Since Aspen, Colorado has an African American population of 0.44%, we decided to give the locals a chance to “meet a black person.” We put comedian Colton Dunn in an empty hot chocolate kiosk at the foot of the mountain to greet folks as they exited the slopes.

This 2006 mission is the second in a series of remastered videos we are producing from our archives to commemorate our 10th anniversary. We are going through our original tapes and updating old classics with higher quality video and audio, as well as adding additional never-before-seen footage. Due to file size restrictions in the early days of YouTube, many of these videos have only been seen in extremely low 240p quality. The remastered Meet a Black Person video adds new interactions with Aspen tourists and locals. The original mission report is still online for your reading pleasure.

Look for more remastered videos in the future, including some that have never been posted to YouTube, and stay tuned for our regular schedule of brand new missions throughout the year.

On Sunday, January 8th, 2012 tens of thousands of people took off their pants on subways in 59 cities in 27 countries around the world. In New York, our 11th Annual No Pants Subway Ride had nearly 4,000 participants, spread out over six meeting points and ten subway lines. Enjoy the video first and then go behind the scenes with our mission report and photos.

Digital Video: Matt Adams (DP), Karen Blumberg, Myo Campbell, Keith Haskel, Kristopher Knight, Adam Nawrot, Corey Richardson, Nathan Russell, Chloe Smolkin, John Michael Scholl, Andrew Flynn Soltys, Charlie Todd
Digital Photography: See our official photographers’ flickr sets here.

If you’re unfamiliar with this event, you might want to first read our history of The No Pants Subway Ride. Since this is the 11th year we’ve done this, there’s not too much to report other than it was another awesome time. Below are a small selection of photos that jumped out to me as being fun and new, compared to previous editions. Enjoy!

This guy won the award for “oldest participant” at last year’s ride when he was 76. You would have thought he would have won again at 77, but nope, a 78-year-old beat him out. You can see the 78-year-old in the video in the red hat and very tight underwear.

On the other end of the age spectrum, there were many babies this year.

The NYPD guys at the downtown meeting point were especially friendly this year. I had a fun time talking to them before we got started. Although The No Pants Subway Ride is still completely unauthorized, I think it’s great that the NYPD comes out to escort us as if we were an official parade.

I wound up in the same subway car as the guy above. Even though I started downtown and he started in Astoria, we ended up together after I transferred. One of the things I love about the scope of the No Pants Subway Ride these days is that we really take over the whole system. At 59th and Lex, three trains of pantless people arrived at the same time. Two groups were switching lines and one was just passing through. Anyway, the guy in the photo above wins the badass award.

Pretty awesome the US Military was represented.

Probably the sharpest father and son team in all of NYC.

Once again the No Pants Subway Ride happened around the world, with many cities making their debut this year. You can find links to photos and articles in the comments on this page: Regional Agent Reports. The above photo comes from Istanbul. This was the first Turkish city to participate. The police got involved, detaining participants and deleting photos from their cameras (though obviously they didn’t delete them all!) The leader of the event wrote a great write up about their day that’s worth a read. Other cities that reported trouble from police or security: Chicago, Madrid, and Milan. I don’t believe anyone was arrested or fined, just detained or asked to stop.

I gotta give props to the Miami ride, as it only had ONE participant. Pretty awesome and brave to still go through with it. She’s pictured above.

Bangalore became the first city in India to participate. The all-male participant group reported no trouble from authorities, but many shocked passengers.

We announce the date of the No Pants Subway Ride every year in early December. If you’re interested in participating in 2013 in New York or anywhere else in the world, sign up for our mailing list, follow us on twitter, and like us on Facebook so you’ll be the first to hear about it.

Get the official 2012 No Pants Subway Ride t-shirt:

Mission Accomplished.

- To see links to full flickr sets of photos from all of our official photographers and to read comments from participants, check out this page: NYC Agent Reports

- Check out the comments in this post for reports and links to photos from the regional events: Regional Agent Reports

- Also check out our complete history of The No Pants Subway Ride.

- See our new video telling the story of the first No Pants Subway Ride:

If this is your first time here:
-our over 100 other missions can be seen here: Missions
-sign up for our RSS feed and Newsletter
-Subscribe to our YouTube channel, twitter, and Facebook page.
-We have merch for sale!

Photo by Ari Scott

The 11th Annual No Pants Subway Ride took place today in New York in mild 44 degree weather. Nearly 4,000 riders met at meeting points spread out all over the city and converged on Union Square. The event also happened in 59 other cities in 27 countries around the world. Thanks so much to all who participated!

Links to photos from our official photographers are below along with the official video.

Be sure to sign up for our mailing list so you’ll stay updated on future events like this. You can also like us on Facebook, follow us on twitter and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

- David Bledsoe’s photos [Central Park / 1 Train]
- Gabriel Chai’s photos [Bushwick / L Train]
- Ilya Chigirev’s photos [Flushing / 7 Train]
- Santiago Felipe’s photos [Buswick / L Train]
- Brian Fountain’s photos [Brooklyn / R Train]
- Chuck Lau’s photos [Central Park / C Train]
- Lenny Rosmarin’s photos [Downtown - 6 train]
- Arin Sang-urai’s photos [Downtown - N Train]
- Cecilia Senocak’s photos [Astoria / N Train]
- Ari Scott’s photos [Astoria / N Train]
- Agent Khari Shiver’s photos [Brooklyn / R Train]
- Katie Sokoler’s photos [Downtown / 1 Train]

The story of the first No Pants Subway Ride in 2002 in New York City:

Check out the complete history of The No Pants! Subway Ride with videos of past years.

Get the official 2012 No Pants Subway Ride t-shirt:

No Pants Subway Ride 2012 Generals:
(top L-R) Cody Lindquist, Matt Shafeek, Zach Linder, Dave Eng, Jaime Linn
(bottom L-R) Alex Scordelis, Jesse Good, Charlie Todd, Jamey Shafer, Lauren Reeves
Photo by Brian Fountain

If you participated in one of the 59 regional No Pants Subway Rides today in 27 countries across the world, leave us an agent report in the comments below letting us know how it went. Post links to any photos and videos from your town’s event as well. Let us know how many people participated and what the temperature was. Reports from the New York ride are here.

Be sure to sign up for our mailing list so you’ll stay updated on future global events like this. You can also like us on Facebook, follow us on twitter and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

New York City’s 2012 No Pants Subway Ride:

The story of the first No Pants Subway Ride in 2002 in New York City:

Check out the complete history of The No Pants! Subway Ride with videos of past years.

Get the official 2012 No Pants Subway Ride t-shirt:

UPDATE – The New York Ride was a success– read about it and leave your reports here: No Pants Subway Ride 2012 New York Reports.

All are invited to participate in the 11th Annual No Pants Subway Ride. The event will take place at 3:00 PM on Sunday, January 8. Everything you need to know is in this post. Please read it carefully! (Click here for information for participating in other cities.)

REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION:

1) Willing to take pants off on subway
2) Able to keep a straight face about it

DETAILS

When: Sunday, January 8 at 3:00 PM, Sharp! (Over around 5 PM)
Where: Six meeting points spread out all over New York City. Details below.
Bring: A backpack/bag and a metro card.
Wear: Normal winter clothes (hat, gloves, etc)
Facebook: You can RSVP to the Facebook Event
Afterparty: No Pants Country Club from 4:30pm-11pm! – Facebook Event.

Complete logistics:

HOW IT WORKS

There are six meeting points this year. Take your pick. The Manhattan meeting points tend to be very crowded, so if you live in Brooklyn or Queens, definitely go to one of those! You’ll probably have more fun!

Astoria: Meet at Hoyt Playground – Google Map
Brooklyn: Meet by the Old Stone House – Google Map
Downtown Manhattan: Meet at Foley Square – Google Map
Queens: Meet at the Unisphere in Flushing Meadows Park – Google Map
Uptown Manhattan: Meet at the Great Hill in Central Park – Google Map
Williamsburg / Bushwick: Meet at Maria Hernandez Park – Google Map

Everyone should meet at their chosen meeting point at 3 PM. Please be on time. Feel free to be early.

At the meeting points, participants will be organized into groups and assigned a specific train car. Once everyone is divided up we will all head to nearby subway station[s]. Do not talk to others once you enter the subway system. No one knows each other.

Sit in the car as you normally would. Read a magazine or whatever you would normally do. Your team leader will have already divided you into smaller groups, assigning your group a specific stop where you will depants.

As soon as the doors shut at the stop before yours, stand up and take your pants off and put them in your backpack. If you’d like to use a briefcase, purse, grocery bag, or whatever instead of a backpack that’s fine too. If anyone asks you why you’ve removed your pants, tell them that they were “getting uncomfortable” (or something along those lines.)

Exit the train at your assigned stop and stand on the platform, pantless. You will wait on the platform for the next train to arrive. Stay in the exact same place on the platform so you enter the next train in the same car as you exited the last train.

When you enter, act as you normally would. You do not know any of the other pantless riders. If questioned, tell folks that you “forgot to wear pants” and yes you are “a little cold.” Insist that it is a coincidence that others also forgot their pants. Be nice and friendly and normal.

All train routes will converge on Union Square. Your exact route will be explained at the meeting point, and may involve a transfer.

You can wear fun underwear if you like, but nothing that screams out, “I wore this because I’m doing a silly stunt.” Wear two pairs of underwear if it makes you feel more comfortable. Don’t wear a thong or anything else that might offend people. Our aim is to make people laugh, not piss them off.

If you haven’t already, please take a moment to read about previous No Pants Subway Rides.

Please leave your cameras at home and resist the temptation to snap photos with your iPhone, etc. while the event is happening. Take as many as you like before and after the event, but during the ride we really want people to enjoy the experience of participating rather than documenting. It detracts from the mission if everyone is taking photos of each other rather than keeping a straight face. Don’t worry, we have photographers assigned to every meeting point who will take great photos.

This is always a blast, and we look forward to seeing you there. You may bring along friends if you like, but make sure they get a chance to read all of these instructions.

This year, for the first time, we are having an official afterparty.

Winkel & Balktick and Improv Everywhere Present…
NO PANTS COUNTRY CLUB

The Official No Pants Subway Ride 2012 Afterparty

Sunday January 8 2012, 4:30pm-11pm
At The Greenwich Village Country Club, 110 University Place btwn 12th & 13th, top floor
$10 cover, $5 drink specials, full food menu
Pantsless dress code, pants check available, 21+ w/ ID
RSVP on Facebook

Featuring great DJs, no-pants-themed ridiculousness, and pantless minigolf!

If you are a twitter user, tag your posts with #NPSR and @improvevery so everyone can follow along.

New for this year there is an official t-shirt. Order yours today for a pre-sale deal.

See you on the 8th!

Be aware that by participating, you recognize that Improv Everywhere is not liable in the event you are injured, arrested, or worse. By choosing to participate you are still responsible for your actions.

2011 No Pants Subway Ride photo by Katie Sokoler

As in years past, there are No Pants Subway Rides happening in dozens of cities around the world on January 8, the same day as our annual event in New York. Below find a list of participating cities with links to Facebook events. If you do not see your city and want to organize a ride, you can register your city by filling out this form.

Cities participating in the global No Pants Subway Ride:

- Adelaide
- Amsterdam
- Ann Arbor
- Atlanta
- Austin
- Barcelona
- Bangalore
- Berlin
- Boston
- Brisbane
- Buenos Aires
- Calgary
- Chicago
- Cleveland
- Copenhagen
- Dallas
- Hamburg
- Helsinki
- Houston
- Istanbul
- Jerusalem
- Las Vegas
- Lisbon
- Ljubljana
- London
- Los Angeles
- Madrid
- Manchester
- Melbourne
- Mexico City
- Miami
- Milan
- Minneapolis
- Munich
- New York
- Oslo
- Paris
- Phoenix
- Portland
- Porto
- Prague
- Prescott
- Salt Lake City
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- Santiago
- Seattle
- Sofia [Bulgaria]
- St. Louis
- Stockholm
- Sydney
- Tel Aviv
- Torino
- Toronto
- Valencia
- Vancouver
- Vienna
- Warsaw
- Washington, DC
- Zürich

If you participate in a regional ride and use twitter, tag your posts with #NPSR and @improvevery so everyone can follow along with other cities throughout the day.

New for this year there is an official t-shirt. Order yours today for a pre-sale deal.

We couldn’t be more excited to share the first teaser video for the Improv Everywhere documentary our collaborator Matt Adams has been working on. Matt has interviewed over 50 veteran Improv Everywhere performers, including some of our famous friends like Ben Folds, Aubrey Plaza, and Nick Kroll.

Thanks to everyone who helped Matt raise money to complete the film on Kickstarter. Stay tuned for updates on the film’s progress.

Here’s another video made using footage from the project:

Improv Everywhere Volume 4 features all of the missions from the last three years. See all of our new videos in DVD quality, along with commentary tracks, and special features. Hours of footage! See the full tracklisting here.

The DVD is $20 and shipping is free anywhere in the US (extra shipping for international orders.)

We are currently working on getting volumes 1, 2 and 3 back in print. News on that soon. Don’t forget we have a t-shirt and a book for sale on our merch page.

Order your copy of Improv Everywherer Volume 4:

UPDATE:
- Details for the New York Event
- Details for other cities

The 11th Annual No Pants Subway Ride will take place on Sunday, January 8 in New York City. More info with the meeting point and start time will be posted to this site in early January. For now, save the date. You can RSVP on Facebook.

Once again we are encouraging folks in other cities around the world to stage their own No Pants Subway Rides on the same day. Regional organizers must fill out this registration form to have their event included. In a few weeks we will publish a list of all participating cities along with links to Facebook events. Groups have staged the event on trolleys, light rails, and buses in the past, so don’t let a lack of subway system stop you! 48 cities participated last year. Check the list on this page to see if one happened in your city last year as preference will go to the prior year’s organizers.

If you are unfamiliar with this tradition, you can read the history here: The No Pants Subway Ride.

This year there is an official t-shirt. Order yours today for a pre-sale deal.

No Pants Subway Ride 2011 Photo by Katie Sokoler

For our latest mission, a musical breaks out at a shopping mall in New Jersey. A man is suddenly compelled to express his desire to sit on Santa’s lap via song. This is the fifth in our series of Spontaneous Musical projects. Enjoy the video first and then go behind the scenes with our report below.

Also of note: we have a new DVD and t-shirt for sale! Put them both on Santa’s list when you sit in his lap.

Produced by: Charlie Todd
Song by: Scott Brown and Anthony King
Director of Photography: TV Boy
Still Photos: Katie Sokoler – Flickr Set – (photo credit for all photos on this page.)
Starring: (in order of appearance) Michael Kayne, Megan Maes, Lauren Adams, Amy Heidt, Sebastian Thomas, Jim Santangeli, Evan Gregory, Michael Gregory, Don Fanelli, Rich Klimaski

Agent Brown working with the cast at our first rehearsal

Most of our cast had performed in previous Improv Everywhere projects, but we also added some new performers who we had not worked with. I was thrilled when I learned Evan and Michael Gregory of The Gregory Brothers fame were available for the mission. Not only are they hilarious YouTube stars, they’re super nice and cool dudes. Agent Sebastian Thomas was cast to play the young kid. He’s nine years old, making him our youngest musical performer! Agent Rich Klimaski was brought in to play Santa Claus, a role he plays quite frequently this time of year. It was sad doing a Santa Claus-themed mission and not having our dear friend John Ward there to be a part of it. John of course played Santa for us in the very first Mp3 Experiment.

Here’s a video I shot at our rehearsal of the cast running through the song:

Agent Thomas makes a Styrofoam angel at dress rehearsal

We had a dress rehearsal in the mall the night before the mission. Although many Improv Everywhere projects are unauthorized, the production values needed to pull off one of our musicals requires permission. We worked with production company Generate and hidden camera experts TV Boy to install hidden cameras and microphones at the mall.

Agent Amy Heidt gets mic’d up

Our hidden camera angles in our secret control room

Working with the mall enabled us to take over their Santa set up. They had a Santa working that day, and we staged the mission during his breaks, swapping out their Santa for our Santa each time.

We staged the mission a few times throughout the day, waiting for the crowds to change between them. Hilariously, Agent Michael Gregory hid inside the giant Christmas present for a good ten minutes before each take, ensuring no one there saw him get in.

The Christmas present in action

Agent Evan Gregory as “the delivery man”

Agent Soltys had the tedious task of putting the peanuts back in the box after each take

The area we staged the musical in had a really great balcony above it. For each take we had a full crowd of people watching from above in addition to those on the ground level.

During one take, a little girl loved it so much that she walked right up to the performers mid-song.

Since this is our fifth musical, we wanted to make sure there were some surprises in to set it apart from the previous ones. We developed a fake ending concept, where it seemed like the musical was over and that a guy working the Santa photos in an elf costume actually wanted our actors to leave the area. Of course he, along with Santa, turned out to be in on it.

Agent Don Fanelli as the Elf

We actually cut a section of the song out of the video, which you can see in the photo above. The Elf joined in the song for a few lines as everyone sang the chorus one last time. What we found out staging the musical was that our fake ending was actually too good. Everyone applauded and many folks started walking away. So a certain percentage of the audience left the area without realizing Santa and the Elf were in on it. It felt a little anti-climactic in the video, so we cut it out. You can see the original full song in the rehearsal video above.

Santa sings!

Photographer Agent Katie Sokoler decided to hide in the box and surprise people, long after the mission was over.

Mission Accomplished

- Many more photos in higher resolution: Agent Sokoler’s Flickr Set

- Our first musical: Food Court Musical
- Our second musical: Grocery Story Musical
- Our third musical: I Love Lunch! The Musical
- Our fourth musical: Gotta Share! The Musical
- Buy the original cast recording of Gutenberg! The Musical, also by Brown & King.

- Gregory Brothers’ vlog from the day:

If this is your first time here:
-our over 100 other missions can be seen here: Missions
-sign up for our RSS feed and Newsletter
-Subscribe to our YouTube channel, twitter, and Facebook page.
-We have merch for sale!