The owner of a recording studio on wheels called the Podcast Bus tried desperately to stop a thief from taking the tools of his livelihood in a backyard confrontation caught on camera in Los Angeles' Mid-City area.
Daniel Lobell estimated that about $25,000 worth of high-end audio equipment was stolen Thursday from the school bus that the entrepreneur converted during the pandemic into a mobile studio. The Podcast Bus was parked behind his home as usual when he noticed something was wrong during a check of security camera recordings.
"I looked on my security cameras, and I saw the doors of the bus were open and I'm like, 'That's crazy, I would never leave the doors of the bus open,'" Lobell said. "They broke into my bus. They took roughly $25,000 of equipment that I had paid for with my own blood sweat and tears and made off."
Nearly two hours later, the thief returned.
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"I look up, there's the guy," Lobell said.
Video showed Lobell tipping over a plastic bin full of toys in an effort to stop the man.
"There was a trampoline here," he said. "I tried to get it out to use it as a weapon, but I couldn't. I tried to trap him between the bus and this (bin) so I could get him. But he got away."
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Lobell started the Podcast Bus as a way to mobilize a quality recording studio. The interior includes wrap-around seating for podcast hosts and guests.
"It was during the pandemic that I got this whole thing going. I was like determined," Lobell said. "If you cant get them to your studio, why not have the studio come to you?"
Lobell started the Comical Radio podcast in 2004. He's also known for the Modern Day Philosophers podcast, his CBS Radio show 'Mostly Bull Market" and appearances on the weekly 'This American Life' public radio show.
As of Wednesday morning, he raised more than $12,000 to replace the equipment.
No arrests were reported Wednesday morning.
