Will Smith accepted a challenge from fans to bungee jump from a helicopter while flying over the Grand Canyon — all to benefit an educational charity.
He accepted the challenge in a video posted in March to his Will Smith YouTube channel.
The Bad Boys actor explained that he would have to wait until he was finished shooting a movie. “I don’t wanna be in breach of my movie contract,” Smith said in a response video to the challenge. “I can’t be jumping out no helicopter when I got a movie.”
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The challenge came from a YouTube channel called Yes Theory — Matt Dajer, Thomas Brag, and Ammar Kandil, who met at Montreal’s McGill University.
Yes Theory met as international students studying in Montreal. They embarked on a journey throughout Montreal, by challenging themselves to do 30 things that they’d always wanted to do in just 30 days, while documenting the challenge on YouTube.
Yes Theory is a YouTube channel that believes that life can be as fulfilling and authentic as you wish so long as you’re willing to seek discomfort.
Over the last three years, they have been making videos about getting out of our comfort zones. They have done everything from asking strangers to go skydiving on the spot to running a marathon without training.
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The idea came about in the summer of 2015 in Montreal when they met and sought to have a summer to remember.
Yes Theory made 30 videos in 30 days of getting out of their comfort zones. Then, Vertical Networks teamed up with them later that year to host a show on Snapchat Discover and everything took off. Viewership has grown to 2.4 million subscribers on YouTube.
Six months ago, they challenged Smith, one of their personal heroes, to overcome his fear of heights with perhaps their most audacious dare of all —a heli-bungee.
“We were extremely surprised. When we posted the video six months ago, we didn’t expect him to answer. Within a week he responded saying YES. It was insane. We went crazy when we found out,” Yes Theory told Global News.
When asked what they’re looking forward to most about the jump next week, Yes Theory said: “We’re looking forward to showing our community that no dream is too big and no ask is too crazy. Shoot your shot and go after your jump.”
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“Will Smith: The Jump” will take place on Sept. 25, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air actor’s 50th birthday, and will be live-streamed on his YouTube channel.
Smith is doing the stunt to raise awareness and donations for international advocacy organization Global Citizen’s education campaigns, through a contest in which one winning fan and a guest will attend “The Jump” in person with him on Sept. 25.
Fans who donate to the cause through Omaze will have a chance to celebrate Smith’s 50th birthday with him. Participants can enter with as little as a $10 donation, but higher donations increase the chances of winning.
The winner gets to hang out with the Men in Black actor and his family, take a birthday photo with him —that will probably end up on his Instagram account — and FaceTime a friend while hanging out with Smith. They will also be flown out to the Grand Canyon and receive hotel accommodations.
“Come, we’ll hang, we’ll have some lunch, take some pictures, and you can FaceTime your grandma,” Smith says in the announcement video. “Oh, and I’ll be bungee jumping out of a helicopter over the Grand Canyon, but you don’t have to do that part.”
“Let’s have some fun and let’s make the world a little bit brighter in the process,” Smith tells fans at the end of the announcement.
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Last year, Smith and his crew traveled to Africa’s Victoria Falls — a 355-foot waterfall in Zimbabwe — for his first ever bungee jumping experience.
He shared a video documenting the experience on YouTube.
“You know, you say ‘yes’ to things long before you actually know what they are,” Smith says in the video.
Fans can watch Smith’s birthday jump live on YouTube on Sept. 25. The exact time of the event will be revealed at a later date.
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