Steward 836 was manning the main stage at the festival, which took place in Donington Park from 10-12 June, when he caught the attention of fans waiting for headliners Linkin Park to appear.
Some friendly interaction led to cheers from the audience, then one of the giant stage-screens showed him making the signature Download 'devil horns' gesture, which was applauded by tens of thousands of rock fans.
After the headline performance had finished 836 was then encored back on – with thousands chanting 8-3-6, 8-3-6 . . .
More often seen in Showsec’s Leeds-based venues, the mystery man has attracted 4,000 ‘likes’ on the ‘Steward 836 Download Festival 2011’ Facebook page, has a huge following on YouTube, and has even had T-Shirts with the number ‘836’ printed on them in his honour.
"The rise of 836 is a great indication how much the perception of our industry has shifted," said Showsec director Simon Battersby.
"We are committed to the safety and enjoyment of the festival crowd, and achieve this in part through being approachable and establishing good communication with the audience. I don’t think we ever thought we’d see one of our teams achieving this much popularity though."
Live Nation COO and Download Festival director John Probyn added: "Steward 836 is this year’s phenomenon, demonstrating how the Download community work together to create a fantastic upbeat atmosphere at the festival. Let’s hope he’s there next year."
The crowd management firm has worked on the annual rock/metal/punk festival for more than a decade.
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