Professional rollercoaster rider tackles 100 rides in a year despite fear of heights – but job will ‘never get boring’

A professional rollercoaster rider who has a fear of heights and vertigo but has tackled around 100 rides within a year says he “loves” his job because it will “never get boring”.

Sean Evans, a 34-year-old content creator from Stoke-on-Trent, has always had a fear of heights which dates back to his childhood, and after he challenged himself to go on a rollercoaster during a secondary school trip to Alton Towers, he was so petrified he avoided rides for years to come.

While the world was “cooped up” during the Covid-19 lockdown, however, Sean found himself drawn to old YouTube videos of content creators exploring theme parks and enjoying rollercoaster rides.

Inspired by their experiences, Sean started his own YouTube channel called Lift Hills and Thrills with the aim of going to theme parks to showcase his visits, which he began in 2020, allowing him to “bring some positivity back to an otherwise terrible situation in our history”.

Since then, Sean has tackled around 300 rollercoasters in total despite also suffering with vertigo which gives him “24-hour migraines” – and in the last year alone, he has gone on an estimated 100 rides in theme parks all around the world in places such as America, Germany, Turkey and France.

Along the way, Sean’s YouTube channel has boomed in popularity, where his platform has gained more than 20 million views and 44,000 subscribers, allowing him to create a full-time job from his adrenaline-fuelled passion.

“I’m forcing myself to do these things because I know the risk is worth the reward, it’s about breaking through those walls and having fun on the other side,” Sean told PA Real Life.

“Every time I go to a theme park, it’s not the rollercoaster, it’s how it makes you feel – it’s like a complete escapism from the world.

“I go for the thrill, and I like feeling that fear.

“There’s always going to be a ride out there that blows me away and I love that, because it will never get boring.”

Sean has always had a fear of heights which dates back to his childhood.

During a secondary school trip to Alton Towers, he pushed himself to go on a ride called the Corkscrew which marked his first ever rollercoaster ride – but he was petrified.

“I didn’t go on any rollercoasters for years after that,” he recalled.

Sean continued to avoid heights and rides, but during the pandemic, he began watching old YouTube videos of content creators visiting theme parks – prompting him to start his YouTube channel Lift Hills and Thrills.

“I thought if I could start making content so that when all the restrictions lifted there were guides and showcases of places for people to go and take their families, I could bring some positivity back to an otherwise terrible situation in our history,” he said.

When he first started creating his content in 2020, Sean strived to make himself “different” to others within the “coaster community”, as he felt there were “so many people doing the same thing”.

“I thought I’d dive into it with my cheeky, chappy self and just try and take this unique angle on theme parks to make the content fun,” he said.

“That’s the angle I took from it and I’ve basically been winging it ever since.”

Sean’s YouTube channel now has more than 44,000 subscribers and he has gained over 20 million views to his page.

In his videos, Sean will visit a theme park or fairground, either at home or overseas, to show his viewers around the site while testing out some of the rides.

“I don’t know why they want to watch a bloke from Stoke, I’m forever questioning it, but I’m really grateful for it,” he said.

Sean also aims to reply to every comment he receives from his followers.

“I’d like to say that’s what makes me stand out because I take the time to thank and appreciate everybody,” he said.

Alongside his fear of heights, Sean also suffers from vertigo, which feels like you or everything around you is spinning, sometimes enough to affect your balance, according to the NHS.

For Sean, he says he has “24-hour migraines and vertigo seven days a week” – but he has not let this stop him.

In the last year alone, Sean estimates he has been on 100 rollercoasters and his passion has taken him to theme parks all around the world.

In May, Sean completed a month-long “theme park road trip” around America.

He visited all the Disneyland Parks, even though he has already been before, but said he was mainly in the country for the grand opening of Universal’s Epic Universe theme park in Florida.

He also journeyed to Canada’s Wonderland amusement park, the Kennywood theme park in Pennsylvania and Cedar Point in Ohio, which he dubbed as “one of the rollercoaster capitals of the world”.

Sean has also been invited to visit a host of theme parks over the last year to showcase their newest rides on his YouTube platform.

This has included Turkey’s Land of Legends to mark the opening of their new Nickelodeon indoor theme park, as well as France’s Futuroscope theme park where Sean rode a new water rollercoaster.

He was also invited to Europa-Park in Germany to mark their 50th anniversary celebration.

“That was a big deal, normally it’s only the biggest journalists from around the world who are invited over – and I was there, just this little bloke from Stoke,” he said.

Sean said he has also undertaken meetings in London with theme park officials from Saudi Arabia, where construction of a new theme park named Six Flags Qiddiya City is under way.

The park is set to feature a daring ride named Falcons Flight, Sean said, which is aiming to be the “world’s tallest, longest and fastest” rollercoaster.

“They allowed me to debut world exclusive footage of the ride, which went viral and had 10 million views on my YouTube page alone,” he said.

Even though Sean confronts his fear of heights on a daily basis, he said it is “never going to go away”.

For others facing their fears, he advised: “You’ve got to have that drive and that determination to overcome it.

“It’s worth it because on the other side of facing that fear, you’ve got a memory for life and something you can be proud of within yourself.”

Looking ahead, Sean plans to visit the Netherlands to celebrate the opening of a new theme park and he hopes to visit Six Flags Qiddiya City in Saudi Arabia in the near future when the site is officially unveiled.

He said: “My main goal is to keep pushing and to keep living the dream, making something full-time from my passion.”