Rollercoaster YouTuber has a fear of heights

A YouTuber who has been afraid of heights since childhood now makes his living by riding rollercoasters.

Sean Evans, from Stoke-on-Trent, said he was “living the dream” by publishing videos of himself going on theme park rides for a living.

He does this despite a crippling fear of heights, which caused him to avoid rollercoasters for years since his first attempt during a school trip.

He launched his YouTube channel during the Covid pandemic and has since been on 130 rides at about 50 theme parks, while amassing millions of video views.

The 33-year-old said: “I’m always there shaking and trembling, I always get butterflies in my stomach… but as soon as that roller coaster goes down its first drop, the fear kind of washes away in that moment.

“But approaching a new ride, I’m back to square one, nervous again.”

Mr Evans said he had been scared of heights and experienced vertigo since he was a child, adding that he was always the first one to close the blinds on the plane during family holidays.

While on a secondary school trip to Alton Towers, he challenged himself to go on the Corkscrew rollercoaster but felt so petrified he avoided rides for years to come.

But he discovered a hidden passion for theme parks during lockdown and launched his YouTube channel Lift Hills and Thrills.

He returned to Alton Towers in May 2021 and set a record by riding Nemesis 64 times in six hours.

He said: “It was such a daunting feeling but I think it’s always worse in your head, so I tried to mentally prepare myself. For someone with vertigo, it was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done.

“I felt such a sense of achievement. It was amazing and my friends and family couldn’t believe I did it.”

He has since travelled to theme parks across the world, including in Spain, the Netherlands and Abu Dhabi.

His channel reaches more than 20,000 subscribers and he has accumulated more than 7.2 million views.

Of his new-found passion, Mr Evans said: “It’s not necessarily the ride itself but the fact you can walk into a themed environment and be completely whisked away.”

“I basically turned a hobby into a full-time job, and I get paid quite well for travelling and enjoying myself, which many would say is living the dream."

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