For millions of Americans living in poverty, homelessness is a daily fear. In San Francisco, it’s an intractable crisis. And for Drew Johnson, 27, it’s an adventure to post on social media. 

Johnson spent all his money on a one-way flight from Chicago to SF and has spent the last month on the city’s streets. He spends his days riding Caltrain up and down the peninsula, making Instagram videos for his 10,000 followers, and sussing out whether people who offer to let him couchsurf have ulterior motives. “Create motion with me as a bum in San Mateo, CA,” reads the text on one recent reel. “Wandering around San Francisco as a bum,” says another.

Johnson could go home to his middle-class parents on the north side of Chicago, but the last thing he wants is stability. His aversion to the 9-to-5 life is more entrepreneurial than ideological — unlike past generations of hippies and crust punks, his refusal to get a job isn’t a protest against capitalism. In fact, he hopes his IG reels make him the richest man on Earth. The comments on his content range from derision to support for his quest to despair about the state of culture.

The Standard spoke to Johnson about his motives, his findings, and his dreams of success. 

This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Why San Francisco?

The climate’s really nice, and it’s pretty easy to just take the train around and enjoy the city. I’m not always in San Francisco — right now I’m in the South Bay, because it’s a little bit warmer down here. I go to the city if I want to make videos, but I never actually post live locations, just for my own safety. 

I don’t really trust anyone online. Everyone in my DMs is like, “Bro, come link up with me.” There always has to be a catch. There’s no way these random dudes are trying to hang out with me that bad.

How did you decide to be homeless by choice?

I was homeless in San Diego last July, and I made content there. I came out there for a birthday, and I just never wanted to leave. I was getting a nice tan. I didn’t really have anything to lose. I’m a young guy, I have zero kids, and I’m not financially tied to anything. I’m not struggling; I have enough energy to make something happen. I’m not hopeless. I’m also drug-free. 

I got deported from Canada because I was in Toronto as an illegal immigrant — that video blew up. I was like, dude, this could be my way out. A lot of people like seeing their neighborhood in a video, and they comment, and that traps the algorithm. You get the people that want to reach out and help. You get the haters. It all fuels into one big blow-up — all these videos are getting hella views, because no one’s really doing this type of content. You’ve seen people in America blow up just for being hated on. Look at [Atlanta rapper] Sexxy Red — she’s shaking her ass in the camera, and everyone’s like, “Fuck that slut.” I’m like, nah, bro, she’s getting money.

The last thing I need is for people to think it’s cool or a trend. Realistically, shit gets wild. You fall asleep outside, and you don’t know if your shit’s gonna be there when you wake up. So I’m not trying to glorify it. Everyone’s like, “Oh, you’re gentrifying homelessness.” Number one, I prefer the term “glamorizing.” I’m a little too pretty to be gentrifying. 

Are you totally sober?

I smoke weed, but I don’t see that as a substance. I have a lot of liquor in my past, and I just choose not to touch it, because it makes me feel like shit. But if someone buys me a beer, I’m not gonna be a lame. 

But yeah, I’m drug-free. If you don’t have a clear mind, you’re fucked.

You have a family. You have a place you can go. Why would you choose to sleep rough?

I’m kind of anti-job. I’m in my 20s — I don’t think we should be spending our 20s being told when to wake up, when to do shit. I just don’t think it’s right. Maybe it’s rebellion. I don’t really know, but deep down, I just like the adventure, and I like being in the sun.

Have you mostly been sleeping on couches or outdoors?

I’d say it’s been half and half. If I get a couch, I try not to overstay. I don’t want to be a burden. 

How do you go about finding a place to sleep outdoors?

I just bundle up and find a quiet area. Caltrain can take you to some pretty low-key spots — just find a place where no one really is. People usually don’t bug you if you’re neat and you don’t have your garbage spread out everywhere. That’s where I think people have a problem with bums. 

• Former Warriors player Festus Ezeli is eating it up

I say “bum” — I don’t think that I’m a bum. I just put that in my Instagram so it blows up; rage bait or whatever. But a real bum? These motherfuckers got their shit everywhere, they’re spitting, they’re screaming, they’re going nuts. It’s like, dude, these are the people that we need to help out. People are gonna be concerned if they leave their crib and all they see is a bunch of people on drugs throwing garbage everywhere. I don’t judge anyone. I’m just saying, I don’t think it’s good for the public perception. It’s a mental health thing at the end of the day. 

I lived in my car when I was in Iowa. I know how to survive on my own. I don’t blame anyone, because at the end of the day, it’s a choice. If you want to be on the street, you can do it, bro. At the beginning, people will be like, “Dude, what are you doing?” But then everyone just goes, “Oh, that’s who he is.” People just leave you alone, and then you can do whatever you want.

A lot of people live in fear of homelessness because they’re one eviction or medical emergency away. For you, it’s an adventure. Why is that?

I don’t know. It’s a type of mindset. I don’t really think about the future. I don’t think that much in general.

Has anyone said that your project is offensive? How would you respond?

Yeah, I’ve heard it all. I don’t give a shit though. You can suck it.

But you understand the argument people are making when they say it’s offensive to use homelessness for content when it’s a reality people are struggling to escape?

Yeah, I get it. I definitely give a shit about the homelessness problem. I actually care a lot. I just don’t give a shit what people online say.

My content is just to show the adventure side of things. I cracked the code when it comes to going viral, so I think I want to capitalize on that.

Are you inspired by any other modern adventurers?

No, I have no inspirations. I don’t care about anyone besides what I’m doing. I mean that respectfully. I’m not gonna look up to anyone — I look up to God.

Are you familiar with crust punks?

No.

It’s a subculture of young people who are homeless by choice — traveling, exploring, not working steady jobs. They have an anti-capitalist ethos, like, “We don’t want to feed the system.” Does your project have any ideological underpinnings?

The way the current system is set up, it’s really not possible to blow up. I have huge visions, bro. I don’t want to be a bum forever. I want to be a fucking multi-trillionaire — I want to be the richest motherfucker in the world. I have an extreme abundance mindset. 

I see people, they get into their 40s, they’re working a job, they’re like, Oh, I’m making six figures. It’s like, great, dude. You’re paying your mortgage, you’re living in a nice neighborhood, but you’re not really going anywhere past that. I’d rather be at zero than in the middle. If I’m going to take a risk, I might as well do it now. And that’s kind of where I think content can take me — I think that’s the way I can escape from being told what to do.

So it’s about personal freedom for you.

Yeah. I don’t want to be told when to wake up and all that shit. I just think it’s depressing.

Is that the same reason you want to be rich, so that you’re free to do what you want?

Hell yeah. I think being dead broke and being overly rich is the same exact thing, bro. Everyone in the middle, they’re worried about what they post — what if my boss sees this? What if my girlfriend doesn’t agree with my opinion? It’s like, dude who gives a shit, just be you. If you’re holding your tongue, you’re just going to be stuck and pissed off. You look in the mirror like, I wasted all these days being told what to do. That’s why I think a bunch of people have internal struggles, because they know deep down that they’re not living their truth.

OK, so you’re free. What are you doing with that freedom?

I’m addicted to my phone. The phone is almost a way for us to be connected to every single person in the world. 

I love sitting in the sun. I like throwing footballs around. I love skateboarding, biking. I like going to the beach, hanging out with chicks. I’m obsessed with women. That’s another reason I post so much, because I’m super vain, and I just want to get all the hoes. Bro, you’d be so surprised, the offers I get. They’re like, “Oh, you can stay at my place,” and I have.

When did you realize you didn’t want a conventional life?

It was probably when I first went to jail, when I was 20 or 21, that I realized. I was going to court, I had to pay like $25,000 in legal fees, and it was really depressing. If you’ve been in the system, you’re like, dude, fuck everyone. I’ll do whatever I want. 

That was kind of the moment where it flipped, and I actually went on the road in an old Subaru Outback. I drove all the way across the country, sleeping in my car, and making videos on my Snapchat. It was getting a lot of attention because I wasn’t taking the average route. A lot of people, when they turn 22, they start to think about, how am I going to get a full-time job? How am I going to start a family? And I was just like, dude, I’m just going to explore. I think my perspective is, the darker the depths of hell, and the deeper you go, the better off you’re gonna be. I’m better off seeing the different sides of America. You got people out here that are spending thousands of dollars on catering orders and throwing it out when it doesn’t get eaten. 

What were you in jail for?

Reckless driving and a DUI. I was going 100 mph and just being a dumbass. It was during COVID, and I couldn’t get a judge for a few months. I was in that bitch just pissed off. All the books were in German and shit. Like, they don’t care about me, and if people really don’t care about me, why the fuck would they care what I do? Now that’s kind of my mindset.

How’d you get the $25,000 for your legal fees?

I fleeced all the sports books in Illinois and Michigan. I would travel all across and hedge bets and do arbitrage, and I got banned from all the sports books, but I got the money.

What do your relatives think about what you’re doing? 

Oh, they love it. They know I have nothing to lose. If all else fails, I can figure it out. I’m educated; I went to high school. They’re like, dude, just don’t let the hate get to you. People are gonna talk shit, but they don’t know the reason you’re doing it. The reason I’m doing it is to escape. I don’t want to be stuck in the middle, bro. That shit is pathetic.

What’s your message to the haters?

I mean, I don’t really get on the table with the issues. I just troll everyone. If you read through my comments section, I’m never being confrontational. I’m never getting offended. 

People have gotten me banned from Instagram. People have reported my account. The reason I blew up initially was, “Get ready with me for my 9-to-5 day in the life of a plug.” [“Plug” is slang for drug dealer.] I was documenting my day as a plug, and people were trying to rob me. 

How do you plan to get rich off content? 

I want to get noticed by people already in power. I think I have the energy — I’m pretty fun to be around. I’ve always joked around with my friends, like, “Bro, I’m a movie star.” I always thought I was the biggest celebrity. Deep down, I think that level of delusion is going to take me places.