Videographer Greg Anthony Harris is one step closer to achieving his dream after his virtual reality paramotor flight to Stonehenge garnered over 33,000 views on YouTube.
Giving up everything to pursue his passion for flying and filmmaking two years ago, the 38-year-old has now published a new video which he hopes will go viral - making his "obsession" a sustainable career.
It involves a high stakes operation with commercial FPV Drone Operator Leo Whitfield where they carry out what may be the first air-to-air fast-food delivery.
This involves a paramotor, a motor-powered parachute with a propellor attached to the rider’s back, and a Greggs sausage roll strapped to a custom-made drone.
Joining him in the sky is Gilo Cardozo, the founder of Parajet, a leading company in paramotor design and manufacture, who designed the paramotor which took Bear Grylls over Mount Everest in 2007.
Originally from Dorset, Greg's most recent flights have taken place over the Wiltshire countryside.
"I’ve wanted to fly my entire life, ever since I can remember," said Greg.
"There's a picture of me as a kid with a deck chair on my back and I used to run up and down the garden trying to take off."
On the brink of achieving his aspirations, Greg applied to become an RAF pilot at Cranwell College, Lincolnshire, as an 18-year-old and performed well on everything except the eye test.
This was due to a minor issue with his left eye.
“It was a crushing blow. I went home, took all my posters off the wall and threw my books in the attic. I just decided I was never going to be a pilot.
“After the best part of 18 years dreaming, it was kind of over like that.”
Having studied music at Norwich City College and the Colchester Institute Greg "fell into teaching", falling in love with filmmaking along the way, but always felt there was "something missing".
One day, nearly two decades later, he saw a group of people flying paramotors.
“In a moment, half a lifetime of suppression just melted away and I knew I needed to fly again.
He said the greatest part about paramotoring is "the ultimate expression of freedom".
"[It] is what I think most of us considered when we looked up and saw birds flying around when we were kids and thought wow, wouldn't it be amazing to have that kind of freedom," he said.
"Paramotoring offers you the opportunity to get as close to that version of flying as possible. You can take off and land in places that other aircraft simply can't. It’s absolutely incredible."
In 2019 he set up his YouTube channel, and now two years and over 70 videos later he has 4.5k subscribers.
“It really changed everything and gave me a new lease for life.
“I've been in the video sphere for a long time working on other people's projects and championing other people's stories. YouTube offers me the opportunity to tell my stories and inspire others through my own adventures.
“The idea of waking up every day and making videos on my terms appeals so much to me that it’s become an utter obsession.”
His current subscribers are extremely supportive, and the goal is to reach ‘3 million more like you please’ by his 40th birthday, 13 months away.
If he can achieve at least 100k subscribers, then this will be enough for him to make this channel a career.
“Until you make it on YouTube you’re putting in huge amounts of hours for little to no money, until you get that really big break or viral video.
“You’re constantly building your profile with the hope that one of your videos will get noticed and then you’re off to the races.”
His latest video is quite different to his others in style, inspired by American YouTuber and ex-NASA engineer Mark Rober.
In the video, Greg and Leo Whitfield carry out the first air-to-air delivery of a Greggs sausage roll at 450ft over Gillingham using a FPV (flying first person view) drone.
Using Parajet’s testing facilities they show just how dangerous this stunt could be, one scene showing a drone and propellor colliding with in slow motion.
This is a make-or-break moment for him, as he and his Canadian girlfriend, Cynthia Lecompte, who has also learnt to paramotor, gave up their old careers to pursue this dream of flying and traveling the world together.
This was partly fuelled by the adventurous pair’s work drying up over the pandemic, Cynthia a personal trainer whose gym shut down over lockdown, and Greg’s video commissions such as weddings and events tailing off too.
They put everything they had into an exploration around America, staying with people they met along the way, and then were thrilled to receive a sponsorship from Parajet and APCO Aviation.
“It was tough, but we still made it work.
“It was literally just surviving on the kindness of strangers who believed in what we were trying to achieve, which is this channel.
“There's no selfless act right? So selfishly, I'm making these videos because I love flying and I love making videos and these things really enrich me as a person. Like that's all I want to do.
“But looking further out than that, equally as important is this idea of inspiring people to have an adventurous life. Regardless of the circumstances.
“Maybe I can inspire people to get into the sport and it will change their life, like it has changed mine.”
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