10 Ways Hunter S Thompson Was Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die

Completely adhering to the notion that if you want something done right you have to do it yourself, Thompson ran for the position of Pitkin County’s Sheriff in 1970 after viewing the establishment as too hard handed when it came to dealing with like minded friends of his and too lenient with money grabbing outsiders that he often dubbed ‘land-rapers’.

Championing the ‘Freak Power’ movement, he initially began his campaign as a joke but quickly realised that there were considerably more supporters than it first appeared and so started to compete for the title in earnest. His campaign consisted of some truly outlandish propositions, including destroying all roads so people could only walk or ride bikes and renaming Aspen to ‘Fat City’, all of which were basically to put off those coming in from out of state as, during the time, many would-be landowners and other ‘fat cat’ folk like that were coming in and, in Thompson’s opinion, ruining life for the locals.

Unsurprisingly the Freak Power ticket lost, yet what was surprising was the margin in which it lost. Only toppled after a coalition by both the Democrat and Republican candidates, Thompson’s grasp on power was tantalisingly close to becoming real.