It's been called the anti "Jack Ass," referring to an MTV show that featured guys doing dumb things. "Don't try this at home" was finally attached as the show's unofficial warning after people did try certain things and were hurt.
But now, four young Canadians from Victoria, British Columbia, are part of a coordinated effort called "The Buried Life," which takes that idea into another direction. Sure, they're jumping off things and getting tattoos but their project has an aspect of humanity attached.
Ben Nemtin, Jonnie Penn, Duncan Penn and Dave Lingwood—all in their early 20s—began their adventure last summer without a real plan. At first they just wanted to accomplish 50 things and help 50 other people.
In the summer of 2006, they were able to complete 31 items on their list and help 24 strangers. The press caught wind of the trip and after returning to college they were flown to Toronto to meet with MTV. Eventually, they passed on the network's offer, choosing instead to go it alone to keep the project close to its mission.
In May of this year, weekly journal/episodes began airing on YouTube, an online video-sharing site. They raised some more money over the winter and began their journey again during this past summer. And now, as they head north to Idaho from California, they have a host of items to cross off their list.
But the vision has expanded. That shared list is now 100 items long and the number of people they'd like to help is limitless.
"At first our families didn't even understand what we were doing," Jonnie Penn said while driving their new purple bus across the desert on Wednesday. "But then we got on the road and the press picked up on it. Now, our friends kind of get it that part of the point is to help people accomplish their dreams.
"Everybody young and old that we meet wants to talk about it. This is a longer adventure than we thought. Our goal to help other people, that was our original intent. It has stuck a chord with people. It's like paying it forward."
Now the guys are headed to the Wood River Valley. They'll spend the weekend here in pursuit of at least one of their goals. In addition, when they get to town they hope to "meet someone in the community that deserves some help," Penn said.
On their blog, Wednesday, Oct. 10, it said, "The bus survived her trip to the shop and has put 'drive the guys to Idaho' at the top of her list of things to do before she dies. Now we're driving straight to Sun Valley to get Dave set up for the list item more important to him than anything else: No. 8—"Ride a bull."
"With the help of Ben's friend Shanti, we found a ranch willing to take him on and are heading there to ride on Saturday. We're not really sure what to expect—it's hard to take odds on a real live bull, but the guy's teaching him are said to be top notch. The rest is in the hands (hooves?) of the bull."
They'll also catch the Trailing of the Sheep festivities and may take care of No. 44, "Catch something and eat it," by going fishing with a guide they know, and whatever else strikes their fancy. In early September, film director Brad Tiemann joined the crew and is shooting a simultaneous documentary.
"We shot some stuff last summer and we're working now with Brad to piece it all together," Jonnie said. "He's the silent observer in a Cruise America RV. They're going way faster than us."
In fact, the purple bus is being run on bio-diesel fuel, though not very well, according to Penn.
While in California in September, they surfed, learned how to jump and back flip a BMX bike in Petaluma, learned to sail in San Francisco and stayed at the haunted Brookdale Lodge outside Santa Cruz.
"It gives me shivers to talk about it," Penn said about the latter. "We left spooked. We stayed there overnight. In San Francisco, we met a guy named Mark, who has lung cancer and was given three months to live. We asked if he wanted to talk about that, so we sat down and in an honest moment he told us he was scared to go to sleep at night. So we bought him a new bed and put glow stars all over his room. He doesn't want to be a burden, so we had to just barge in and we did."
These are the kind of encounters that most excite the guys. It's a short, fast life and this is why it started, Penn said.
"We were lacking direction but we went out and talked to people about the troubles they had so we could gain perspective. We learn something new every time we talk to someone.
"We encourage people to write their lists down, talk about it," Penn said. "If no knows, then no can help you. Ben says it's the lowest common denominator. Anyone can write a list of things to do. We feel it brings people together. Levi Strauss came to us and said, 'We want to help but not interfere.' Levi Strauss pays for our bio-diesel fuel. Skateboard shops in Victoria donated the long boards we travel with. And when we meet someone who needs help, we'll contact them and they'll help."
Meanwhile, Duncan Penn graduated and college is on hold for the other three.
"We're taking time off from school because this film is our passion," Penn said. "But we will return. Get a college degree is No. 11."
Some of their list items are easy to accomplish, such as grow a moustache and go to a rock concert in all leather (done), but some will be a bit more of a struggle.
Through a friend, they were admitted to the inner sanctum of Rolling Stone magazine owner Jann Wenner in New York. They told him about No. 15 on the list: "Get on the cover of Rolling Stone"
"He chuckled at first and then eyed each of us carefully," the blog says. "'Are you serious?' he asked, 'the cover?' We told him yes and asked what it would take. He took a breath and told us this: to even get a mention on the cover we would need to host SNL (No. 99), Tell a joke on Late Night (No. 18), and create a media sensation that he couldn't refuse—i.e. Kissing Rachel McAdams (No. 55), Doing a sketch with Will Farrell (No. 46) and Dancing with Ellen (No. 79). With that, we shook hands, said thank you and left his office with a checklist to complete."
Jonnie Penn knows it was a stretch. "We were excited just to hear that from the boss. It drove us to keep fighting for it. It's paradoxical: We wanted him to put us on the cover to prove you don't have to be a celebrity but he said there are a few hurdles to overcome."
One has the feeling it won't be long before all the hurdles have been jumped.
Photo courtesy Kyle Jewell
