Most Alaskans became acquainted with Cory Williams, also known as Dude Like Hella, a couple of weeks ago when his YouTube video of skipping a rock on frozen Edmonds lake, resulting in a crazy, unexpected sound, went viral.
I, along with more than eight million other viewers, checked it out, enjoyed Cory’s delight, and moved on. And then a few days later, a friend sent me a link to Cory’s Screaming Bald Eagles video, which opens with him crashing a party…which happened to be an event I helped organize for work. My cameo includes the offer of cookies and a glimpse of my pretty Smartwool socks. YouTube stardom!
I checked out the party crashing video from the purgatory of a hotel room during a conference (when travel makes you feel between places, between time zones, connected via phone/tablet/laptop and surrounded by people but alone) and then watched almost ten more episodes ranging in topics from looking for a home to visiting the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.
If you’d like to learn more about Cory and his videos, you can read about him in the Alaska Dispatch: A YouTube star takes on Alaska, on KTVA: On the couch with video blogger Corey Wiliams, or on KWHL: Bob and Mark. And of course, you can catch up on all of his videos about moving to Alaska and living in Anchorage here: Dude Like Hella.
I love the glimpse of Anchorage through the eyes of someone completely new to town (and completely new to our climate – he experienced snow for the first time last week!) and Corey’s irreverent yet sincere and sometimes almost raw approach was engaging. I hope he continues to fall in love with Anchorage, and share his fresh perspective with all of us!
