Yes Theory Wants You to Seek Discomfort
Photo Credit: Ranatalha
By MARILYN SUMBA and ANGELA VAZQUEZ
Thomas Brag was heading to Slab City, California, with his friends Matt Dajer and Ammar Kandil. They were so excited to explore this place: the last lawless city in the United States.
The trio’s Yes Theory Youtube channel hopes to show others “that life can be as authentic and fulfilling as you wish if you seek discomfort.” Currently at over four million subscribers, posting twice a week, the channel continues to grow.
In Slab City, which has no official laws, the youtubers found little crime, but instead the painted waterfront rock formation of Salvation Mountain. “We thought the place would be hostile and dangerous,” they said, “when in fact it was inviting and beautiful (in its own way).”
Yes Theory typically posts 15 minute long videos like “Dropped Blindfolded in a New Country with No Money!!,” “We fooled the internet w/ fake Justin Bieber Burrito Photo,” and more spontaneous journeys.
They frequently engage with their audience, such as with “Flying a Subscriber Across the World for 72 Hours,” where they got a stranger to spontaneously travel across different parts of the world she wouldn’t have discovered without “seeking discomfort.”
Originating from countries such as France and Egypt and meeting in Montreal, Canada, as strangers, the three bonded over their desire to live life in the most vivid way by overcoming their fears and stepping out of their comfort zones. Formerly known as “Generation Y Not,” Yes Theory first gained media attention after staging a demonstration in Montreal promoting unity in the midst of the Paris terror attacks in 2015. They have since moved to the U.S. to host a Snapchat show.
Larissa Marulli said in TheThings.com that the group’s “courage and sense of self-empowerment has been the fuel of Yes Theory’s success.”
They now find themselves daring Will Smith to bungee jump from a helicopter and pranking the internet by filming a Justin Beiber impersonator eating a burrito sideways.
Silliness aside, Yes Theory promotes life as an adventure, encouraging viewers to go out and say “yes” in order to discover new things and pursue what you love. Viewers learn that though things are not always how we want them to be, we can make something out of the hardest situations. This channel is motivation to explore life in its complexity and live life to the fullest. After all, we only live once.