After two years as Athens’ unofficial mascot, the Pink Flamingo of Athens has moved away. Morgan King, who performed as the bright pink bird, now lives in Miami Beach, Florida.
King’s mission as the Pink Flamingo of Athens was to “Keep Athens Weird” — inspired by the Austin, Texas, slogan. They made appearances at events, parades and on days with no special occasions to bring fun and flair to the city. Oftentimes, they could be seen riding a unicycle or playing a baritone horn.
“I tried my best to inspire people to be weird and be themselves,” King said. “Everything that I did was very genuine and inspired by just wanting to lift everyone up and make people laugh in the street. And bring joy to the neighborhood.”
The flamingo’s origins
King first donned the costume for the 2019 Annual Wild Rumpus Halloween Celebration. But King and her husband, Cal Clements, had previously participated in clowning — the act of performing in creative costumes.
In fact, the two met through clowning while Clements taught yoga and clowning at Rubber Soul Yoga Revolution, a studio on Pulaski Street.
Before moving to Miami Beach in December 2021, King lived in Athens for seven years. In 2014, they came to town from Powder Springs, Georgia, to attend the University of Georgia.
As an undergraduate, King described how they were caught up in “the whole matrix of it all,” referring to their college experience and joining a sorority, Gamma Phi Beta. They graduated in 2018 with a degree in social work.
“Everything changed when I went vegan and started doing yoga and using psychedelic medicine. But that all resulted in me basically being able to be a good clown,” King said.
King decided not to complete a master’s degree after starting work on it. Instead, they began taking yoga classes and started clowning with a group from Rubber Soul Yoga Revolution. They decided to go solo and began embracing the Pink Flamingo.
“I felt like Athens could be weirder. And no one was really going to do anything about it,” King said. “I wanted to be like a weird staple. I wanted to be an anomaly… That’s what I wanted for Athens.”
After debuting in 2019, the flamingo became a recurring and recognized figure in the community. King has performed at the Downtown Parade of Lights, in Times Square in New York City, at demonstrations for causes such as protecting trees and more.
Charlie Mustard, the head roaster at Jittery Joe’s, admired the Pink Flamingo’s mission to “Keep Athens Weird.” He sought to help King in any way he could, donating coffee to give as prizes for their “weirdness awards” and letting them use the coffee roaster during their “weirdness parades.”
“[The pink flamingo] just kind of energizes you in whatever area that you need energizing,” Mustard said. “It’s a real spur towards creativity in all different aspects.”
Time for a change
Every bird flies south for the winter. The decision to leave Athens was both a long time coming and somewhat random. Ultimately, King decided to pursue their passion for vegan food as a server at Full Bloom Gourmet Vegan Cuisine in Miami Beach. But, both King and Clements felt a change was necessary.
“[We both] felt like we were kind of going in circles a little bit,” King said.
What started as a trip to Miami became a job hunt. King printed out their resume, bought a white button-up and applied to vegan restaurants all over the city. They got a job at Full Bloom, and have been working there for two months.
King plans to bring the costume, unicycle and baritone horn to Florida after they find a place to settle down, as they’ve been staying in hostels.
“One of the things that we find really funny about Miami Beach is how many buildings and streets and parks are named flamingo in some way or another. It’s everywhere,” Clements said. “It feels like the home of the flamingo.”
Once they are settled in, King will take the Pink Flamingo to its first stop: Flamingo Park in South Beach.
Shoes to fill
Although happy in Florida, King does miss Athens.
“That’s where my spiritual birthplace was, as I say.” King said. “I’m so glad I landed there.”
King vows to return to Athens every now and then, to visit their stepson, attend the Wild Rumpus and get their hair cut by Jo Thomas Wilson, the owner of My Heart Salon Studio.
“I’m not going to get my haircut anywhere else,” King said. At the time of the interview, King had a pink mullet.
“Morgan is one of a kind,” Wilson said. “No one will ever fill their shoes.”
Without the eccentric pink bird, Athens is down an unofficial mascot, but Clements is confident others will emerge. King hopes others will be inspired to express their weird side, but warns that it’s not as easy as it looks.
“Every single time I was the flamingo, I was nervous before,” King said. “To whoever wants to do something like this, it’s gonna be so scary… You just have to push, you just have to go.”
No matter who’s next, King hopes they’ve helped Athenians smile a little more while they were around.
“There were some children that I talked to and encouraged them to be themselves. [I hope] that they remember the pink flamingo, especially the young girls, because I’m like a pink superhero and they don’t really have that,” King said.
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