An aspiring YouTuber said he borrowed $14,000 and drove 1,600 miles to convince his idol MrBeast to film with him, and it worked

• Matthew Beem is a 25-year-old YouTuber with 1.8 million YouTube subscribers.
• Before he found fame, Beem said he tried to "surprise" popular YouTuber MrBeast for a video.

Matthew Beem, a Colorado-based YouTuber with 1.8 million subscribers, said he once took a "massive risk" by borrowing thousands of dollars for a potential video collaboration with YouTube star MrBeast.

Beem typically posts content about building large-scale object. He told Insider that last year, when he still had under 20,000 subscribers, he drove 1,600 miles to MrBeast's hometown, in the hopes that the gesture would convince the YouTube superstar to film a video with him.

MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, currently has 97 million YouTube subscribers and is one of the most-viewed and highest-paid creators on the platform. Beem told Insider Donaldson was his "biggest inspiration" at the time.

In order to get Donaldson's attention, Beem told Insider he borrowed $14,000 from a family member to buy a Smart car and painted it to celebrate the launch of the YouTuber's new burger chain, MrBeast Burger. (Insider was not able to independently verify the loan with Beem's financial records.)

Beem said he had previously pitched a video idea to one of Donaldson's producers, but it was rejected as the producer said Donaldson was too busy to film a collaboration at the time.

"I bought a Smart car without asking them because I figured that it's a lot easier to say no to an idea rather than an amazing thing that's already done," Beem told Insider.

The YouTuber said he drove 1,600 miles from Colorado to North Carolina, where he knew Donaldson was based, to convince his team to let the pair film a video together.

"I just knew that he lived in that state but had no idea where. I took some really professional pictures of the car, and once we got halfway, I messaged the producer and I said, 'We're eight hours away. I'd love to give this car to MrBeast.' And then 20 minutes later, I got a phone call and it was like one of MrBeast's assistants, telling me he loved the idea.'"

Beem then drove to meet Donaldson and film the video, telling Insider he felt that it was going to be the "biggest day" of his career so far and that he was initially "terrified" about how it might go.

"I felt the pressure of what it could mean for my channel," he said, before adding, "But we ended up getting along great and it was super fun."

On July 27, 2021, Beem posted a video, titled, "I Surprised MrBeast with a custom car!" which now has 4.5 million views. He told Insider he was receiving around 75 views per video before he met Donaldson, but his channel "got some traction" a few months after he posted the collaboration, as well as a few other videos related to custom cars and projects.

The pair filmed several videos together since their first meeting, and Beem described Donaldson as a "great friend," adding "I've learned a lot from him. He's always really nice to share information with and just chat and have fun," he said.

He told Insider he sometimes texts Donaldson to ask for advice about videos he's working on, and Donaldson has also asked Beem for his opinion on potential video thumbnails in the past.

"To be able to have that relationship with him and all the other amazing people I've met, it's just unreal," Beem said.

Representatives for Donaldson did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.