What started as a group of young adults from Montreal aspiring to live their lives to their fullest has developed into a successful branch of social media influencers that inspire the world to jump out of their comfort zone, and without hesitation, simply just “say yes”.
The Yes Theory launched their career in 2015 with four young men: Ammar Kandil, Thomas Brag, Matt Dajer, and Derin Emre (the last of whom eventually left the team in 2017). They were young, almost broke, lived in a one bedroom apartment, but despite all the obstacles had one passion and one goal: to change people’s lives. The Yes Theory members were working multiple jobs, scraping together anything they could in order to fund their videos until one day, Snapchat reached out to them with a job offer to help boost their platform and expand the Yes Theory channel. They packed their bags and moved to Venice, California and started building a brand that would inspire millions.
So what is the “Yes Theory”? In whole, the channel ranges from skydiving, to spontaneously taking flights to Australia and inviting a stranger to the Great Barrier Reef along the way to pranking friends and making small life changes. Their main goal is to “seek discomfort” so people can experience stepping out of comfort zones and to be able to see the world from an entirely new perspective. They say that, “life’s most beautiful moments and meaningful connections exist when you step out of your comfort zone.”
What the Yes Theory teaches people is that life’s too short to spend it turning down offers. The chances we don’t take are the ones we regret the most, so why waste your whole life wondering what could have been, when instead you could just know. In their video, “Spinning the globe and flying wherever it lands,” Yes Theory members Matt and Thomas spin a globe with their eyes closed, land on the Great Barrier Reef, and take the first flight out of LAX to Australia. When they arrive, they invite a stranger to join with them. Little did they know that their spontaneous adventure would turn into a life changing experience that they, and their new friend Luke would never forget. Just before they visit the reef, Luke shares a life changing experience that influenced him to say yes to going to the Great Barrier Reef with Thomas and Matt. He shares that in 2013 he was involved in a skateboarding accident in which he wasn’t wearing a helmet, which resulted in a coma for five weeks and had to undergo care at the hospital. This changed his perspective of life and made him question what life was really about. However, after his unsolicited quest with the Yes Theory, his mind changes. At the end of the video, he says to Thomas and Matt, “you’ve changed my life” and “you’ve put faith back in my life.” The Yes theory taught Luke that life is short, and they showed him through their spontaneous generosity that anyone can say yes and anyone can turn their life around.
Luke isn’t the only inspiring story that comes from the Yes Theory. The channel content consists of multiple motivational anecdotes that can change your outlook on the way you live your life. The Yes Theory’s platform is an inspiring tale of how passion, luck, and determination can place you exactly where you need to be. However, this channel is much more than just its name. It’s a way of thinking and living so that we can all help one another become the best versions of ourselves.