Video summary
The speaker recounts a bizarre and traumatic event from about ten years ago when he was struck by a speeding Ford Fiesta after leaving the cinema where he had just seen *Batman v Superman*. Despite seeing the car approaching at speed, his instinctive reaction allowed him to jump onto its bonnet, roll over it, and break both the windscreen and the driver's side mirror. Although he suffered significant physical injuries including deep gashes, shoulder damage that still affects his range of motion today, and a concussion, the immediate pain was surprisingly muted due to adrenaline. The incident left him feeling guilty about damaging someone else's property, yet he maintains that as a human being, his life is more valuable than any mirror, even if it was particularly handsome.
Following the accident, the trauma caused severe anxiety and physical limitations that forced the speaker to sell his successful game store business because he could no longer reach high shelves or handle the stress of management. This sudden loss initially felt devastating as he lost everything he had worked hard for, but ironically, it pushed him back into isolation where he resumed playing video games in his room. It was during this period of forced downtime that he rediscovered his passion for creating content online, eventually launching a new YouTube channel with the support of old friends who noticed his absence from social life. The legal battle against the driver dragged on for years involving frustrating court proceedings and lowball settlement offers, but ultimately resulted in compensation that provided financial freedom without forcing him into traditional employment he despised.
The speaker argues that this chain of events created a profound "butterfly effect" shaped by his specific Ford Fiesta encounter, leading to life-saving outcomes such as avoiding an accidental terrorist attack at the shopping center where his former store was located. Had he not been forced out of business and into isolation earlier, he might have remained in that location when it eventually caught fire due to a car incident inside the mall. Beyond this narrow escape, the accident fundamentally reshaped his career path from running a retail shop to building an entire media empire based on gaming content, granting him autonomy over his time and work life. While acknowledging that getting hit by a vehicle is objectively terrible, he concludes that in hindsight, it was the best thing that ever happened because it forced him onto a different trajectory where he now enjoys creative freedom and financial stability without having to answer to an employer.
Read the full video transcript
Hey there friends. How's it going? Today
I'm going to be telling you about the
best thing that ever happened to me.
Getting hit by a car and why you should
do it too. Anyway, I got hit by a car
about a decade ago now. Wow, how time
flies. I had just gone to see Batman vs.
Superman and at the time it seemed like
the worst day of my life. And then I got
hit by a car. For real. I actually was
in the cinema seeing that movie and I
came out and I got struck by a Ford
Fiesta. It was a really weird moment
like in time for me cuz I saw the car
coming and I was already kind of across
the road and they they were like coming
speeding down the road and into a turn
with a stop and they just kept going and
in the moment you're kind of like a bit
of a deer in headlights like Bambi. I'm
pretty sure Bambi got hit by a Ford
Fiesta if I remember right. I have a
distinct memory of the headlights
looking at me and just coming right at
me. And I thought, okay, it's going to
hit me. And I I don't actually remember
thinking. I just reacted and kind of
jumped and pushed down on the the bonnet
of the car as it came towards me. It was
probably looked really cool and heroic.
So, I rolled up over the car. I hit the
bonnet, hit the windscreen, I cracked
the windscreen, rolled off the side of
the car, and broke the mirror. Yeah, I
might have got pretty messed up from it.
But you should have seen the Fiesta. You
know, they weren't going to be having
many more Fiestas, I'll tell you that
much. But I was horribly, horribly hurt.
[laughter]
You know, it hit pretty hard. Ford
Fiesta. Small car. I thought I could
take it, but it's just out of my my
weight class. How much does a Ford
Fiesta weigh? About 1,000 kg. I'm about
90. So yeah, I'm nearly onetenth Ford
Fiesta. Actually, I thought I was 100%
Irish. I took a DNA test. I actually
took two
two DNA kits. Uh but I guess they were
wrong. The funny thing is is like I was
lying on the ground after being hit by
the car. I wasn't I wasn't able to move
my arms too much, but I I didn't
actually feel too much in pain. So yeah,
that's pretty funny, right?
>> [laughter]
>> No, I don't know why, but in my head I
was thinking someone was going to get
out of this car cuz they did drive up a
bit and then stop and they were getting
out and I thought they were going to be
like in shock, but he just got out and
started screaming at me and I was like,
"Why are you running in front of my car?
Look at my mirror." And he was like
showing me his mirror that was dangling
on by a wire. This for him should have
been a big moment for reflection, but
unfortunately I broke the guy's mirror,
so I stole that from him, too. I still
feel guilty to this day.
>> I saw a little bit of myself in that
mirror.
>> So, I did feel bad about the mirror, but
at the same time, I'm a human person,
>> and my existence should be valued a
little bit more than a mirror. No matter
how handsome that mirror was.
>> Luckily, three of my good friends were
there with me. I think at least one of
them thought I was dead. [laughter]
they were able to come over and kind of
talk down the other person and talk some
sense into me because I was like, I
don't need an ambulance. I'll walk it
off. It's just a flesh wound. [laughter]
But I I do remember I I didn't feel that
much pain, you know? The adrenaline is a
crazy drug. I just remember the guy
shouting at me and I was like, "What are
you talking about? You ran a stop." And
I looked over at the stop and then he
continued yelling and I was just like,
"Nah, go away." [laughter] And then I
was whisked away in an ambulance up to
the hospital where I had to wait for
hours and hours and hours for seemingly
no reason. I got some scans done. I told
the nurses what happened. One of the
nurses was like, "Wow, you sound like a
stunt man." And I was like, "Yeah, I
don't think a stunt man is this messed
up after they do their stunts." If you
told me lying in that hospital bed that
this would eventually lead to my dream
career, I'd have assumed the concussion
was worse than we had thought. and I was
likely going to die. Hospital wasn't
actually the part that changed my life.
Oh, no, no, no. No hospital can fix me.
I had quite a nasty gash here and a lot
of pain. My shoulders couldn't really
move outward or upward. I still feel
that when I do that, I still feel it in
my shoulder. A bit of my jaw got messed
up. I got slightly different jaw lines
because of it. At the time, I didn't
believe him, but the doctor said, "Oh,
you would have been better off if you
did break stuff rather than the soft
tissue damage and stuff because it
generally is harder to to heal or it
takes longer or something." And I was
like, "You lying fuck." And I put him in
his pers. [laughter]
I just was thinking at the time, "No,
I'm glad I didn't break stuff." [music]
But in hindsight, I get what he means.
It's not that bad, but I get like random
bouts and like certain angles aren't
great. Uh, so yeah, [music] that's why
getting hit by a car was the best thing
that ever happened to me. Like and
subscribe.
Future Kevin here, and I am so sorry to
interrupt. This next part will seem like
an off-topic ramble, but it is highly
relevant, okay? Especially when we get
to the accidental terrorist attack, but
we'll get to that later. I'm just saying
pay attention, but also pay attention to
your surroundings, okay? Keep your eye
out for any Ford Fiestas. At the time I
was running a game store. I sold like uh
used games. We traded them and and like
electronics and phones and stuff like
that as well. And I owned and managed
this store. The store was doing fine. It
wasn't doing amazing. I was earning a
modest living which I was quite happy
with cuz I was doing my own thing on my
own time and I like that. But then I
couldn't reach shelves higher than about
here of which there were a lot of them.
And also I was quite uh just drained
from the whole thing. I found uh
everything more draining and a lot of
like anxiety I guess after it. One time
I was walking down the street and a just
an old lady came out of a lingerette
unexpectedly and I was just in my heart
I went [laughter] I was so jumpy you
know. Long story short, I can make this
short story long if you want to hear
more about that whole side of things,
but I had to sell the store. Uh I
couldn't afford to pay someone like a
manager's wage. And honestly, there was
an opportunity to sell and I took it and
I got out at the business. It was a
tough business, you know, to try and to
try and build up and uh a lot of ongoing
things, [music] you know, the staff and
incidents, random stuff, random
stresses, people screaming for no
reason. It was a massive relief to get
that stress off my shoulders, but at the
same time, it really sucked to lose
everything I had worked so hard on and
so suddenly because a Ford Fiesta shaped
sledgehammer came in swinging. So once I
sold the store, I did the only thing I
knew how. I stayed in my room playing
video games and then making videos of
them and posting them on the internet.
It is quite ironic that a lot of the
motivation for getting this store was to
get out into the real world and stop
being alone in my room all the time.
Like I grew up in the countryside
[music]
alone all the time and then I moved out
as soon as I turned 18 to a different
country. Didn't really make any friends
cuz I was just staying at home all the
time. And then I got the store and
things were getting good. I was getting
social. I was hanging out with people
like [music] many evenings a week. It
was really cool. And then you should
have moved
>> and I'm back in my room playing games. I
was still running the store. I was doing
videos here and there in my spare time.
And I was also like trying to rehab all
these injuries and go pay specialists
and see this person and that person
which were not being covered by anyone.
I had to pay out of my own pocket which
was an absolute joke to be honest with
you. In Ireland, they have a thing
called the personal injuries assessment
board. And at the time, anyway, you
literally had to go through their
process before you could try to sue
someone, which in this case would be the
guy's insuranceing company. I think that
process is a year and they're going to
lowball you and you get nothing in the
meantime. So, it's just a waste of time,
frankly. And while that's all going on,
this guy's getting charged in the
criminal court for dangerous driving.
That's one tier up. He leveled up from
reckless to dangerous. [laughter]
I did that so long ago. And the court
case, oh my lord, it was so frustrating.
We this old Irish judge who was just
giving people nothing but a slap on the
wrist. And this man who hit me with his
vehicle, was refusing to take any
accountability. Didn't say anything to
me about what had happened. Didn't seem
to have any sympathy. He was probably
still thinking about his mirror.
[laughter] He was looking into it like
such a beautiful, beautiful mirror,
staring at his own reflection. This
mirror is gorgeous. as everyone in the
courtroom watched CZTV footage of me
getting hit by a car and watching this
guy just drive straight into me and
passed the stop, no brake lights, and
trying to tell everyone that he was
breaking. As the guard was pointing at
it, going, "So, you're saying you were
breaking, but your brake lights aren't
on?" So, miraculously, both of them must
have broken at the same time. And the
guy's like, "Yes.
Apparently, that's good enough for the
judge. He's like, "Okay, well, that
could simply be AI, even though AI
hasn't been invented yet."
>> So, the guy pleads not guilty to
everything. Like, not even reckless. He
was still like, "That guy ran in front
of my car. He's a bad man." I'm
paraphrasing. I had to go up to the
stand first and tell my side. And I feel
like I was quite obviously I have bias
in the whole thing and it's my
perspective, but I think I was quite
objective. But then this guy gets up,
lies his ass off, and I don't get
another chance to say anything. The
judge just kind of splits the difference
and says, "Okay, you're guilty of
reckless driving, but not dangerous
driving." I believe in a criminal case,
you need 99% certainty, and in a civil
case, you just need 51% certainty. And
after another god knows how long, I
think like two years of going by of
going to doctors all the time for these
checkups. I had to go to their doctor
who was an absolute ass. He just grabbed
my arm one time and yanked it up. I
don't know. [laughter]
I don't know. Is he trying to catch me
out? And I'd just be like,
"Ow." Or [laughter] something. He was
just an ass. We end up in court and uh
it's it's so weird. I've been in court a
few times now. Long story. I can go into
it someday if you want me to. I was
insistent on not settling because it was
incredibly low. One of my friends at the
time was like, "Oh, at least now you'll
be like a millionaire." And I was like,
"Dude, th this ain't America. This this
is Ireland." I was quite fortunate. I
could get by in the meantime. I had like
a really really good living situation
because I think other people would be
forced into a position where they have
to settle immediately for a super low
amount because how the hell are you
supposed to live in the meantime
otherwise? But yeah, I got that bag. So,
it's it's quite a good financial
investment in yourself to get hit by a
car and that's why it's the best thing
that [laughter]
it was not worth it. Trust me. probably
thinking, "How is this good from
everything I've said?" Well, first of
all, it's pretty funny. And second of
all, [laughter]
there are butterfly effects. Butterfly
effect in the shape of a Ford Fiesta.
The most obvious, I suppose, is having
this YouTube channel. I did mention I
did YouTube beforehand, but I started
again. I I posted a little video on my
old channel, like, oh, made a new
channel. I just want to kind of start
fresh. Um, [music] I had like 400,000
subscribers, I think, and I got like
8,000 on the new channel cuz the channel
was pretty dead. So, it was cool that I
I had some very supportive people
[music] that that came over from there.
And I still bump into people like in
real life who watch me from that long
ago, which is nuts. So crazy. It's
literally half my life away at this
point. I'm 32. I started YouTube when I
was 16.
>> Because he's dead. I killed him
and he's dead in the room.
Anyway, back to the Butter for effect.
>> The weirdest thing that I avoided, I
think, uh, the shop was in a shopping
center. Okay. And this shopping center
in unfortunately had some incidents. The
biggest one was an accidental terrorist
attack on the shopping center, which
shut down the whole thing. some person
was driving their car and the car
started smoking and they thought to
themselves, "I should probably pull in
and get help." So, they drove into the
shopping center, which had no outdoor
parking, and parked their car and then
went down inside the shopping center to
ask for help. Now, unfortunately, where
there's smoke, there's fire. And a fire
started. A big fire started. It spread
to the cars next to it. This car park
was multiple stories high and once a few
cars caught fire, the whole parking lot
caught fire. So that woman basically
probably was going out for a shopping
and then had to go home to her family
and say, "Well, guys, I accidentally
blew up the shopping center." That's one
of those days. The hell? I went I went
to Google it to to see like some more
details and there was another one in
2025. And then of course you got the
pandemic and all that like there is an
alternate universe Kevin who is lucky
enough to not have seen Batman vs
Superman but his life just went out of
control and the shop stuff you know it
sucked but I learned a lot from that. Uh
it started me investing in some stuff
which was cool. Uh thinking about the
more long-term stuff. I just think that
alternate Kevin would have happily
chipped away at that store and probably
you know be okay with that. I just like
having my own freedom and and like be on
my own time. Um, and my attention span
isn't that good. So, I don't work so
good. [laughter] I got to work my own
way. I have never worked an actual job.
I've only worked for myself. Oh, and I
hate my boss. This whole YouTube [music]
thing has been my life. Literally half
of my life. I'm like so thankful I get
to do this to this day. Got to take the
bad with the good, the good with the
bad. And that's what it's all about. I
suppose it may not be technically the
best thing that ever happened to me, but
it sure sucks a lot less to think of it
that way. I think it just forced me onto
[music] a different path. And given all
I had gone through and everything I
would have to sacrifice to start over, I
don't really see myself doing it unless
I get hit by a Ford Fiesta. And yes, it
has to be a Ford Fiesta. If it was any
other car, no deal. Ireland, get your
together when it comes to people
getting hurt, okay? or else I'm gonna
call that woman from the the shopping
center fire. You know, [laughter]
that's not a bomb threat. Just just so
we're clear. All right, that's a joke.
I'd be interested to hear about your
stories if you got anything like that
that at the time sucked. Maybe I
don't know, you drove a burning car into
a shopping center and things just got
out of hand. I'd love to hear what
happened in your life that may have
seemed rough and turned around and in
hindsight you're like, "Damn, I'm so
glad that happened." And it's kind of
terrifying to think about if it didn't.
[laughter]
I hope you enjoyed this story. And let
me know if you want to hear more. I got
lots of stories, man. I do some weird
stuff. I get in some weird situations. I
don't know how cuz I feel like I don't
leave my room that much. But anyway,
thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed
and I hope to see you next time. Bye for
now.