Mellencamp jacket worn by Alain Robert, "the French Spiderman"

I was watching a UK news program yesterday and was pleasantly surprised by a news story about "urban climber" Alain Robert, the so-called "French Spiderman" famous for scaling the Eiffel Tower, the Sydney Opera House, the Golden Gate Bridge and numerous other landmarks around the world. In this story, he was wearing a black leather jacket with "Mellencamp" emblazoned across the back and down his left sleeve. I then googled him and found this Blog, with photos of him wearing a similar (red) leather jacket with "Mellencamp" emblazoned across the back:

http://www.danhimbrechts.com/blog/2009/06/french-climber-alain-robert-appears-in.html

Given that one does not hear Mellencamp's music much on UK television or radio these days, or come across references to him in popular media here all that often, I found this story rather tantalizing. Robert is something of a celebrity in France and, I am guessing, a John Mellencamp fan. His jacket is great and I am curious about its history.

Does anyone know anything about Robert's interest in "Mellencamp" and/or the history of his jacket?

Alex