His entrepreneurial spirit took him from his Midwest roots in Chicago to Florida and California while he pursued his American dreams and catered to his rich and powerful clients and friends.
Through the ups and downs—from sabotaged limousines to his longtime court battle to regain control of his company after being swindled by a Hollywood business partner—he never let the misfortunes defeat his willing spirit and always took the time to show acts of kindness to those around him. Always one to push the limits, he converted a jet into a massive airplane limousine, also with seating for The vehicles were featured on countless television programs and news features.
Behind the character and the gold chains, Limo Bob was a husband, father, grandfather, and brother; a consummate storyteller; and a friend to many. Limo Bob wanted his own reality show like a teenage boy wants a girl he can not have. He could see it now. The cameras would pan as he emerged from the back of one of his limos with his midget maitre d', Shorty, his ex-wife, his current wife, his adult son and daughter, all under the watchful eye of his stiff-faced bodyguard, Tank.
He sat at a country-style dining table in a small concrete block house. But Limo Bob had the camera on his computer turned to the other side of the room. Today, he was not promoting the churchgoing Robert Strauser, the one who speaks to kids in prison, who has been known to give nursing home residents free limo rides just for fun.
Today he was straight gangster. He was in the Spring Breakers movie and he's a star. The producer grinned appreciatively, sizing Bob up. She was helping cast for a reality show that would drop three people and a survivalist in the wilds of Tennessee.
Bob contemplated this. At 55, he was not in the best physical condition. He had heart problems. He didn't know how to start a fire, fish or kill an animal.
He was afraid of snakes and spiders. But if this is what it took. A little more than a week later, Bob stretched his 6-foot, pound frame out in the back seat of one of his limos. A carousel of wine glasses spun in front of him. His wife, Christi, a year-old platinum blond, had the wheel.
They were headed to Immokalee, a small town at the heart of the state's tomato fields, to distribute food and clothes to needy migrant workers. The mission trip had been organized by Christi's church, Our Savior Lutheran, where Christi had worked as a teacher for 19 years until she met Bob in Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox?
Bob wore cargo shorts, a T-shirt, flip-flops and a single Gucci chain as thick as a coral snake. On the way, Bob spun his life story, a series of missed opportunities and unfortunate events he has pursued a handful of lawsuits. He said he amassed a fleet of lawn mowers at age 13; took over his father's limo business five years later; fled Chicago for Florida after someone he suspects the mob started blowing up his limos; resurrected his limo business in Chicago a few years later and lost it again, this time in a business deal that Bob claims was a scam.
To help Bob or perhaps to humiliate him — it's hard to tell — a friend gave him 6-foot Barney dolls to sell. Bob raised enough to buy Sylvester Stallone's Mercedes limo. Eventually he amassed 28 vehicles, some of them with Jacuzzis and putting greens. Then the economy tanked. Limo Bob became Repo Bob. Sounds like a classic tale of modern America, the triumph of superficiality over substance, of misplaced priorities. Then you find out how Bob and Christi met. Dead broke, Strauser said he sold Barney dolls on street corners and worked in a nightclub until he saved enough money to resurrect the limousine business again.
Today, Limo Bob's Star Limousine service has 18 vehicles in its fleet, including Strauser's pride and joy, the world's longest, street-legal limousine, which he bought from a Kuwaiti sheik who was visiting the United States. The two-piece vehicle measures 65 feet in length about 20 feet longer than a school bus and has a fifth wheel.
A total of 28 passengers can sit in the rear, another eight passengers in the front. Amenities include waiters, armed or unarmed security and complimentary champagne. We even roll out the red carpet for people as they come in," Strauser said. By By David Sharos.
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