Not only is it real but looks like it might b quite common.seems like the bike riding the other way in the background has the same fork or something similar. Its cool looking first one I've seen of its kind.
Those are some crazy truss rods.
I guess the semi-circular section near the axle absorbs the bulk of the inertia from a bump and acts like the coil of a 'spring'? They are definitely made from some 'hardy' sized stock.