From Koaster Kids to Thrills United: Logan Joiner

Logan Joiner, a theme park YouTuber and friend of the channel, has recently made the decision to move on from Koaster Kids and start a new YouTube channel: Thrills United. Logan began making videos for Koaster Kids at the age of 9 with the hope of helping other children face their fears, but his new channel focuses on the exciting thrills and activities he experiences with his friends. Here, Logan shares his reasons for the change to Thrills United, what this means for Koaster Kids and what he has planned for the future…

What inspired you to create Koaster Kids nearly 5 years ago?

After years of watching YouTube POV videos and trying to build up the courage to ride a coaster, I rode all the coasters at Kings Island the summer I turned 9 years old. “Conquering” those coasters helped me gain more confidence and focus, so my parents got us Cedar Fair Platinum Passes for Christmas. Our first park besides KI was Knotts Berry Farm. I guess I wanted to make videos to be like Taylor [of Coaster Studios]. Except I was too shy to do them by myself, so my sister Natalie helped me.

What's changed since you began making videos?

I didn’t think anyone would ever even watch our silly videos, but they did. We started getting comments and emails from kids all over the world saying they were inspired to be brave and ride coasters because of our videos. So we started the “Be Brave Challenge” asking people to film themselves facing and overcoming one of their fears. We’ve gotten videos sent in from all over. I’ve made 19 YouTube videos with the viewer-submitted content featuring hundreds of brave kids.

Having the channel has helped me a lot too. Riding coasters helped me overcome my fears of heights, crowds, and fast-moving things. I’ve filmed and produced over 500 Koaster Kids videos, and making the videos has helped me learn how to express my ideas more clearly. And meeting hundreds of viewers at parks helped me overcome my fear of strangers and learn how to interact with people with confidence. And best of all, I have made some amazing friends with people I’ve met along the way. Those friendships have changed my life and brought me more happiness than even riding coasters.

Photo by bkphotopage

What’s going to happen to Koaster Kids?

I started Koaster Kids when I was 9 years old. I think a lot of the appeal was the “cute kid” factor. Things like “Koaster” with a “K”, the “Logan Scream Scale,” and ending the videos with “Be Brave and Ride On!” Well, I’m not a cute kid anymore. I’m almost 15 years old and I’ve known for a while that I needed to change something. But I didn’t want Koaster Kids to go away because hundreds of families have benefited from the “Be Brave” message. It’s really unique to have a YouTube channel in the coaster community that helps people grow personally.

So my family and I decided to make 2 BIG changes:
1. I’m starting a new channel
2. We’re converting Koaster Kids into a non-profit organization

Going forward Koaster Kids will be a charity. We have put together a board of directors who are parents of kids around America who have benefited from Koaster Kids. The mission statement of the Koaster Kids charity will be: “To empower kids to feel the thrill and pride that results from facing and overcoming fear!” We are hoping amusement parks will partner with us to do a “Be Brave Day” where parents can bring their kids and me and my friends can help them face their fears. I’ve learnt that riding roller coasters is a safe, fun way for someone to overcome fears. Kids who do it are always so proud of themselves! We still plan on making videos for YouTube, but they will focus more on kids being brave than reviewing, rating, and ranking coasters. Hopefully we can make some in-depth videos sharing the stories of brave kids.

Will your new channel be different?

My new YouTube channel is called Thrills United. Starting a new channel gave me the opportunity to think about what I wanted to do differently. There are 2 main things I wanted to do differently with this 2.0 version of my YouTube channel.

1. I don’t want it to be focused just on me and my experiences and opinions. I think what made Koaster Kids different from any other coaster channel is the community that grew around it. So many people identify with me and my friends and wear their Koaster Kids merch to parks. We also do so many meetups at parks. I want to continue to grow and expand that community so more and more people can be united together by our common interests.

2. I also want to expand the kind of activities we feature beyond roller coasters. I love experiencing lots of thrilling activates. So we will still be going to amusement parks and riding coasters, but we’ll be doing other adventurous things like bungee-jumping, sky diving, and whitewater rafting. So maybe when I go to Australia to ride DC Rivals, I’ll also swim with some great white sharks!

I’m hoping the new videos will appeal to teens and adults who weren’t interested in a channel with “Kids” in the name, and to adventure seekers who aren’t necessarily coaster enthusiasts. I want to videos to be less about the coaster details and more about good friends who are living life to the fullest together.

Will there still be Koaster Kids reporters?

As you know, over the last year and a half I have developed a team of 20+ reporters around the world. They are young coaster enthusiasts from across America and places like the U.K., Denmark, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Australia, Mexico, and Canada. They are now called Thrills United Regional Representatives. They will be making videos about parks and coasters in their markets, but also about other activities they do with their friends for fun.

A huge thanks goes to Logan for taking the time to answer our questions. It would mean the world to us if you help support his new mission by both subscribing to Koaster Kids and Thrills United!

You can also follow Thrills United on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or visit their website for more details and to see the awesome merch they have on offer.

Be brave and ride on!

- Harry, Zoe, Aron, Andrew and Joel