F’ing Matt Harding Stole My Dream Job

Matt Harding might be my hero.

Here’s a guy who basically was a drifter who decided to take the last of his money and see how far around the world it would take him. Then he said, “How cool would it be if I could film myself dancing in various parts of the planet?” After he posted such a video, he began getting more than 20,000 hits per day on his server, and his original video became the #30 most-watched in its channel on YouTube.

It didn’t long for someone to notice that this viral marketing concept was an insanely clever idea. Stride Gum got involved, and began sponsoring and paying for Matt’s trips around the Earth. The popularity of the concept even gave Matt the opportunity to lecture on the videos and his subsequent fame at Champlain College in Burlington, Vt. (predictably, he was then filmed dancing with the students afterward).

His site, Where the Hell is Matt, posted a countdown to his third video (above), which was released on June 20. For comparison’s sake, his original is below.

He’s been nearly overrun by elephants, got jiggy with it in zero-gravity, taunted death by popping out a modified Cabbage Patch in a demilitarized zone in Korea, swam-danced near large-ish sea creatures without grumping his pants and was nearly crushed by a wave in Tonga. The third video includes a bit more audience participation, has some variation in dance styles (the flourish in India freaking killed me) and features some places that I’ve been recently. He filmed it over 14 months, in 42 different countries ... for free.

So now this guy gets someone to pay (a gum company, no less) so he can travel the world, embrace various cultures and dance like a jackleg. All while avoiding any aspect of work.

Ferris Bueller was once my hero. But now it’s Matt Harding. God bless America.