A couple years ago, I got a call from small musical act I had never heard of. They were filming a video for a song about our nostalgia for childhood, when life was simple and happy and, well, stress-free. And they wanted to use my High Rollers because, well, what channels that stress-free, happiness better than adult big wheels? So I flew out to Columbus and set them up for the video shoot.
I hadn’t heard of Twenty One Pilots before, but a quick search on YouTube it seems I might have been the only one. The video featuring the High Rollers has turned out to be massive. “Stressed Out” has more than 850 million views on YouTube and is one of the band’s highest ranking singles (tied with the also-great song, “Heathens”). Tonight, the band is up for five Grammy Awards including Record of the Year!
I created the High Roller for us. To give us all a chance to tap into that wide-eyed child we once were. I’m humbled that it played a central role in a video yearning for that. And I’m immensely grateful that as part of my job, I get to see that child in everyone who hops on.
I am as impressed now by the talent, creativity, and poise of Tyler and Josh as I was when I met them back at their house in Columbus, and I wish them all the best tonight. We’ll be watching and cheering them on tonight from the comfort of our High Rollers!
Ride on, my friends!
