Man and his go kart brings joy to Arizonans while on country-wide adventure
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - A dozen states, nearly 20 cities and thousands of miles to go, a man and his real life Mario Kart are making their way across the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic to spread joy.
Joshua Schaffer started out riding around in his hometown of Chicago last summer. It started out just as a fun way to pass the time.
"I get people waving to me from their balconies and just strangers waving all the time," Schaffer said.
He decided to hit some roads other than the ones in Illinois. From Georgia, Indiana, Oregon and Washington, he's traveled around with his trusty go kart.
"I’m real good at drifting it too," he said, adding the kart goes 25 mph.
Over the weekend, he made a stop in Old Town Scottsdale, giving crowds a chance to take it for a spin.
"It’s real cool to get videos of them. I post videos on my Tik Tok of people trying it," Schaffer said.
Riding through Phoenix, Schaffer even got pulled over by a Phoenix Police officer who wanted to take a turn on the go kart.
Courtesy of Joshua Schaffer
Life on the road, Schaffer says is what you make of it. He says if you can brighten a few lives on the way, that makes it all worth it.
"People just need to have more happiness in their life so I just do this to bring a smile and spread joy," he said.