A PROFESSIONAL rollercoaster rider earns a six-figure salary by traveling the world and vlogging his adventures on YouTube.
Sean Evans, a 33-year-old content creator living in Stoke-on-Trent, has suffered from a fear of heights since childhood and remembers being the “first person to close the curtains on the plane” on family holidays.
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On a school trip to Alton Towers he challenged himself to go on a roller coaster, but he was so scared that he avoided them for years.
But during the pandemic, all he watched were amusement park videos, because he realized they could help him escape from his daily routine. So he started a YouTube channel called Lift Hills and Thrills. He eventually wanted to go to amusement parks and film his experiences.
Despite his fear of heights, he went on a rollercoaster for the first time since the school trip in May 2021. He set a park record by going on the Nemesis at Alton Towers 64 times in six hours.
Since then he has visited about 50 amusement parks and ridden about 130 roller coasters.
His YouTube channel has been viewed more than 7.2 million times, in a job that “doesn’t feel like work” but allows him to work from 9am to 3am.
Sean said: “I always stand there shaking and trembling, I always get butterflies in my stomach… but once that roller coaster makes its first drop, the fear melts away like snow in the sun.
“But as soon as I start a new ride, I’m back to square one and nervous again.”
Sean has always had a fear of heights, ever since he was a child. As he got older, he avoided anything that had to do with heights.
But at secondary school he forced himself to go on a roller coaster on a trip to Alton Towers.
He said: “I thought, OK, I’ve got my friends around me, I’ve got to save face, I can’t be shaky and nervous and refuse to go on the ride.
“So I ended up going on the Corkscrew, which was my very first roller coaster, and I came home from high school that day and I haven’t been on a roller coaster for years after that.”
Sean suffers from vertigo, which can cause dizziness and 24-hour migraines, but claims that rides do not “exacerbate” his condition.
For years, Sean avoided a fear of heights, but during the pandemic he started watching a ton of content from people “exploring the world” and became inspired.
“During lockdown we only knew the inside of our house, so I looked at people who had travelled abroad and been to theme parks and rides, and I realised how much escapism a theme park brings,” Sean said.
“It’s not necessarily about the ride itself, but about being able to walk into a themed environment and be completely transported.”
I was earning £5,000 a month when I was 16, from a daunting job
He launched a YouTube channel called Lift Hills and Thrills to cover his “new passion.”
During lockdown, he posted videos about Alton Towers’ reopening plans and new social distancing rules at theme parks.
At the time, he was already working full-time as a content creator, writing articles about movies and television, so starting a YouTube channel felt like a logical next step.
When restrictions eased, Sean took the plunge and in May 2021 he rode the Nemesis at Alton Towers 64 times in six hours, setting a park record.
He said: “I wanted to do something that would make my channel stand out. Because it’s a new channel, someone had previously ridden Nemesis all day and done 63 laps, so I did 64.
“I would just tell them how scared I was or curse at the person next to me, because that’s just my way of dealing with the situation.
“It was such a daunting feeling, but I think it’s always worse in your head, so I tried to prepare myself mentally.
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“For someone with a fear of heights, this was the dumbest thing I’ve ever done.
“I felt such a sense of accomplishment; it was amazing and my friends and family couldn’t believe I had done it.”
Sean continued to visit theme parks in the UK and eventually abroad, to experience “that escapism” and grow his channel.
Before visiting a new park, he does his research thoroughly, watching videos of the rides and comparing the heights and twists to those he’s experienced before.
Despite having visited about 50 amusement parks and tried out about 130 rides, he still feels like he hasn’t completely conquered his fear of heights.
After riding a roller coaster, he tries to outdo himself by finding the next highest ride. In 2023, he even rode Europe’s highest roller coaster, Red Force, at 112 meters, in PortAventura World, Spain.
Over time, Sean’s channel has grown to over 20,000 subscribers and 7.2 million views, and he expects this growth to continue.
His most viewed video, which shows him on the Velocity attraction at the Flamingo Land Resort in Kirby Misperton, North Yorkshire, has been viewed almost 700,000 times and earned him around £3,000.
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He traveled the world in search of roller coasters and recently visited the Netherlands. After only being home for one day, he booked a trip to Abu Dhabi for the next day.
He said: “I have turned my hobby into a full-time job and I am well paid to travel and enjoy myself. Many would say this is the life of a dream.
“The thing is, I’m doing something I love. When I’m writing about the rides or shooting the videos, it never feels like work.
“I talk about things I’m passionate about and share what means a lot to me.
“I share my travels and experiences with people; it never feels like work.”
To others who are trying to face their fears, he said, “Have a mental conversation with yourself, try to calm yourself down and know that you’re going to be OK.”
Looking to the future, Sean hopes to move to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, a 335-acre animal theme park in Florida, and Universal Studios Singapore to combine his passion for film and roller coasters.
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