Who Is Left Shark? Bryan Gaw's Identity Revealed Ahead Of Super Bowl

The Super Bowl was a close one in 2015, the New England Patriots won their fourth title over the Seattle Seahawks by four points. Katy Perry performed during the halftime show but the person who really captured America's attention that night wasn't an athlete or Perry, it was one of her backup dancers, dressed in a shark suit.

Now, three years later, the Patriots are heading back to the Super Bowl but the backup dancer, known to most as Left Shark, won't be headed back. Bryan Gaw, one of Perry's long-time backup dancers now works at a hair salon in West Hollywood where National Public Radio caught up with him.

Following the championship game, Gaw posted a photo of himself to Instagram, confirming that he was Left Shark. He captured the attention of so many for his unconventional dance moves in a seven-foot-tall shark costume.

In a recent interview with NPR, Gaw detailed the events leading up to the halftime show that Sunday. While many people thought Left Shark forgot the choreography or missed the steps during the show, Gaw said he was doing exactly what he was supposed to.

He explained that in that moment, he and his partner, Right Shark, were doing what he calls, "freestyle," choreography during which a dancer can sort of take on their own character on stage. He chose to go for the character of an everyday person and said, "You don't have to be perfect, nobody has to be perfect in life."

"Did I rehearse these actual steps to like my freestyle moment? Not necessarily," Gaw told NPR. His message from the whole show that he wants viewers to take away from it is, "Don't take life so seriously," and "Be you, do you."

The interview NPR did with Bryan "Left Shark" Gaw is available to listen to online.