New St. Pete Roadside Attraction Educates People On The Multiverse

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Brian Loverde — better known as his alien alter ego, Dr. Good Vibes — first learned about the multiverse concept in the 1970s by reading philosophy books. He was especially drawn to the work of Jane Roberts, who wrote about the possibility of parallel universes existing at once.

“And then, lo and behold, in the eighties, the scientists were saying the same things,” he told Patch. “So, I was following both streams, and I think unknown to each other they’re saying the same points about the multiverse, that there’s more than one universe and there are more than one version of each person. We all have alternate selves.”

Loverde has followed the scientific and philosophical communities’ research and conversations on the concept ever since, devoting his life to educating others about the multiverse.

He even turned his St. Petersburg backyard into Multiverseland, which he calls a DIY “intergalactic mini theme park” and “Florida’s newest zany roadside attraction.”

The colorful immersive experience takes visitors through 10 scenes, including the Cosmic Disco, the Fortune Teller, the Hall of Mirrors and the Meditation Garden. It’s part educational, part art exhibit, part community gathering space, Loverde said.

Multiverseland celebrated its grand opening Saturday evening with a fundraiser for the Optimist Club of St. Petersburg.

For decades, he and his stepdaughter, Wallace “Wally” Southworth, who has adopted the moniker of Dean Smiley, have performed at schools, events, churches and other venues across the country to share the multiverse concept with others.

They use song and dance to entertain audiences and make the concept more accessible to the average person. The pair dresses as aliens from their original universe.

“Our higher self centers from Universe No. 37,689 in the Good Vibes Universe to bring these messages to Earth,” according to Loverde.

While multiverses have made it into mainstream media in recent years, there’s “a lot of misinformation being spread about it,” he said, “especially from Marvel comics and movies. They portray it more as a battle between good and evil, and, you know, there’s the movie, ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,’ and then, there was the movie (‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’) that won the Academy Award (for Best Picture and other major categories) last year.”

Loverde added, “We know the most truthful version of what it really is, what it really means, these alternates. And that’s what people will learn if they come here (to Multiverseland) and stay with it and go through the whole thing.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic sidelined his and Southworth’s live performances, they got to work transforming their North Kenwood yard into a multiverse destination.

“It took more than three years, but here we are,” she said.

The pair knows that Multiverseland is a quirky space; they designed it specifically to draw attention and make an impact.

“The idea is to be fun and different. I learned a long time ago, especially if you’re dealing with philosophical type stuff, you want to put humor and things that people can relate to into it,” Loverde said.

He and Southworth hope to see Multiverseland used as a space to raise funds for nonprofits or to host special events. The Optimist Club was the first to organize a fundraiser there and plans to return for a monthly event.

Sue Lewis, secretary of the Optimist Club, which has supported children in the St. Petersburg community for the past 100 years, said the group’s leaders were “impressed by Brian and Wally.”

She added, “Any way to make money is a good thing. No, seriously. We think this could become a quite popular venue that is a great partner to us.”