Meet Tim Kafalas and Thomas Beug, two halves of a new "guerilla" online TV show that aims to turn traditional travel reporting on its head.
Instead of relying on "stale" guidebooks to get a handle on a foreign city, the pair of New Yorkers are seeking out plugged-in locals in 12 global cities and handing themselves over as "enthusiastic guinea pigs". There have no plans and no script - just a "can't say no" rule.
If it sounds just a bit "Jackass" that's because it is – their first shows have seen them experience a "gay shaman sweating ritual" in Reykjavik (seven hours in a tent followed by a disco and fortune telling) and howling at the moon at Cabo da Roca, Europe's most westerly point – though the pair cite their greatest influence as Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations show and say they aren't setting out to be reckless for the sake of it.
"We want to make a show that represents how young people actually want to travel," explains Beug, who is "freezing" in Berlin's Alexanderplatz when I speak with him during a break from filming.
"We're sick of watching travel shows that have visitors telling you what you need to see, do, feel, eat or drink. We want a personal, intimate experience of a city. We want to convey the rhythm of a city, the atmosphere of a place, the unsteady trajectory of a night out that seems to never end and we want the viewer to feel like they are right there with us," he explains.
"We're trying to embrace what travelling is like for real. Whatever happens happens, and if it's a disaster you'll see that in the show."
The show's premise is that local residents are always the best way into a place, and this has led them to meet some colourful characters. On their first night in Portugal, their adopted host - and stuntman - David treated them to a stunt-fighting lesson on the streets of the city, while in Berlin, the pair found themselves helping an artist with a project in the basement of an empty public swimming pool then partying until dawn in a huge abandoned house.
Kafalas and Beug have funding for a 12-episode pilot series from independent backers and have taken off on an 11-week world tour. In the can are pilots in Philadelphia and Reykjavik and shows in Lisbon and Berlin. Up next are jaunts to Belgrade, Beirut, Osaka, Melbourne and Wellington, plus a second leg of filming next year. The destinations - some capitals, some "second cities" are intended to display "a cross-section of the urban world right now," according to Beug.
The films are currently streamed on the Vimeo website, and although the duo describe their concept as a "guerilla" show, they hope to sell them to a major US TV network.
"We are a guerilla show, yes. We shoot it ourselves, we produce it, we direct it, we're in it, we edit it, we have no lights, no sound person and no scripting. Our cameras are tiny and our only crew is one local producer in each city," Beug says. "But we're guerilla because of the content we're after and not because we necessarily want to stay out of the mainstream. If the mainstream doesn't change our show, we're happy to swim in it."
• Beug and Kafalas are looking for hosts in Beirut, Osaka, Tokyo, São Paulo, Bogota, Mexico City, Memphis and Detroit. To apply, contact thomas@thisismycity.tv.
• Follow the trip on their blog at thisismycity.tv.
