Albert Leslie Cochran (June 24, 1951March 8, 2012) was an American homeless man, peace activist, cross-dresser, urban outdoorsman, and outspoken critic of police treatment of the homeless. Cochran was known in Austin as Leslie. Cochran was considered the man who personified "Keep Austin Weird". Early life Cochran was born on June 24, 1951 and raised in the Redland district of Homestead, Florida. He was the third of six children (three boys and three girls) born to Albert and Enid (née Atwater) Cochran, both now deceased, and had an identical twin brother who died at birth. He also has a cousin named Gabriel Lujan who lives in Round Rock, Texas. He had a rocky childhood, with his father verbally and sexually abusing him. He attended Florida State University in Tallahassee on an academic scholarship, but never graduated. He lived in the Pacific Northwest and at one time worked as a truck driver frequently traveling up and down the West Coast. Cochran told the Austin American-Statesman that he was briefly married from 1985 to 1986. In his 30s, he suffered a month long coma after a head injury, in which he lost his stutter. He spent nine months in the Naval Reserve in 1974–75, worked for Safeway grocery stores in Seattle, skinned road-kill in Colorado and tanned the hides, worked as a disc jockey near Steamboat Springs, Colorado, lived in a converted bookmobile in Shreveport, Louisiana, Tampa, Florida, and Atlanta, and then took a year to ride a tricycle to Austin in January 1996. As an Austin fixture Cochran was typically seen around 6th Street and Congress during business hours, frequently wearing women's clothing. His most popular attire was a leopard thong and high-heeled shoes. Cochran always identified as a man. Cochran ran for Mayor of Austin three times, most recently in 2003. He earned a second-place finish in 2000, garnering 7.75% of the vote. He said his life on the streets advocating for police accountability was a good background for the job. He appeared with his boa and tiara at mayoral debates, but spoke about real issues. Cochran showed up for a mayoral campaign interview in 2003 wearing a women's business suit. "He looked like a stewardess from the golden age of air travel," said the Austin Chronicle editor. Cochran talked about problems ahead for a city that was creative and fun, but growing so fast that it could become big