous path of life. It wasn’t until a life altering motorcycle accident that left him comatose for days and the addition of a metal rod in his leg that began to alter his outlook on life. 

Reis’ girlfriend gifted a toy bubble gun to him one sunny day and that’s when his creative wheels began turning and he started experimenting with making his own wand and solution. One year later Reis has now perfected his bubble mixture and is out making bubbles on an average of eleven hours a day. He doesn’t do it for the money but simply for everyone to enjoy “bliss on tap,” otherwise known as his bubble making.

I met Reis during a particularly warm day in the midst of Covid-19 at Baker Beach. Quarantine had really been weighing on me at this particular time and when I saw Reis making these gigantic bubbles on the beach I couldn’t help but to be filled with joy. I was so moved at how a grown man making bubbles as I once did as a child brought back so many nostalgic memories and allowed me to pause my grievances. 

You can usually find Reis at Grace Cathedral or Lafayette Park in San Francisco around dusk. Reis says “daytime is a bubble's worst enemy because of the evaporation, take the sun out of the equation and you can really create some big bubbles.”