50 States in 50 Days with Ryan Trahan & Haley Pham!

story by editor-in-chief: Ashly Nicole

If you’ve never heard of YouTuber Ryan Trahan, then buckle up, because Ryan and his wife Haley Pham are taking us across all 50 states in 50 days! Let’s kick things off with a quick Ryan Trahan history lesson:
He’s built his platform completing wild challenges, chasing even wilder goals, and somehow always pulling off the “impossible”, all while traveling to some of the weirdest, most unique spots on the map. His current “50 States in 50 Days” series has to be the most ambitious adventure he’s embarked on yet. It’s vlog-style series rolled into one epic road trip.

Ryan prepared for this 50 day journey by finding and mapping out the “coolest” airbnb in every single state in America. Starting the road trip in his home state of Texas, him and Haley stayed at their first airbnb, “The Nut House” in Aubrey, Texas. Throughout this series, Haley and Ryan are ranking each airbnb by how cool they think it is, and by the end of the 50 days, they will travel to whichever airbnb they have officially ranked as the #1, and present them with the “coolest house in America” trophy!
Now, no Ryan Trahan series is complete without a goal and some challenges, so let’s talk about, “THE WHEEL OF DOOM!” for a second. To preface the wheel of doom, let me tell you about the most ambitious and amazing goals I’ve ever seen any YouTuber attempt. This entire series is not only based on making it to and staying in 50 states in only 50 days, but [originally] raising 1 Million Dollars for St. Jude Research Hospital. You might be thinking, “what does this have to do with some doom wheel?”, well, every time someone donates $50,000 or more, the Wheel of Doom is activated, meaning that Ryan and Haley must inevitably endure whatever punishment the wheel lands on.

The punishments currently include:
1. Running on fumes - You must drive until the tank says “empty.”
2. Local Legend - You must share a meal with a local from the nearest town before moving on.
3. Route Roulette - You must receive directions from a stranger and follow them word for word.
4. Reverse Card - You must turn around the way you came and find another way to your next Airbnb.
5. Detour - You are not allowed to drive on highways to the next Airbnb.
6. Silent Treatment – No talking between Ryan & Haley for the entire road trip.
7. Airplane Mode - You must get to your next Airbnb without your phones.
8. Locked Out - You are not allowed to sleep in your next Airbnb.
9. The Split - One of you must split up and find another way to your next Airbnb.
10. Red Light, Green Light - Roll a dice — whatever it lands on, you must wait that many hours before hitting the road.
11. Golden Ticket - Congratulations! You have unlocked immunity for 24 hours. It can be activated at any time.

UPDATED PUNISHMENTS AS OF 7/9 in EP 30, after surpassing a goal of $3,000,000:
1. Jammy Time: Ryan and Haley MUST wear pajamas…all day
2. Swap Lives: Ryan and Haley swap routines for the day.
i.e. Haley does the morning routine, the Airbnb tour, the joyride run, while Ryan reads, does “a little bit of this & a little bit of that”, etc.
3. Decaf: Ryan and Haley cannot drink coffee for an entire state. This is Haley’s worst nightmare. 
4. Booster Club: Ryan and Haley must find 5 people to donate to St Jude before continuing the trip.
5. Capitalize: Haley and Ryan must go to the state capitol regardless of the Airbnb location. This could be a make or break punishment for the series.
6. Anticlimactic: Ryan and Haley must go to the lowest-rated state attraction before their next Airbnb. 
7. Track Star: Ryan and Haley must run a mile for every hour of today’s drive before continuing the trip.

The only two punishments from the previous wheel of doom that have not been spun are “reverse card” and “detour”, which means they remain, while all the others are replaced with the new punishments, and of course, the golden ticket remains.  

Oh! And if someone donates $100,000 or more, and yes, it has happened…several times, the donor gets to pick what slot on the Wheel of Doom Ryan and Haley must complete. Most every donor so far has been exceptionally gracious, and granted them with a Golden Ticket. As of now, the duo has only been subjected to a handful of the punishments on the Wheel of Doom, thanks to some amazing donors, which include some pretty notable companies like, Lectric E-Bikes being the top donor of the entire series so far, having donated over $400,000, donating $10,000 every time Ryan rides his Lectric,
Airbnb with $250,000, Dollar Shave Club with $150,000, and both KIA and T-Mobile, each donating $100,000. Some other iconic names who have helped the cause are, Mr. Beast, Mark Rober, Dhar Mann,
FGTeeV, and Doctor Mike.
Some donations also included incentives like "Ryan's Beard Bounty", captured by Dollar Shave Club, with their $150,000 donation. The initial condition was that whichever shaving related brand donated $150,000 or more, Ryan would need to shave the beard he’s been attempting to grow. However, Dollar Shave Club went against the grain and not only made the donation, but told Ryan they would like him to keep growing his beard, and they would even send him some beard care products to maintain it throughout the road trip! Other donation related incentives include, donating $5,000 to receive a shoutout in the donation section of the next video, and any donation $1,000 or more receiving a spot in the “Top Donors” list at the end of the video.

Ryan and Haley very quickly surpassed their original goal of raising 1 Million dollars on JUST day 15 of the 50 day series!! After reaching their 1 Million dollar goal, Haley and Ryan came up with the new goal of 2 Million dollars, and with that goal, set up a poll for viewers to vote on their Wheel of Doom punishment once they reached the 2 Million dollar mark. That goal was reached ONLY 6 DAYS after reaching their 1 Million dollar goal (announced on day 24). Luckily for Ryan and Haley, both their donors and viewers alike are gracious and decided to, barely, spare them the dreaded “split” punishment, and granted them their second golden ticket; the first one being given to them by T-Mobile. The votes were uncomfortably close, leaving only a 1% difference between Ryan and Haley having to do the split and granting them that golden ticket.

They are now just a little bit more than half way through their trip and have successfully raised not only 3 Million dollars, but are very very closely nearing 4 MILLION DOLLARS raised for St. Jude.
Presently, they are on day 31 of 50, and with the trajectory of things, will likely end the series close to, if not above, 5 Million dollars raised; even as a viewer, the initial goal seemed challenging, but it became apparent that this fundraised has gained so much traction, that it doesn’t look like it will be slowing down any time soon, and is honestly the most impressive and incredibly generous things I’ve seen a creator work so hard toward in such a long time.

I would also like to take a beat to acknowledge Haley’s ongoing viral streak for her absolutely unmatched comedic timing and genius aura farming moments. Not only is Mrs Haley Pham, Ryan’s partner in crime, his bestie, his wife, but she is a clip farming queen, an sports icon, if you will, and no article about this history making series would be complete without paying tribute to that. These fan cams, or as I like to call them, “Pham Cams”, are some of the most unhinged and insanely creative sports edits posted by football, baseball, basketball, and other various sports teams across TikTok, all using clips of Haley as intros and transitions for their videos. Some of the most prominent names in the sports world like, the Houston Texans, the MLB themselves, and even ESPN (for multiple videos), have been using these clips, and I’m not even sure if Haley or Ryan are aware!

I won’t leak many more spoilers for those who haven’t had a chance to keep up yet, but I will say it’s an incredible watch, from “good morning sleepy heads”, to new states being unlocked, game plans, JOYRIDE runs, to Jammy Time, and the heart warming donation readings, there’s something to reel in views of every age. Seriously, there are tons of fun antics to keep track of and follow along in this series, it would take a novel (Haley might like) to try and recap everything. There have been countless coffee clinks and literal twists and turns, Wheel of Doom! spins, massive donations, new drinks and bites, plenty of Airbnb’s that have tipped the “cool” meter for Ryan and Haley, and even a Guinness World Record! And the only way you can check out all the action, suspense, and their new “New England Bucket list”, is to check out their I Visited 50 States in 50 Days series on YouTube!
Also make sure to check out and follow Ryan AND his candy brand, JOYRIDE on instagram to donate 1¢ per follow, so far this has raised over $20,000, so every follow counts.

I can’t wait to keep following along with Ryan and Haley’s journey, and continue to make my daily JOYRIDE runs alongside them in this series. Maybe I’ll see about catching up with them for a quick minute when they make their way over to California. Ryan and Haley, if you’re reading this, let’s do a JOYRIDE run together when you’re here!

Don’t forget to give Ryan, Haley, and JOYRIDE a follow and subscribe to Ryan’s channel to see the latest donation milestones and coolest Airbnb’s in the land.
And if you’re feeling extra giving, donate to Ryan’s St. Jude fundraiser, maybe we’ll see your name in a video!

All Photos from Ryan Trahan and Haley Pham on Instagram