Bodypaint.Me is returning to the Philly Naked Bike Ride with a brand new large scale bodypaint installation for 2026 called the Tirebranding Ceremony. It’s a fast, simple, high volume bodypaint experience designed for the pre ride meetup zone.
What It Is
Riders enter our station and get painted with a quick tire tread bodypaint design using our custom method. It takes a few seconds and looks incredible in photos. Next, a volunteer ties a caution tape headband around the rider’s forehead. The tape moves in the wind and gives everyone that wild PNBR energy before the ride even begins.
It is simple, quick, and meant for hundreds of riders to experience before the start.
What It Means
The tire tread is the road. The caution tape is visibility. Together they turn the pre ride meetup into a shared moment and give PNBR 2026 a unified look that feels alive when the ride takes off.
Our Last Major PNBR Installation
The last time Bodypaint.Me built something at this scale was in 2016 with the Jackson Pollock Creation Station. That project became one of the most recognizable visuals in World Naked Bike Ride history and helped define the vibe of the ride.
See the full archive here: https://bodypaint.me/philly-naked-bike-ride-2016/
The Plan for 2026
Location: Pre ride meetup zone, announced the day before the ride
Cost: Free for riders, with tips appreciated to help cover materials and travel
Style: Fast tire tread applications and caution tape headbands
Participation: First come, first served
PNBR 2026 is going to be a landmark year. Tirebranding is how we kick it off.
Artist Statement
The Tirebranding Ceremony is a participatory performance art installation that transforms riders into a unified collective at the Philadelphia Naked Bike Ride. Developed by Matt Deifer and executed by the Bodypaint.Me crew, the ceremony uses two elemental symbols to create a shared visual identity.
The tirebrand is the imprint of the road, a testament to movement, impact and survival. Applied through a custom technique, it honors the vulnerability of cycling while declaring the strength of the human body. The caution tape headband serves as the anointing. It is a crown of visibility and a banner of the tribe. As the extended tails catch the wind, they create a living extension of the rider’s body and momentum.
Together these gestures form a rite of passage. The ceremony is fast enough for thousands to participate in, yet deep enough to feel ancient. It turns the ride into a moving installation, a procession of road touched bodies crowned in caution, riding together to demand safety, space and respect from the city.
We are here. We are visible. We ride together.
Bodypainter: Matt Deifer
Photographers: Artem Nasibyan, Matt Deifer
Models: Little Shiva, Jason Kierce, Kent Miller, Tamara, Juli Cher, Jed Miller
Location: Creation Station, Charlotte, NC
Date: August 4, 2026