English by Brett Chudá
Chinese by Ann Lin
Photography by Benny Zhang
“If today were the last day of your life, would you have any regrets?” YouTube stars Ian Lee and Eric Chen ask themselves and their viewers just that. The two Taiwanese-Americans struggled as school-age immigrants, quit their careers in finance and engineering to begin their channel, and are inspiring hundreds of thousands of Chinese-speakers every day with fun “challenge” videos that explore deep questions.
In two years, they’ve amassed more than half a million subscribers and almost 40 million views. They share their philosophy of stepping outside one’s comfort zone by setting an example in each video: They’ve thrown a dart at a map and traveled to wherever it landed, including Alaska in the winter. They’ve worked as farmers, sanitation workers, and babysitters—one day in each job.
Some of their challenges tug at the heartstrings. They opened up on camera about sensitive topics during a conversation with their mothers. Pushing their personal boundaries in healthy ways is what they do, which is why their channel’s name contains the word “do”—twice, once for each of them. They’re The DoDo Men.
“When you push the barriers of your comfort zone, you constantly try new things and challenge yourself,” Chen says. Their videos have encouraged many people to make positive changes in their lives and overcome the fear that so often stands in the way.
Try and Do
Thanks to The DoDo Men’s detailed and pull-no-punches look at stepping into the unknown, many of their viewers have found the courage to start tougher or more meaningful professions that they had longed to do. One doctor quit his job and became a teacher in a rural area. Another viewer left her career of 30 years to become a round-the-clock caretaker. Inspired by Lee and Chen, people started to reevaluate what’s important to them.
Now, an amazing upward spiral has begun: Lee and Chen’s viewers have started to invite The DoDo Men to try out amazing and thought-provoking things that the viewers themselves are involved in…..
