Imagine having your chance meeting with someone you have aspirations of working with, only to fumble the ball or be rejected in a matter of minutes. This was the case for two men who now have viral videos of them asking for a job.
The first case occurred in 2014 at a Tesla Motors convention. An audience member by the name of Roy, a philosopher and entrepreneur from Philadelphia, decided to ask the SpaceX and Tesla founder for a job during a Q&A session — a pretty courageous move considering how most people “cap” and pretend like they don’t need a helping hand to get on.
He proceeded to say, “I’ve been asking to speak to you now for two years to talk to you and tell you that I’m also a super genius like yourself,” a nervous Roy said to a laughing Musk. “I am a capitalist like yourself. I’m also level two stage. I’ve been waiting for ten years now for someone to give me a second look, a full second look — and if they did, they would see a very vast mind in front of them. So, I’m asking you today can you give me a second look?”
Onlookers responded to Roy’s question with laughter and snickering. Still, Roy stood tall and shameless in his request. Musk was taken aback once he realized that Roy was serious about his proposition.
When Musk asked Roy what he wanted him to give a second look to, Roy responded, “I would like to come on board as vice chairman of Tesla.”
Laughter erupted. The audacity of this man to know what he wants and ask the very question that they all wish they had the courage to ask but refused to because of their own insecurities and fear.
Musk stammered, “Uh, well, we don’t really have a vice chairman spot. I’d have to say no.” When Roy tried to convince Musk to at least consider him for the future CEO role or the board of directors, Musk requested that the Q&A move in another direction, to the approval of observers.
Granted Roy did come off as a bit direct, should Musk have considered him for a role at his groundbreaking companies? Clearly, Roy was a man of ambition, courage, and non-conformity. Yet, Musk saw all of those qualities as liabilities.
Perhaps, Roy should have considered a more conventional way of asking for a job, but this would go against every motivational speaker who preaches about thinking outside the box and being overly determined to reach goals. It would also be a contrast to all those stories about people who simply got the job by asking.
Since the incident occurred, Roy has responded to criticism by enlisting the help of attorneys to seek retribution.
A statement on his YouTube channel reads, “I suffer PTSD due to a repeated Philly Police verbal assault (based on false assumptions) that occurred in Sept, 2012. I was unaware of my condition and had a ptsd stress-related breakdown right before the 2014 Q&A started. Since I was heavily distraught, I heavily misspoke and mentioned things publicly that were meant to be said in private. Since that day, I have been falsely labeled as “mentally deranged” or “mentally disturbed” by a bunch of dangerous millennials. As a result, personal harassment has occurred which has caused me stress and poor health. To this date, I haven’t been interviewed by anyone legitimate to clear my name.”
Roy currently has 3,000-plus subscribers with his last video posting in Feb. 2021.
Now, the second case involves social media sensation turned boxer Logan Paul. Recently, Charlamagne Tha God brought the story national attention when he included it in his Donkey of the Day segment.
A 22-year-old Ohio man quit his $100,000 a year job and traveled all the way to an event that Paul was attending to shoot his shot. Initially, Paul didn’t take the man seriously and thought he was pulling a social media stunt since he snuck into the event.
In the once-in-a-lifetime encounter, the man said, “I’m trying to talk about business. I’m trying to talk about trying to get a job. I want to do media.”
Paul then asked the man, “What are you good at?”
In which he responded, “Dances. I did that Tik Tok video.”
Paul, a little bit sarcastic responded, “Oh, so you really got what it takes?”
The man responded in the most peculiar way that anyone could respond when they really want something, “I don’t.”
Paul asks, “Then, why would I give you a job. Why would I do that?”
Paul and the man proceeded to go back and forth about having friends, before Paul gave him a speech about not trying to get hand outs. He then advised the man to relocate to Los Angeles and become a networking guru making connections with everyone. The man didn’t take the rejection well.
Red-faced and teary-eyed, he went on Tik Tok to express his disappointment.
“Before I approached him, he was bragging about making $3 million — I make a $100,000 a year,” he said. “I want to act, I want to do these things. I’m having a breakdown right now….I don’t know what to do. I did come up here by myself. I do have family, but were not the closest, and I really don’t have close friends.”
Despite the big letdown, it seems the man was encouraged. Later, a video surfaced on a YouTube channel called Austin Wallace titled “When I got a job with LOGAN PAUL…VLOG EP1.”
In the video, Wallace, who has nearly 2,000 subscribers on the streaming platform, appears to be the man that had the five-minute encounter with Paul. In a conversation with a Subway employee, he revealed that he used to work at the establishment and was the guy who was rejected by Logan. He ended his video with the message, “Stay thriving.”
His video was met with mixed reception. A lot of people commented that he was a clout chaser, while others showed support.
If it were you, would you give the two men the job?
