METAIRIE, La. -- Sidney Torres IV said he never realized he would create so much buzz when he enlisted New Orleans Saints running back and friend Alvin Kamara to make a cameo appearance in a pair of commercials for his trash-collection company this week.
But it worked out even better than expected for the New Orleans-based entrepreneur and star of CNBC's real estate reality show, "The Deed."
Pictures of the Saints' star working as a garbage man in Mid-City started to leak out on social media this week, with some even theorizing Kamara secretly spends his off days working various blue-collar jobs.
Let's do this!!!@alvinkamara #IVwaste #gosaints #superbowl #Nolachamp #whodat pic.twitter.com/WgI2d86ZSL
— Sidney Torres (@SidneyDTorresIV) January 17, 2019
"But it was funny because he really actually liked doing it. And now he wants to do a full route in the French Quarter after this game -- from 2:30 in the morning to 7:30 in the morning," Torres said. He added, though, that people are already telling him, "Please, if we go to the Super Bowl, let him do it after the Super Bowl, because we don't want him to get hurt."
The Saints play host to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday in the NFC Championship Game (3:05 p.m. ET, Fox).
Kamara's new interest began when he recently sent Torres a message on Instagram, saying that he had seen a picture of one of Torres' IV Waste drivers in a new uniform and asking if he could have one of the jackets.
"So he called me when he was coming to pick it up, and I said, 'Alvin, I'm doing two spots at the Saints game for the garbage company,' and I said, 'Have you ever picked up garbage before?' And he said no. I said, 'You want to do it?' And he said yeah. So it was very last-minute and thrown together," said Torres, whose commercials will air both inside the Superdome and on TV throughout Louisiana.
Torres said Kamara didn't want any payment -- even though "he could probably charge an arm and a leg." He said he just did it out of friendship and for the experience itself.
"He embraced it so much. That's just the type of person he is, he's a humble guy," said Torres, who first met Kamara through mutual friend Larry Morrow. "He didn't think he was stepping down or [hurting] his ego. ... He respects the hard-workin' man."