Back in January 2023, me (Dez), Tommy, Cam, and Tristan filmed an editor’s adventure series for the Seek Discomfort channel in Australia.
We played hide and seek in the city (you don’t need to watch that one... I lost lol), had the honor of learning from Indigenous Australians, went to the Babylon premiere, and even became the Wiggles. Yes, the actual Wiggles. I’ll share that story another time.
Even though the whole trip was planned out, we had no idea two surprise guests would show up...Thomas and Staffan.
We were hyped they were joining us, but what Thomas didn’t know was that we were going to pull an Uno Reverse and surprise for him with his biggest dream: visiting Hobbiton in New Zealand.
(If you have no idea what Hobbiton is, its where the Hobbits lived in Lord of the Rings. Thomas is a huge LOTR fans, so this was a huge deal for him.)
Tommy and Cam pulled me aside and told me this was something Thomas had wanted for a long time, and we had to make it happen. I was immediately in. Then they told me the plan: we were going to surprise him by blindfolding him, blasting music in his headphones, and flying him to a whole other country without him knowing where we were going.
I was nervous. As someone with pretty intense anxiety, the thought of being blindfolded and transported somewhere unknown sounds like my worst nightmare. And I didn’t want to put that kind of stress on someone I care about. But the thought of him opening his eyes in his dream destination? That felt worth the risk.
After definitely not illegally sneaking a photo and stealing his passport to get a visa (joking, if you're the government), we were ready.
Walking up to his door to tell him was SO stressful. He answered, saw all of us standing there with a camera, and immediately knew something was up. Especially since he was in the middle of prepping for some other Yes Theory episodes - so his stress levels were already high.
We told him he had one hour to pack, that we weren’t coming back, and then we were off. Blindfold on, headphones in, and we headed to the airport.
Walking him through the airport blindfolded was a whole experience in itself. It looked like we were kidnapping him. But people in Australia are so kind. We explained what we were doing, and they were actually excited to help.
At security and any checkpoints, we just had Thomas close his eyes and move quick. Somehow it worked.
(For those of you who thought we FAKED the whole thing...i'm here to confirm WE DIDN'T! It was all VERY real and VERY stressful)
What didn’t make the video was that our flight got super delayed. So we sat at a restaurant and Thomas started spiraling, asking where we were going, if it was gonna be worth it...lowkey freaking out.
Then the craziest thing happened… he straight-up guessed it.
To me, this convo was the key to making sure he stayed fully surprised. I wish we got it on camera, because it was actual magic.
Thomas: “Are we going to Hobbiton?”
Dez (without missing a beat): “What’s a Hobbiton?”
Thomas: “Oh ugh... it’s from Lord of the Rings.”
Dez: “Where even is that?”
Thomas: “New Zealand.”
Dez: “Are we close to New Zealand?”
Thomas: “Oh… yeah, never mind.”
Tommy: “Oh dang, that would’ve been a good idea…”
Thomas looked so disappointed, probably thinking this whole thing wasn’t going to pay off.
I had to fully pretend I didn’t know what Hobbiton was and act like I had zero clue New Zealand was even near Australia. I played it real dumb. Like “what even is a New Zealand?” levels of dumb.
Honestly, I deserve an Oscar. Didn’t know I had that in me.
That moment sealed it. After that, he truly had no idea where we were going.
Getting on the plane was its own circus. People watched with curiosity, clearly enjoying the chaos. We were just hyped to finally take off.
Then we landed… and spent three hours in the customs line. Thomas was hungry, exhausted, and grumpy. Honestly, he handled it way better than I would have.
We finally got to the hotel, made sure nothing said “New Zealand” anywhere, and got him to bed.
The next morning, we blindfolded him again, put on his headphones, and drove to Hobbiton.
Driving through the hills of New Zealand and not letting him see any of it was both hilarious and kind of painful. But we knew it would all be worth it.
When we reached the start of the tour, we had to get on a tour bus. Watching Thomas get on a tour bus blindfolded was absolutely hilarious. Since it was a proper tour, the guide was supposed to talk about Lord of the Rings on the microphone. But the guide and the other guests were all fully committed to keeping the secret, so they played along and didn’t say a word.
Then, the moment came...
Our whole vision was to have him take off the blindfold and open his eyes right where you see all of Hobbiton. So we planted him, got the cameras ready, and waited.
He took off the blindfold, blinked a few times, and then let out the biggest gasp. I can still hear it in my head so clearly. He was in shock, absolutely overwhelmed. The happiness on his face brought me to tears. It was like we were watching little Thomas come out to play.
A few nights before, he’d told me he’d never cried happy tears before… well, I am proud to say we changed that for him.
We ended up doing the full Hobbiton tour, and even came back the next day for the festival. Childhood dreams were fully activated.
I’ll never forget that experience. It reminded me how beautiful life can be, and how making your friends' dreams come true can bring a kind of happiness that’s beyond words.
Love you so much, Thomas!
If you want to see this full adventure, watch it here!
- Dez