The "king of sand" has been the undisputed monarch of one of Rio's most famous beaches for the past two decades.
And yet, Marcio Mizael Matolias has spent the last 22 years in its magnificent construction, one of those castles that people usually make in the sand and then see destroyed by the wave or the little ones.
Only his own miracle remains untouched by time and human intervention and he poses with all his grace and pride next to him, with his scepter and crown, remaining one of the biggest tourist attractions of Rio.
And he also lives like a real king, without, of course, having to pay any of the blue-blooded bills.
For more than two decades, Matolias has been able to free himself from the expensive rents of Rio de Janeiro by living in a sand-packed palace on one of the city's most famous beaches (Barra da Tijuca).
A worker by conviction and without children, he has no family obligations or anything else to think about except his party. And so he put on his crown and became king in his own castle, forcing the locals to affectionately call him "King".
"I grew up in Guanabara Bay, I've always lived on the beach," the 44-year-old recently told the Mirror.
He lives in a small space inside his castle, which, however, houses all his belongings, as well as the admittedly many books he has about his way of life. "It scares me to live in a house with everything in order," he says. "I like this ephemeral side of things, so I don't get as passionate as others who say, 'This is mine, this is mine.'"
And he even says that if his bunch is demolished, no problem, he will build another…