If you haven’t already heard of them, Yes Theory is a group of guys who create videos on YouTube, spreading a message of love and adventure. The group is made up of Ammar (the director), Thomas (the storyteller), Derin (the cameraman) and Matt (the producer). They all met each other in Canada while staying at mutual friend’s house to crash for a couple of days. But once the boys met each other, a couple of days turned into much longer. They immediately hit it off and the idea behind Yes Theory was created.
I first found them on the Brother channel in Snapchat Discover. They had a segment for a couple of Sundays where they would sneak into abandoned buildings, ghost towns and much more. I was hooked and started following them on Instagram and binge watching their videos on Youtube. Through watching their videos, I’ve learned a lot from them and their words of wisdom, but what I appreciate about them the most is that they have encouraged me to reflect and learn more about myself. The following list offers some of the reasons why I love them and why you should start watching them too.
Although their name is Yes Theory, their channel is not about saying “yes” to everything but rather about saying “yes” to facing their fears and living by their motto: “Seek Discomfort.” In a video commemorating their two year anniversary, they explained, “We decided to refuse to let our fears dictate our decisions and instead decided to use them to drive us forward.” Using each other for support and guidance, they set out to step out of their comfort zones and do things that make them feel truly alive.
They shared and conquered both mental and physical fears: heights, social anxiety, the unknown, etc. But while doing this themselves, they also asked random strangers to do the same. They convinced people to go skydiving and bungee jumping on a whim, to go on dates with them across the world and even kidnap complete strangers in exchange for the best day ever. Their spontaneity, trust and ability to block out anybody who disagrees with them has inspired me to do the same in my life. Seeing all the people that pass up the once in a lifetime experiences that they offer random people on the street, made me realize that I don’t want to be one of those people that say “no” but rather I should take a leap and say “yes.”
Every time they visit a new city, the boys partake in a challenge where one of them is abandoned for 24 hours with no money. They must rely completely on the kindness of total strangers to find food to eat, a place to sleep and go on an epic adventure along the way. I know you may be thinking that this task is incredibly insane, well it is. But somehow, they always make it out alive, having accomplished this feat in Paris, Madrid, Finland and Thailand. Watching these videos always restores my faith in humanity. Even with all the hate and harm in the world, there is still goodness inside of people. It just takes a little bit of luck and kindness to find the right person who will give you a helping hand. You may even make a friend and learn something new.
Like I mentioned earlier, Yes Theory’s origin story started on a friend’s couch. After conceiving this idea, they dropped all their plans and worked on making videos and living life to the fullest for six months. They thought that their journey was coming to an end as they were still broke and their friends, family members and mentors urged them to wake up and stop the nonsense. But everything changed when they received an email from Brother, asking them if they wanted to move to Venice Beach, California and get paid to make videos.
When they explained that they wanted to travel to make videos, Brother responded, “Go wherever the budget will take you, especially sunny places.” To which the boys replied, “Oh baby.” After receiving this news, they were off. They moved from Canada to California and started to pursue their dreams of experiencing what life has to offer and refusing to go unnoticed. Although this was a wonderful opportunity, Derin, who is originally from Turkey, had to stay back in Canada in order to secure residency because his visa would run into complications in the United States. But through it all, from having absolutely nothing and walking into this dream not knowing what would become of it, one thing for certain is that they would always have each other.
Yes Theory is probably the best channel I have ever come across on Youtube. They are completely inspiring, genuine and kind human beings. I often find myself laughing at their candid reactions and interactions with other people. Even though I have never personally met them, I feel like I know them and it’s nice to know that there are people out there who hold the same values and ambitions that I have.
They have sacrificed so much to pursue what they want to do and they provide viewers and the strangers they interact with a new perspective on life: to take a chance and to live the life they want to live. Every video they post has a moral or a lesson, whether it be to believe in yourself, to not let anything or anyone stop you or even conquering your fears. Yes Theory encourages people to be better citizens and to spread love and be kind to one another.
To finish this off, I leave you with two questions that were originally posed by Thomas:
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