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I've been beaten to it! (Patreon)

Published:
2022-04-11 10:39:44
Edited:
2022-04-11 10:42:40
Imported:
2026-06

Content

So it seems that 2 young lads from Somerset have successfully crossed Scotland in a straight line, deviating 38 metres. You can find their 3 part series on YouTube now here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLin8pjXJ_0XPKU-6jRjJyAI'm sure you're keen to get my thoughts on it, so here they are.I have mixed feelings really, obviously I wanted to be the first, but on the other hand it was only a matter of time before worthy advisories came along. Competition can never be a bad thing either, in fact I welcome it with open arms.I'm definitely gutted that mine and Greg's attempt ended how it did. I really think we were on course to smash that, and on a harder line too.In terms of their line, they did a great job of sticking to it, but were heavily supported and didn't carry rucksacks. They slept in a campervan each night. They did overcome some big obstacles and battled through some terrible wintery terrain in pretty shit gear which I applaud them for greatly. Adam, the brother to Archie, whose YouTube channel it was uploaded it on held the GPS and navigated very well and remained conscious of deviations at all times. Archie was very often quite far from Adam however, which does raise questions about how much he deviated. Overall I'd say they were lucky at times, but I was really impressed with how they tackled their obstacles. They're clearly no strangers to the outdoors which is really refreshing to see in the younger generation.Their edit was decent for first time YouTubers, especially at their age (I'm guessing they're about 19).I was definitely impressed by their hardiness and spirit. Their grace and respect is somewhat lacking, in fact you could argue they're quite cocky and disrespectful, but I'm sure they'll grow out of that as they mature.I'm sure many of you will want to leave a comment. Please be nice!Let me know your thoughts or questions below.Much Love, GW

Comments

Ash Lindop

We all know you’re the OG geez

John Kossmann

Looks like it's time to up the ante !

Daniel Thorne

Whens the black country series coming? Was late march originally

geowizard

End of this week, working on it right now. Sorry for the delay

Zaven Arslanian

Ah yes, I watched the Somerset Straight Line Mission those blokes did awhile back!! Excited to check this one out! That said, even if you weren’t the first in this case, the quality of your line, videos, and yes, professionalism is still unmatched! It’s great to see how many you have inspired!

Richard Hallyburton

Gutted you got beaten to it. I'll reserve judgement on their mission until I've had time to watch it all. It'll be interesting to see which line they took too.

Christopher Foster

Had a quick look. Feels like a low budget version of your content and they do seem to delight in making digs at they way it's been done previously. However, I'd rather watch well edited and narrated content including a black and white GPS than poorly edited, low quality, content with a colour GPS screen.

Odyssey

Still doesn't compare to your content at all, whether you are the first or 100th to do something, the main thing always is that you managed to do it.

Tom

Tom is Seething ahahahahah

Jake

I think the fans all hope for a "pure" line without much deviation, or without any aid (such as leaving the line, or automobiles). Sometimes that isn't possible, and it's never bad television. We're also in it just for the pure excitement, banter, and 8-bit tunes!

geowizard

not at all! i'm just giving you my honest thoughts!

Raymond Benjamins

While you might not be the first anymore, I do hope you make another attempt. The quality of your videos is miles ahead of these guys (which makes sense, since you have much more experience). Still, it's nice to see some very young blokes doing this. Hopefully we'll see more of them in the future.

Ross Logan

Fair play to them for pulling it off - even if they're a bit cocky about it you can't deny they found a good line and actually went out there and did it. That said, watching their video makes it abundantly clear how much easier it is to do it without rucksacks - that alone allows them to easily travel at about twice or three times the pace, while saving them tons of energy. Also having a support vehicle to sleep in and mates scouting the route for them and chatting up the locals helps an absolute ton. They look like students to me so probably have plenty of time to spare and mates willing to come and help out. Once you're past about 25 it's hard enough to organise a group holiday with mates, let alone a 3 day expedition to Scotland to sit in a van in the pissing rain. My main takeaway though, was just how much better and more entertaining your videos are, Tom. I couldn't be arsed to sit through more than about 2 minutes of their videos - it just felt like a bunch of mates larking about - whereas your videos are labours of love and the passion shines through. Ultimately it's not the completion of the line that keeps bringing people back: it's your charm, warmth, wit and the absolutely banging 8-bit tunes. That's the part you should be proudest of, really, as with slightly better luck you would've easily completed the Wales and Scotland lines by now.

Josh H

These guys do make me realise how it's always going to be harder/more stressful for you Tom. People/farmers are always going to be inherently less suspicous of some posh carefree teens than some fully grown, bearded man in army gear.

TheRealLurlock

They seem more interested in validating their efforts by comparing them to yours than letting their attempt stand on its own two feet. Not a particularly entertaining video to watch as most of the logistics were handled by their support team, which makes the entire thing seem like much less of an adventure. That doesn't necessarily affect the status of their line, but it does make it a very different sort of video to watch. I came across your videos via Brave Dave's 'Big Fat Freight Hop,' which was recommended by Ross Scott of Accursed Farms as a series which 'touched something in his soul.' It did something similar for me, and the videos of your missions did it too. It's something about the combination of challenge, isolation, a sense of intrepid exploration, danger, pushing the boundaries and blazing a trail which I think leaves a deep impression somewhere in the human spirit. With these chaps, although they technically fulfilled the requirements of the mission, there's none of these things. Even though they completed the challenge, which is the entire reason for the video series in the first place, they reduced it down to little more than a technical competition about their willingness to carry more GPS batteries than you, or to climb a cliff face because they had friends nearby at all times to lend a rope or call for help if one of them broke an ankle. They might have done what you didn't, but it wasn't enjoyable to watch. You inspired me to get off the beaten track and truly enjoy the wild outdoors, but these two wouldn't have.

Nick

But what about your Norway mission?

Dennis Weiß

Seeing how they maxed out the support by third ones it feels too easy to do SLMs with help of any person that is not traveling on line

Nick

Also, I really don't watch your videos in the hope that your missions are successes (although of course that would be great); you're an excellent storyteller, with a great sense of tone and mood, and your music always helps to amplify things. That's why I love watching your content. That these lads have completed the mission is not going to make me watch their videos; however, I'll happily rewatch you and Greg scampering through an MDF factory or dicking about round Europe time and time again. Excited for the Black Country series.

Edd Hall

Can’t knock ‘em, they’ve done well! If you’ve got the support, use it. There’s always better, more purist ways of completing the challenge, but they’ve planned this well with the resource they had and executed it. Definitely lacking in the banter and music department though!

LB

The proper attitude is to look upon them and others that will follow as adding to your legend, This is all attributable to you. They aren't a threat, they are in fact a tribute.

Boezem

They are taking the risks I sometimes miss in your video's, but the production quality is alot worse. I think theyre quite alright at this.

Rory

Very well said. Thank you for putting into words how I feel about Tom's content so eloquently.

Pete H

Time for a visit to Northern Ireland

Maelstrom

I completely agree, they seemed to be doing it more for the mission rather than the entertainment of audience. Which there is nothing wrong with but makes it alot less watchable and your right in saying it felt asif i was watching a group of friend go on a hike rather than a straight line mission. I dont even watch Toms straight line missions with the hope he does it legit and finishes it, i just love Toms demeanour, banter and his no fucks attitude. The feeling watching him coast over the hills as his 8-bit tunes play in the background truly make me happy and im looking forward to whatever Tom has to offer in the future!

Maelstrom

Not to mention Toms banter and friendly nature. He makes the videos feel cozy and brings us along with him asif we are there with him rather than just showcasing himself do these things like adam and archie did.

Maelstrom

Couldnt agree with you more mate

Richard Hallyburton

Ok having watched their videos I found that I'd watched episode 1 of their Somerset mission, not subscribed, and promptly forgotten about it, which I think says a lot. Kudos to them for the achievement, especially in the face of Bonnie Scotland's finest weather, but they had MASSIVE support and I don't think it was in the same league as your missions. Lots of scope for bettering it.

Richard Hallyburton

PS they were a bit disrespectful, but they're a couple of young toffs, so what do you expect ;)

Oliver Hancock

Ok this is true to an extent, but Tom relied heavily (not as heavily as these two) on Verity. Pardon the pun, but where do you draw the line on what is an acceptable level of support

Oliver Hancock

In terms of entertainment value, the videos don't compare. But that is somewhat expected as we aren't invested in them or their story in the same way. You cant deny the challenges of their line though, some great obstacles to cross and pretty brutal weather. When it comes to support. Ignoring the obvious caveat of the most recent Wales mission, GW has slept in the car, had Verity meet them at certain points for stocking up, and moved the kayak off line to save hassle. They certainly took it to the extreme, but seems odd, to pardon the pun, arbitrarily draw the line and say they received too much support, while GW didn't. Feels like this should be an all or nothing thing. You can stash drop points beforehand, but once you start the line you are on your own and should be self sufficient until you reach the end. Just my 2cents!

Jay

So how the line can be classified as "continuous" and "uncontinuous" if you leave the line and rejoin it, then could missions also be classified as "supported" (like this Scotland SL & Geowizds ones where he meets Verity), "unsupported stashed" (ones where no-one other than the Straight Liners are involved, but stashes are put out for resupply), and "unsupported no-stash" which is the hardcore level, no stashes, no support, just whatever you start with / find is all you have.??

Dennis Weiß

Thats the question I don't have the final answer for. I think Tom didn't had one too after Wales 3 iirc. I would say only persons that are on line, no helpers and only one stash per day for supplies. Edit: Helpers only for medical emergency of course! But only to fix this issue, then continue or curtains

Oliver Hancock

I'm not really fussed about the classification thing. At some point it becomes farcical when you say "I was the first to cross Wales unsupported with no stashes in a continuous straight line, with no deviation of more than 50 metres". As someone else said further up, I watch these videos for the entertainment and sense of adventure they inspire. Obviously I am rooting for Tom to complete it, but whether he does and the category that it would fit into is much less relevant to me. I can't see how this could ever be a record in an objective sense, as there are far too many variables to consider. This is about Tom setting himself a challenge and bringing us along for the adventure.

TheRealLurlock

What makes the difference for me is that Tom's missions involve him and his partner being alone for the vast majority of the time, with support provided only at pre-planned points along the line where they expect it will be needed ahead of time. This means that they have to solve most problems they encounter on the fly, including unexpected terrain and potential confrontations with farmers and homeowners. These two had a team of people following them throughout the entire mission, scouting ahead, talking to them frequently about potential hazards, and trying to negotiate with landowners ahead of time. This also meant the pair had to carry no gear at all since food, shelter, spare batteries and dry clothing were always seconds away. That sort of continuous, adaptive 'bubble' of support (complete with panning drone footage) takes away the sense of adventure for me and with it the reason I enjoy watching Tom's missions.

Chris Sidwell-Smith

Hey GW. Not seen their video, but from the sound of it, no 8-bit music. 😟 On the other hand. AFAIK it was you who invented this sport/activity/game. Your invention has become popular. You also worked out how to rate the effort. They may have been the first but others will do it with less deviation. Carry on mate. There are a lot of places in the world that are in need of a straight line mission! So what's next? Lincolnshire, Peak District or Australia 😈?

Podey Williams

He said "crossed Scotland", not "crossed a country"

Podey Williams

Tried to watch the first video but the combination of their constant digs at you, the ridiculous amount of help they had and the sub-par editing turned me off. Happy for them but I'm going to skip this one.

Agnes N

I have to admit, crossing the loch on a rubber duck was hilarious, but eating Chicken McNuggets? C'mon, that's cheating!

Pete H

Just watched their series. I don't think you should call them cocky and disrespectful, even if that's what they are. Leave that for your fans to say, when you say it, you look the immature one, rise above it. You created this challenge, you invented the platinum run, they are clearly massive fans of yours, probably patreon's. The digs at you were sometimes funny, like the end of part 1 and going to a hotel lol. I did laugh... At worst the other digs were just testosterone and a group of lads having achieved something incredible, we've all been there. There's plenty of digs you can make back at them next time! You are a much more charming and likeable person, very entertaining to watch. I didn't enjoy theirs as much as yours. You also need to remember that we watch you largely because (sorry to say this) you aren't perfect... Remember no gloves lol? It takes you on a journey when it's hard, when mistakes are made. It reminds me of season 1 of mythbusters, Adam and Jamie getting everything wrong was real entertainment, then by the end they had a support crew and everything went perfect, boring as hell. Keep up the entertainment and aim for that platinum.

Hannah Samuels

Let’s be honest, we don’t watch Tom to see a straight line mission. We watch for the over all experience that nobody can replicate. And that will never change. Keep doing it Tom.

Nicholas Van Buer

I'd say it's big of Tom to showcase the feats of his competitors, but a better analogy might be: he's like a proud teacher showing off the achievements of his students.

Nebojša Cvetković

The cockiness towards the challenge and disrespectful comments were one thing but I found their attitude towards the home/landowners to be in poor taste. I know Tom has contemplated running from farmers and made similar runs through some properties in previous missions, but there is a fine line. I couldn't find something similar for UK/Scotland but the offence for trespassing in Ireland is specifically "trespass likely to cause fear", which I think is a reasonable way to view it ethically also. Gently marching through an empty farmer's field wearing camo gear (and often willing to stop and talk) arouses far less suspicion than sprinting through an urban residential property's garden and continuing to run away when spotted. Don't want straight line missioning to be associated with a blatant disregard for others, and small things can go a long way here. That aside, a very impressive feat with or without support, especially those cliffs and snowy sections!

James Hefel

Personally, somewhat in line with this, Tom feels like Les Stroud of Survivorman fame (don't know if that show made it to the UK), while these guys seem like Bear Grylls, but less experienced. Whenever Les did his show, he was fully responsible for everything that made it to screen. He shot everything himself, carried all his gear, and still had to survive with minimal ability to contact support if needed. Bear had a full camera crew with him everywhere and even though he sold it as being rough and dangerous, the crew really took something away. Same with these guys compared to Tom.

pabloq

I don't know why but there seems to be a lot of bitterness in the comments here. They are clearly fans of Toms work and they had a lot of fun doing this and making it, all in the same way Tom does. They did what they tried to do and used the tools like no backpacks and the support group to their advantage. I guess it isn't a pure straight line mission if it isn't Tom doing it, naked and without any stashed backpacks along the line and eating is cheating.

outerspace

And they don't have any music!

Podey Williams

I was happy to watch it but they went way over the top with cocky remarks against Tom. You could put it down to cockiness of youth but they also chose to leave it in. I think they probably meant it affectionately but it does become wearing.

Rosie Shotton

I saw that those lads suggested a collab/competition type video in the comments, might I say that I would really like to see you do something with the New Zealand boys as they seem like top lads (and had backpacks!)

Martin Willetts

Cracking effort. Couldn't have done a better job myself. Although I am an over weight 40 year old. 😂 😂 The cockiness irked me a little but I had a chuckle when the farmer laughed when they mentioned they had a support crew though.

geowizard

I don't mind the jokes at all Pete to be honest, I'm all for a bit of banter. I think what wouldn't have gone amiss would be some sort of acknowledgement in the intro - "we're going to go one better than GeoWizard" or something along those lines. I'm hugely flattered that the idea itself is catching on along with the terminology (platinum run etc) and even the editing style. I think it's great. I just think the fact that any mention of me was negative rather than positive didn't make it seem like they were fans. I think they were a bit harsh on Marcus too bless him. Again I'm not annoyed in anyway, just giving my honest observations.

Mark

With names like Archie and Damien they're probably old private school boys, and in my experience private school boys wouldn't have a clue how to pitch a tent, start a fire or cook on a campfire, hence the need for the van and living on maccies and chocolate for 3 days.

Mark

IMHO it's fine having support for bits that are extremely dangerous - so for example Verity helping with the kayak etc for reservoir crossings, or in the boy's mission that cliff - or linking up towards the end of a day if necessary to resupply batteries etc, but having the "support crew" there constantly as the boys did just defeats the object, it turns it from an actual mission to a slightly tricky multi-day hike.

Rif Dimashq

Their book may have a different ending than yours, but yours is still the better story. The editing, the music, the charming narration, and the grit you bring are the difference between a captivating story and the comparative equivalent of Michael Scott filming himself doing the Bear Grylls imitation.

Zeb Kavanagh-Grover

They did reference and thank you in the description of their first video - but a bit more respect definitely worthwhile

Andrew Way

it was ok there video, did find them massively patronising though and it was a bit like a tory private school chums day out......they had 5 people doing all the leg work carrying the snacks food drinks gear etc.....they also managed to get maccy d's breakfast without leaving the line in the camper......

Andrew Way

nope sorry but your wrong, they did achieve it yes but the constant digs were just irritating and rude....."geowizard wouldnt of done this" well no because he doesnt have 5 private school boys running around his kit and food for him....

Andrew Way

also if you watch there original somerset video i think it adams he says they came up with the idea prior to geowizard doing it entirely and they just hadn't had time to film.....

Andrew Way

tbf verity met occasionally with things un carriable like kayak etc....these boys had people meeting them every mile or so with snacks drinks clothing etc they didnt even have rucksacks on for 90% of it, still impressive but not the same.

★Melanie☆🍉

Honestly Tom, I wouldn't even consider yourself properly beaten by these guys. Yes they've completed a straight-line mission before you, but the amount of help from bystanders made it 10x easier for them. I'm not trying to disregard their accomplishment, but the nature of your mission and their mission wasn't the same. They went about this very differently and technically beat you, but there aren't any real rules to the mission aside from sticking to the line. That's because this was never a competition to begin with, but instead a wonderful journey and personal challenge that you made for yourself. You sticking to the line and completing the mission platinum is something I wish to see for you, but the ultimate reason for me (and I think many others) to watch your videos and to subscribe to your patreon even, is because of you. Your personality, your humour and charm, but also the amazing quality of your content and the obvious love and effort you put into it. You're sincere, you're a fresh breeze in the YouTube community and also the only person I will ever subscribe to on Patreon.

Kaloyan Kirilov

About their attitude - they were joking around, true. But with lads their age, I mean, come on. The thing that killed it for me (aside from the bad editing and voice-over) is this: even when Tom gets help (and he does), it doesn't *feel* as if he's heavily supported. These guys had a van, a whole crew, ladders, It didn't feel authentic, or as if they were going at it on their own. As a result - there wasn't enough suspense. They rigged it too much. It didn't feel they've earned it, so I got emotionally disengaged and didn't enjoy watching. That being said, I enjoy the rivalry. I can appreciate Tom even more than before (now that I've seen the bootleg version), and I think he would be even more committed to go to more straight line missions.

Ethan Hayes

Honestly this whole competitive edge to missions has absolutely taken the fun out of it for me on all sides. It was pure, honest good fun - and now it's just become another YouTube pissing exercise. Great...

Brodie Appleby

Fair thoughts Tom, props to them for the task but it definitely lacks the spirit you bring to your missions. Well done on inspiring others to get out and have these experiences

william thomas

Very fair. Of course a platinum run is still up for grabs!

Liv Armstrong

They did well, especially for their age, and it’s better than anything I’m able to do. However, it did feel less authentic to me with the extremely frequent meet-ups with the support crew and they aren’t carrying weighted backpacks, which already gives them a huge advantage. So for me, it’s not comparable to what you do Tom, plus you’re more entertaining.

Croatoan

Unsupported run is still up for grabs as well :)

Tom Fly

Na.. Sorry but Wales 3 stil counts in my eyes! Your the real OG!