1 00:00:13,361 --> 00:00:15,798 My name is Nathan Fielder, 2 00:00:15,885 --> 00:00:17,147 and I graduated from one of Canada's top business schools 3 00:00:17,234 --> 00:00:19,497 with really good grades. 4 00:00:19,584 --> 00:00:21,760 Now I'm using my knowledge 5 00:00:21,847 --> 00:00:23,893 to help struggling small business owners make it 6 00:00:23,980 --> 00:00:26,461 in this competitive world. 7 00:00:26,548 --> 00:00:30,291 This is "Nathan for You." 8 00:00:30,378 --> 00:00:33,163 In season two of my show, I gave marketing advice 9 00:00:33,250 --> 00:00:36,514 to a small taxi company owner named Andy Farshidian, 10 00:00:36,601 --> 00:00:38,212 whose business was being destroyed 11 00:00:38,299 --> 00:00:40,083 by the ride share giant Uber. 12 00:00:44,131 --> 00:00:46,916 The idea was to generate press by encouraging 13 00:00:47,003 --> 00:00:49,658 pregnant riders to give birth in his taxi. 14 00:00:49,745 --> 00:00:52,835 But what I never saw coming was that just a few months 15 00:00:52,922 --> 00:00:56,143 after that episode aired Uber just happened to launch 16 00:00:56,230 --> 00:00:59,929 a new campaign offering free baby onesies to anyone 17 00:01:00,016 --> 00:01:02,801 who gives birth in one of their cars. 18 00:01:02,888 --> 00:01:06,675 Encouraging customers births to get press was our idea. 19 00:01:06,762 --> 00:01:08,546 And when I met up with Andy to tell him about it, 20 00:01:08,633 --> 00:01:10,635 he couldn't believe his eyes. 21 00:01:10,722 --> 00:01:13,203 You know, you're right. You're right. 22 00:01:13,290 --> 00:01:15,988 They stole our idea. 23 00:01:16,076 --> 00:01:17,294 Did you know about this? 24 00:01:17,381 --> 00:01:18,643 No, I never saw this. 25 00:01:18,730 --> 00:01:20,863 This is the first time I saw it. 26 00:01:20,950 --> 00:01:24,171 After already having taken so much from this struggling cabby, 27 00:01:24,258 --> 00:01:26,216 for Uber, this was a new low. 28 00:01:26,303 --> 00:01:29,350 Business had gotten so bad that Andy had resorted 29 00:01:29,437 --> 00:01:32,614 to turning his cab into a mobile karaoke booth 30 00:01:32,701 --> 00:01:35,486 in a last-ditch effort to hold on to his customers. 31 00:01:35,573 --> 00:01:37,880 ♪ Say my name say my name ♪ 32 00:01:37,967 --> 00:01:39,055 ♪ Around you ♪ 33 00:01:39,142 --> 00:01:40,839 ♪ Say I love you ♪ 34 00:01:40,926 --> 00:01:42,363 ♪ If you--my name ♪ 35 00:01:42,450 --> 00:01:44,800 ♪ Say my name say my name ♪ 36 00:01:44,887 --> 00:01:46,802 It was clear we had to do something. 37 00:01:46,889 --> 00:01:49,500 So I sat down with Andy to discuss our options. 38 00:01:49,587 --> 00:01:51,241 I never get mad. 39 00:01:51,328 --> 00:01:52,808 I'm very cool and calm all time time, 40 00:01:52,895 --> 00:01:55,811 but I am so furious that they did this to you. 41 00:01:55,898 --> 00:01:57,682 They stole everything. You know what I mean? 42 00:01:57,769 --> 00:01:59,945 The idea, the money, the passenger, everything. 43 00:02:00,032 --> 00:02:01,599 They stole everything, you know? 44 00:02:01,686 --> 00:02:05,560 Well, I have an idea, but it's pretty crazy. 45 00:02:05,647 --> 00:02:07,431 Talk to me. 46 00:02:07,518 --> 00:02:09,868 Uber may be a powerful company, 47 00:02:09,955 --> 00:02:12,306 but there's a big vulnerability in their business model. 48 00:02:12,393 --> 00:02:14,743 Anyone can become a driver. 49 00:02:14,830 --> 00:02:17,702 So if we recruited a fleet of disgruntled cabbies 50 00:02:17,789 --> 00:02:19,748 to sign up as Uber drivers, 51 00:02:19,835 --> 00:02:22,054 we could effectively create a sleeper cell 52 00:02:22,142 --> 00:02:24,753 of rogue agents within the Uber network, 53 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:27,321 allowing Andy I with the push of a button 54 00:02:27,408 --> 00:02:29,497 to turn our drivers into nightmares 55 00:02:29,584 --> 00:02:32,456 and unleash total chaos across the globe. 56 00:02:32,543 --> 00:02:35,720 The plan: get Uber to stop using those baby onesies 57 00:02:35,807 --> 00:02:38,158 by threatening them with a sleeper cell. 58 00:02:38,245 --> 00:02:40,072 A sleeper cell, you said? 59 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:42,292 - Sleeper cell. - A sleeper cell. 60 00:02:42,379 --> 00:02:44,599 - Not sleeping. - Yeah, just a sleep cell. 61 00:02:44,686 --> 00:02:46,514 - Sleeper. - Oh, sleeper. 62 00:02:46,601 --> 00:02:47,863 Sleeper cell. Oh, the person asleep. 63 00:02:47,950 --> 00:02:49,386 - Sleeper cell. - But no one's sleeping. 64 00:02:49,473 --> 00:02:51,258 - Yeah, I know. - Right. 65 00:02:51,345 --> 00:02:53,085 - Yeah, okay. - 'Cause once Uber realizes 66 00:02:53,173 --> 00:02:56,872 a large portion of their drivers are under our control, 67 00:02:56,959 --> 00:02:59,309 they'll have no choice but to listen to your demands. 68 00:02:59,396 --> 00:03:00,919 Very smart, very smart. 69 00:03:01,006 --> 00:03:02,573 And at that point, you can tell them, 70 00:03:02,660 --> 00:03:04,227 "Get rid of that onesie." 71 00:03:04,314 --> 00:03:06,142 Knock them down. 72 00:03:06,229 --> 00:03:08,623 That's the best idea. 73 00:03:08,710 --> 00:03:10,190 I love you, man. 74 00:03:10,277 --> 00:03:13,932 I, uh...I love you too. 75 00:03:17,327 --> 00:03:18,633 Okay, so I think that's good for today. 76 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:20,722 Okay. 77 00:03:20,809 --> 00:03:22,680 I'd never started a sleeper cell before. 78 00:03:22,767 --> 00:03:24,813 But in doing some research online, 79 00:03:24,900 --> 00:03:27,642 I learned that the key to running any clandestine cell 80 00:03:27,729 --> 00:03:30,645 operation is having a communication structure that 81 00:03:30,732 --> 00:03:33,213 kept the identities of the leaders secret. 82 00:03:33,300 --> 00:03:36,825 That way, if any of our sleeper agents were compromised, 83 00:03:36,912 --> 00:03:38,870 they wouldn't be able to rat us out to Uber 84 00:03:38,957 --> 00:03:41,046 and bring down the cell. 85 00:03:41,133 --> 00:03:44,659 From now on, we couldn't risk using our personal phones. 86 00:03:44,746 --> 00:03:47,270 We'd have to get prepaid burner phones. 87 00:03:47,357 --> 00:03:50,491 So to make sure the purchase couldn't be traced back to us, 88 00:03:50,578 --> 00:03:53,363 I anonymously hired someone off Craigslist 89 00:03:53,450 --> 00:03:56,061 to go to a local Walgreens and told him there would be cash 90 00:03:56,148 --> 00:03:59,674 hidden in a dirty McDonald's cup outside the location, 91 00:03:59,761 --> 00:04:02,285 which he was to use to buy up the store's entire supply 92 00:04:02,372 --> 00:04:04,722 of prepaid cell phones. 93 00:04:04,809 --> 00:04:07,116 The Craigslist guy was told to then bring the phones 94 00:04:07,203 --> 00:04:10,075 to an abandoned pier at the San Pedro harbor 95 00:04:10,162 --> 00:04:12,121 at exactly 1:15 p.m., 96 00:04:12,208 --> 00:04:14,776 where he would find a waterproof pouch hidden 97 00:04:14,863 --> 00:04:18,127 inside a white first aid kit at the end of the dock. 98 00:04:18,214 --> 00:04:21,609 He was then instructed to put all the phones into the pouch, 99 00:04:21,696 --> 00:04:24,786 hook the base of the pouch to a nearby cinder block, 100 00:04:24,873 --> 00:04:27,832 and throw it off the pier, where unbeknownst to him, 101 00:04:27,919 --> 00:04:30,966 I was awaiting the delivery in full scuba gear 102 00:04:31,053 --> 00:04:33,751 beneath the surface completing the final step 103 00:04:33,838 --> 00:04:36,276 of a burner phone purchase that would be impossible 104 00:04:36,363 --> 00:04:39,583 to trace back to either me or Andy. 105 00:04:39,670 --> 00:04:42,194 Now that we had a way to communicate with our drivers, 106 00:04:42,282 --> 00:04:45,154 we would need to figure out the commands to give them. 107 00:04:45,241 --> 00:04:47,722 So I started researching Uber Yelp reviews 108 00:04:47,809 --> 00:04:50,725 and online comments to see what behaviors from drivers 109 00:04:50,812 --> 00:04:52,988 customers hated the most. 110 00:04:53,075 --> 00:04:56,252 The complaints ranged from foul-smelling vehicles 111 00:04:56,339 --> 00:05:00,343 to telling offensive jokes to blasting terrible music. 112 00:05:00,430 --> 00:05:02,911 But to know which combination of these would be most 113 00:05:02,998 --> 00:05:04,956 effective, we would need to test them out 114 00:05:05,043 --> 00:05:07,263 on actual Uber customers. 115 00:05:07,350 --> 00:05:10,745 So I had Andy go undercover and sign up for an Uber driver 116 00:05:10,832 --> 00:05:12,790 account with his personal vehicle. 117 00:05:12,877 --> 00:05:15,576 And after taking it for a final inspection 118 00:05:15,663 --> 00:05:17,578 posing as an average Joe looking to make 119 00:05:17,665 --> 00:05:19,406 a few extra bucks on the side... 120 00:05:19,493 --> 00:05:21,016 Yeah, I'm just an average Joe, 121 00:05:21,103 --> 00:05:23,235 make some money the side, you know. 122 00:05:25,237 --> 00:05:27,414 Yeah, I'm a normal guy. 123 00:05:27,501 --> 00:05:30,808 Andy was now registered as a fully accredited Uber driver. 124 00:05:30,895 --> 00:05:33,028 And that meant we could begin our test. 125 00:05:33,115 --> 00:05:34,769 "Playing bad music," yep. 126 00:05:34,856 --> 00:05:37,206 "Bad smell, driver..." 127 00:05:37,293 --> 00:05:38,773 Driver what? 128 00:05:38,860 --> 00:05:41,341 - Gas. - Oh, that's bad, yeah. 129 00:05:41,428 --> 00:05:43,952 - What's the worst of these? - The worst one's 130 00:05:44,039 --> 00:05:46,041 driver gets lost--go 5 right? 131 00:05:46,128 --> 00:05:48,913 You're supposed to go to 5 North, drive me 5 South. 132 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:52,482 That's it. They're like, "No, it's crazy." 133 00:05:52,569 --> 00:05:54,484 Do you know how to do these, like-- 134 00:05:54,571 --> 00:05:55,659 Oh, of course. 135 00:05:55,746 --> 00:05:57,444 I'm the master of these. 136 00:05:57,531 --> 00:05:59,097 You're already a bad driver? 137 00:05:59,184 --> 00:06:02,623 No, I'm not bad driver, but I have lots of experience. 138 00:06:02,710 --> 00:06:05,060 To simulate the smell of driver farting, 139 00:06:05,147 --> 00:06:07,541 I brought Andy box full of ziplock bags 140 00:06:07,628 --> 00:06:10,370 each filled with a sulfur-based stink spray. 141 00:06:10,457 --> 00:06:12,154 - So it's, like, one per ride. - Okay. 142 00:06:12,241 --> 00:06:13,329 They smell really bad. 143 00:06:13,416 --> 00:06:15,244 Oh, they--oh, okay. 144 00:06:15,331 --> 00:06:17,028 To test the effects of bad music, 145 00:06:17,115 --> 00:06:19,553 I gave him a burned CD with an endless loop 146 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:23,905 of Lou Bega's 1999 hit "Mambo No. 5" on it, 147 00:06:23,992 --> 00:06:25,559 considered by many experts to be one of 148 00:06:25,646 --> 00:06:27,387 the worst songs ever made. 149 00:06:27,474 --> 00:06:29,476 So with everything prepped, 150 00:06:29,563 --> 00:06:31,391 Andy turned on his Uber app and headed out 151 00:06:31,478 --> 00:06:34,002 to pick up some customers. 152 00:06:34,089 --> 00:06:36,526 - Hello. How are you? - Fine. How about you? 153 00:06:36,613 --> 00:06:38,223 - What's your name? - Lori. 154 00:06:38,310 --> 00:06:40,443 Lori, yeah. 155 00:06:40,530 --> 00:06:41,662 Well, it doesn't matter the price. 156 00:06:41,749 --> 00:06:44,534 How did it come out? 157 00:06:44,621 --> 00:06:46,536 Yeah. 158 00:06:46,623 --> 00:06:48,973 Uh-huh. 159 00:06:49,060 --> 00:06:51,846 Excuse me. Can I--can we roll down the window? 160 00:06:51,933 --> 00:06:53,413 Oh, the window doesn't work. It's broken. 161 00:06:53,500 --> 00:06:54,588 - It doesn't go down? - No. 162 00:06:54,675 --> 00:06:57,025 Oh, 'cause it smells in here. 163 00:06:57,112 --> 00:06:59,157 Oh, I'm in an Uber right now. 164 00:06:59,244 --> 00:07:02,160 I'm going someplace, and the window doesn't go down. 165 00:07:02,247 --> 00:07:04,554 And it kind of smells in here. . 166 00:07:04,641 --> 00:07:06,469 So--oh, wait. No, so I can't... 167 00:07:06,556 --> 00:07:08,471 Ladies and gentlemen, this is mambo number five. 168 00:07:08,558 --> 00:07:10,212 Oh, wait. I'm on the phone. I'm sorry. I'm on the phone. 169 00:07:10,299 --> 00:07:12,736 Excuse me. Sir. 170 00:07:14,259 --> 00:07:16,784 Sir, I'm on the phone. 171 00:07:16,871 --> 00:07:20,135 Oh, my God. I'm gonna get out. 172 00:07:20,222 --> 00:07:22,311 ♪ One, two, three, four, five ♪ 173 00:07:22,398 --> 00:07:24,095 I'm getting out. 174 00:07:24,182 --> 00:07:26,794 The first ride lasted less than a minute, 175 00:07:26,881 --> 00:07:28,056 and after running through our list 176 00:07:28,143 --> 00:07:29,579 with several other customers... 177 00:07:29,666 --> 00:07:31,102 Yo, I think I'm lost, man. 178 00:07:31,189 --> 00:07:33,191 You're lost? 179 00:07:33,278 --> 00:07:34,889 The most intolerable Uber driver behaviors 180 00:07:34,976 --> 00:07:36,064 became clear. 181 00:07:36,151 --> 00:07:38,153 Turn off the music. 182 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:39,850 Cut it off. 183 00:07:39,937 --> 00:07:42,026 Turn off the music. 184 00:07:43,158 --> 00:07:44,942 Turn off the music. 185 00:07:45,029 --> 00:07:46,944 And after a full day of testing, 186 00:07:47,031 --> 00:07:48,859 we got the results we were hoping for. 187 00:07:48,946 --> 00:07:50,600 Bad rating. 188 00:07:50,687 --> 00:07:52,210 Bad rating. They gave me all bad rating. 189 00:07:52,297 --> 00:07:54,561 With our activation plan in place, 190 00:07:54,648 --> 00:07:58,565 we decided to name our sleeper cell after Andy's dog Lucky. 191 00:07:58,652 --> 00:08:00,654 Because he thought it would bring us luck. 192 00:08:00,741 --> 00:08:04,962 So maybe we get lucky, you know, from his name. 193 00:08:05,049 --> 00:08:07,487 So I created a website that would act as our main hub 194 00:08:07,574 --> 00:08:09,793 for recruits to sign up. 195 00:08:09,880 --> 00:08:12,709 Now I just had to get word spreading amongst taxi drivers. 196 00:08:15,407 --> 00:08:17,235 Because I had to remain anonymous while recruiting 197 00:08:17,322 --> 00:08:19,586 drivers, I went to a local hospital pickup zone 198 00:08:19,673 --> 00:08:22,458 disguised as someone who had just been released from surgery 199 00:08:22,545 --> 00:08:24,155 and began hailing cabs. 200 00:08:24,242 --> 00:08:25,940 - Hi, there. - Yes. 201 00:08:26,027 --> 00:08:27,332 - Where do you want to go? - Just circle the block. 202 00:08:27,419 --> 00:08:29,944 We have business to discuss. 203 00:08:30,031 --> 00:08:32,250 My goal was to get word spreading that an anti-Uber 204 00:08:32,337 --> 00:08:34,426 resistance was looking for members. 205 00:08:34,514 --> 00:08:36,080 So how's the taxi business going? 206 00:08:40,128 --> 00:08:41,695 Not doing as well as you used to? 207 00:08:43,305 --> 00:08:44,480 Why is that? 208 00:08:48,832 --> 00:08:51,052 If you're interested in helping take Uber down, 209 00:08:51,139 --> 00:08:53,228 give me a call. 210 00:08:53,315 --> 00:08:56,405 I spent the entire day hailing cabs, 211 00:08:56,492 --> 00:08:59,713 driving in a circle, and talking up drivers. 212 00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:01,671 Would you be happier if Uber wasn't around? 213 00:09:04,195 --> 00:09:06,415 Well, there might be a way to do that. 214 00:09:06,502 --> 00:09:08,939 Each of the business cards I gave them had a burner 215 00:09:09,026 --> 00:09:11,115 phone number on it where they could get information 216 00:09:11,202 --> 00:09:13,640 about a meeting that would be happening later that week. 217 00:09:17,426 --> 00:09:19,515 The interested cabbies who reached out 218 00:09:19,602 --> 00:09:22,344 were given the address of a local day care I had rented 219 00:09:22,431 --> 00:09:24,781 after hours, where they were told the leaders of 220 00:09:24,868 --> 00:09:26,783 The Lucky Group would be speaking. 221 00:09:26,870 --> 00:09:29,220 So while the cabbies trickled in and helped themselves 222 00:09:29,307 --> 00:09:31,353 to our spread of complimentary snacks, 223 00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:33,747 Andy and I got ready in the back storage room. 224 00:09:33,834 --> 00:09:36,140 - Does it fit okay? - Yeah. 225 00:09:36,227 --> 00:09:38,926 But even with disguises, Andy was concerned that a fellow 226 00:09:39,013 --> 00:09:41,058 cabbie might recognize his voice. 227 00:09:41,145 --> 00:09:43,844 I'm the most famous cab driver in Orange County. 228 00:09:43,931 --> 00:09:45,497 - Everybody knows me. - Really? 229 00:09:45,585 --> 00:09:48,152 - Yeah. - Can you do any accents? 230 00:09:48,239 --> 00:09:51,068 Or can you disguise your voice in any way? 231 00:09:51,155 --> 00:09:54,289 So how about Southeast United States, 232 00:09:54,376 --> 00:09:55,986 somewhere around there, 233 00:09:56,073 --> 00:09:57,422 Louisiana or something in that area? 234 00:09:57,509 --> 00:09:59,511 Sure. 235 00:09:59,599 --> 00:10:02,253 How was your day, partner? 236 00:10:02,340 --> 00:10:03,646 How is your business? 237 00:10:03,733 --> 00:10:06,388 The taxi's gone, man. 238 00:10:06,475 --> 00:10:08,085 That's Louisiana? 239 00:10:08,172 --> 00:10:10,392 - Somewhere around Louisiana. - Oh. 240 00:10:10,479 --> 00:10:11,828 Maybe it's not exactly, but somewhere around Louisiana, 241 00:10:11,915 --> 00:10:13,308 the Southeast, I know that one. 242 00:10:13,395 --> 00:10:14,918 Yeah, I think that will work. 243 00:10:15,005 --> 00:10:17,138 - Okay. - Sure, yeah, okay. 244 00:10:17,225 --> 00:10:20,054 And with that, we headed out to begin the orientation. 245 00:10:20,141 --> 00:10:23,884 I'd like to apologize for the disguises. 246 00:10:23,971 --> 00:10:25,755 But what we're doing is very sensitive in nature, 247 00:10:25,842 --> 00:10:28,105 so they are necessary. 248 00:10:28,192 --> 00:10:31,369 Firstly, thank you all for being here. 249 00:10:34,372 --> 00:10:36,374 We are The Lucky Group. 250 00:10:36,461 --> 00:10:39,334 So we all agree that the Uber corporation 251 00:10:39,421 --> 00:10:41,249 has destroyed our industry, right? 252 00:10:41,336 --> 00:10:42,467 Yes. 253 00:10:42,554 --> 00:10:44,731 Our business down 60%. 254 00:10:44,818 --> 00:10:46,341 - 85% - Wow. 255 00:10:46,428 --> 00:10:48,517 Since Uber. 256 00:10:48,604 --> 00:10:50,867 As soon as Uber was mentioned, a wave of frustration 257 00:10:50,954 --> 00:10:53,217 swept over the room. 258 00:10:53,304 --> 00:10:57,700 Uber corporation itself taken over everything, everything. 259 00:10:57,787 --> 00:10:59,876 It is completely unfair. 260 00:10:59,963 --> 00:11:02,879 We're working with our permits. 261 00:11:02,966 --> 00:11:05,403 We're working with background checks. 262 00:11:05,490 --> 00:11:08,755 You know, whenever I see bad news coming out of Uber, 263 00:11:08,842 --> 00:11:11,758 I will see rape, rape, and then, "We deliver puppies." 264 00:11:11,845 --> 00:11:14,891 I will not allow anyone in my family 265 00:11:14,978 --> 00:11:17,807 to ride in an Uber vehicle. 266 00:11:17,894 --> 00:11:20,331 Because it's--not because it's competition 267 00:11:20,418 --> 00:11:21,942 but because it's unsafe. 268 00:11:22,029 --> 00:11:24,422 I cannot pay my mortgage. 269 00:11:24,509 --> 00:11:28,252 I cannot buy good shoes for my children. 270 00:11:28,339 --> 00:11:31,125 Listening to these stories, I began to understand 271 00:11:31,212 --> 00:11:33,997 the human cost of Uber's unquenchable thirst 272 00:11:34,084 --> 00:11:35,216 for expansion. 273 00:11:35,303 --> 00:11:36,957 And it's not me alone. 274 00:11:37,044 --> 00:11:39,481 Maybe thousands and thousands like me. 275 00:11:39,568 --> 00:11:42,745 I just hoped Andy would be able to sell them on our plan. 276 00:11:42,832 --> 00:11:44,747 I think have more experience 277 00:11:44,834 --> 00:11:48,403 than any of you in taxi business. 278 00:11:48,490 --> 00:11:51,449 I started in taxi business in about 279 00:11:51,536 --> 00:11:55,627 1984, '85. 280 00:11:55,715 --> 00:11:58,718 1980 right here. 281 00:11:58,805 --> 00:12:03,070 Oh, okay, so you have four years more experience than me. 282 00:12:03,157 --> 00:12:05,812 It was a bit of a rocky start, but pretty soon, 283 00:12:05,899 --> 00:12:07,422 they started to get it. 284 00:12:07,509 --> 00:12:11,600 I want you to humiliate Uber driver 285 00:12:11,687 --> 00:12:13,907 and get one star. 286 00:12:13,994 --> 00:12:15,647 How it is gonna affect the whole system? 287 00:12:15,735 --> 00:12:17,475 No, no, no, no, no. What he's saying is, 288 00:12:17,562 --> 00:12:19,869 you give bad service to a customer. 289 00:12:19,956 --> 00:12:21,436 - Bad service? - Yeah. 290 00:12:21,523 --> 00:12:23,394 - Thank you. - And before long, 291 00:12:23,481 --> 00:12:25,483 it seemed like we had won them over. 292 00:12:25,570 --> 00:12:27,877 From our company alone, 293 00:12:27,964 --> 00:12:31,707 I will tell about 250 drivers went to Uber, 294 00:12:31,794 --> 00:12:33,665 and I have contact with all of them. 295 00:12:33,753 --> 00:12:35,493 So they are sleeper cells, 296 00:12:35,580 --> 00:12:37,669 all those people holding City of Los Angeles 297 00:12:37,757 --> 00:12:39,846 taxicab driving permits. 298 00:12:39,933 --> 00:12:41,238 So you have 250 people. 299 00:12:41,325 --> 00:12:43,458 I have--I don't have to persuade anybody. 300 00:12:43,545 --> 00:12:46,678 I can give you names and driver's license numbers 301 00:12:46,766 --> 00:12:49,377 in a matter of 25 minutes. 302 00:12:49,464 --> 00:12:51,553 The meeting couldn't have gone better, 303 00:12:51,640 --> 00:12:54,034 and the drivers were eager to hand out our website info 304 00:12:54,121 --> 00:12:56,210 to all of their friends. 305 00:12:56,297 --> 00:12:56,993 I will--I have bunch of friends I'm gonna give them to. 306 00:12:57,080 --> 00:12:57,994 - Really? - Yes. 307 00:12:58,081 --> 00:13:00,040 Thank you so much. 308 00:13:00,127 --> 00:13:02,303 Within a week, we already had 62 sign-ups 309 00:13:02,390 --> 00:13:04,566 in The Lucky Group inbox. 310 00:13:04,653 --> 00:13:07,351 So with momentum building, I felt it was time to 311 00:13:07,438 --> 00:13:09,571 prepare a short video to make Uber aware 312 00:13:09,658 --> 00:13:11,573 of our presence. 313 00:14:16,551 --> 00:14:17,726 I was pretty happy with how the video turned out. 314 00:14:17,813 --> 00:14:19,423 But before sending it to Uber, 315 00:14:19,510 --> 00:14:21,773 I wanted to show Andy it to get his thoughts. 316 00:14:26,866 --> 00:14:31,566 It's a little bit... 317 00:14:31,653 --> 00:14:34,047 you go too far. 318 00:14:34,134 --> 00:14:37,398 After watching the video, Andy seemed very concerned. 319 00:14:37,485 --> 00:14:41,532 It's not--they then sue us, we go to jail, all of us. 320 00:14:41,619 --> 00:14:43,534 And that made me worry too. 321 00:14:43,621 --> 00:14:45,928 I hadn't fully considered the legal risks 322 00:14:46,015 --> 00:14:48,322 of starting a sleeper cell. 323 00:14:48,409 --> 00:14:50,977 And as a Canadian citizen, if I got charged with even 324 00:14:51,064 --> 00:14:54,328 a misdemeanor, it would be a violation of my green card, 325 00:14:54,415 --> 00:14:57,984 and I'd be deported from the country I've grown to love, 326 00:14:58,071 --> 00:15:01,552 America, so I did some research to see if there was anything 327 00:15:01,639 --> 00:15:03,685 that could protect me from deportation. 328 00:15:03,772 --> 00:15:05,469 And it seemed like the only thing that could give me 329 00:15:05,556 --> 00:15:08,733 immunity was if I married a U.S. citizen. 330 00:15:08,820 --> 00:15:12,259 There was no one in my life who would marry me right now. 331 00:15:12,346 --> 00:15:15,131 I tried asking Andy if he would marry me as a favor, 332 00:15:15,218 --> 00:15:16,393 but he didn't want to do it. 333 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:18,308 Just legal status? 334 00:15:18,395 --> 00:15:20,223 Yeah. 335 00:15:20,310 --> 00:15:23,139 I don't want to marry a man. 336 00:15:23,226 --> 00:15:26,229 So with the clock ticking and no romantic prospects, 337 00:15:26,316 --> 00:15:28,928 I felt like the only way to safely move forward 338 00:15:29,015 --> 00:15:31,887 was to marry Andy without his knowledge. 339 00:15:31,974 --> 00:15:34,934 My plan was to make it appear to Andy like we were just 340 00:15:35,021 --> 00:15:38,024 gonna grab some Chinese takeout for lunch one day. 341 00:15:38,111 --> 00:15:40,113 So I rented out a Chinese restaurant 342 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:42,724 and redesigned their menu to only consist 343 00:15:42,811 --> 00:15:45,509 of unappealing dishes that no reasonable person 344 00:15:45,596 --> 00:15:47,555 would want to order. 345 00:15:47,642 --> 00:15:49,513 The only exception was the house special, 346 00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:52,821 a chicken and broccoli dish called Ai-doo. 347 00:15:52,908 --> 00:15:55,824 To officiate the ceremony, I hired someone who specialized 348 00:15:55,911 --> 00:15:58,000 in traditional Chinese weddings. 349 00:15:58,087 --> 00:15:59,567 Oh, my gosh. I so nervous. 350 00:16:01,221 --> 00:16:02,526 - Don't be. Don't be. - Okay. 351 00:16:02,613 --> 00:16:05,007 - All right, so--so-- - To be clear, 352 00:16:05,094 --> 00:16:06,400 the ceremony's gonna be entirely in Mandarin? 353 00:16:06,487 --> 00:16:08,663 In Mandarin. That's correct. 354 00:16:08,750 --> 00:16:09,969 Okay, you're not gonna say a word of English the whole time? 355 00:16:10,056 --> 00:16:11,144 No, I won't say a word of English. 356 00:16:11,231 --> 00:16:13,276 - Okay. - Now, is Andy gonna 357 00:16:13,363 --> 00:16:14,756 understand Chinese? 358 00:16:14,843 --> 00:16:15,887 - Of course, yeah. - Yeah. 359 00:16:15,975 --> 00:16:17,759 - Yeah. - Definitely. 360 00:16:17,846 --> 00:16:20,762 So this where I was thinking you could stand... 361 00:16:20,849 --> 00:16:22,459 - All right. - And do the ceremony. 362 00:16:22,546 --> 00:16:23,852 - Oh, really? - And we'll come in there. 363 00:16:23,939 --> 00:16:26,202 Okay. 364 00:16:26,289 --> 00:16:27,943 So with our officiant in place, I met Andy outside 365 00:16:28,030 --> 00:16:29,989 when he arrived. 366 00:16:30,076 --> 00:16:32,078 One thing before we go in; it's really authentic, 367 00:16:32,165 --> 00:16:34,732 the restaurant, so it's respectful if you order 368 00:16:34,819 --> 00:16:36,038 your dish in Mandarin. 369 00:16:36,125 --> 00:16:37,300 It's written out phonetically. 370 00:16:37,387 --> 00:16:39,520 Oh, okay. 371 00:16:39,607 --> 00:16:43,176 And with that, we headed inside to get married. 372 00:17:07,330 --> 00:17:09,593 - What did he say? - I think he-- 373 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:10,899 he wants you to order. 374 00:17:10,986 --> 00:17:13,771 Oh, you want me to order. 375 00:17:13,858 --> 00:17:16,035 So... Ai-doo. 376 00:17:25,261 --> 00:17:27,481 I do. 377 00:17:27,568 --> 00:17:30,179 I told the officiant I wanted our marriage certificate 378 00:17:30,266 --> 00:17:32,834 to look like a restaurant bill as an homage to our first date 379 00:17:32,921 --> 00:17:33,922 where we split the check. 380 00:17:34,009 --> 00:17:35,532 So you accept Visa, right? 381 00:17:35,619 --> 00:17:37,708 After Andy and I each paid, 382 00:17:37,795 --> 00:17:39,710 we signed what he believed was the receipt... 383 00:17:41,756 --> 00:17:43,801 Officially making us jie hun, or married, 384 00:17:43,888 --> 00:17:46,413 in the eyes of the state of California. 385 00:17:46,500 --> 00:17:48,676 It was a little odd sitting across from someone 386 00:17:48,763 --> 00:17:50,939 who had no clue they were your husband. 387 00:17:51,026 --> 00:17:53,333 But all that really mattered is that I was now legally 388 00:17:53,420 --> 00:17:56,336 protected, so we could finally move forward with our plan. 389 00:17:59,339 --> 00:18:01,036 I was still a little nervous about delivering our video 390 00:18:01,123 --> 00:18:03,952 to Uber, as I knew that once I sent this email, 391 00:18:04,039 --> 00:18:06,128 they would do everything in their power to track us down. 392 00:18:06,215 --> 00:18:10,132 So before sending it, I cleared my entire browser history, 393 00:18:10,219 --> 00:18:12,047 including cookies, and destroyed 394 00:18:12,134 --> 00:18:14,310 any remaining evidence 395 00:18:14,397 --> 00:18:16,921 that could link either me or Andy to The Lucky Group. 396 00:18:17,008 --> 00:18:20,447 I didn't want to leave a single trace of our existence. 397 00:18:20,534 --> 00:18:22,927 Even the daycare we met at was fake 398 00:18:23,014 --> 00:18:26,583 and designed from the very start to disappear by morning. 399 00:18:26,670 --> 00:18:29,282 But when I called in Andy to delete his Uber account, 400 00:18:29,369 --> 00:18:30,979 he dropped a bombshell. 401 00:18:31,066 --> 00:18:32,633 What's all this? 402 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:36,245 These are how many--you've got five star. 403 00:18:36,332 --> 00:18:38,204 This is-- 404 00:18:38,291 --> 00:18:40,249 No, but why have you been doing Uber rides? 405 00:18:40,336 --> 00:18:44,340 You're doing rides every single day. 406 00:18:44,427 --> 00:18:46,647 Yeah. 407 00:18:46,734 --> 00:18:49,084 Andy had logged hundreds of rides on the account 408 00:18:49,171 --> 00:18:52,261 I set up for him since the time we completed our test. 409 00:18:52,348 --> 00:18:54,133 Well, so is this your job now? 410 00:18:54,220 --> 00:18:55,525 Are you an Uber driver? 411 00:18:55,612 --> 00:18:57,353 No, I'm not an Uber driver. I mean-- 412 00:18:57,440 --> 00:18:58,876 Well, what do you mean? You've done-- 413 00:18:58,963 --> 00:19:00,617 No, I started to research about that company. 414 00:19:00,704 --> 00:19:02,967 But you're driving for Uber full-time. 415 00:19:03,054 --> 00:19:04,534 - Because I-- - Andy, that wasn't the plan. 416 00:19:04,621 --> 00:19:06,057 - Yeah, I know. - We're supposed to be... 417 00:19:06,145 --> 00:19:08,538 But I have to survive somehow. 418 00:19:08,625 --> 00:19:11,237 Andy admitted that he was now relying on Uber 419 00:19:11,324 --> 00:19:13,326 for his entire income 420 00:19:13,413 --> 00:19:15,545 and had been keeping it a secret from me for weeks. 421 00:19:15,632 --> 00:19:17,721 Why didn't you tell me you were doing this? 422 00:19:17,808 --> 00:19:20,507 Oh, I don't know why should I tell you, 423 00:19:20,594 --> 00:19:24,424 because, you know, compared to taxis, 424 00:19:24,511 --> 00:19:29,211 it's easier to go to pick up, get the car, all those things. 425 00:19:29,298 --> 00:19:31,518 I don't even come from taxi anymore. 426 00:19:31,605 --> 00:19:34,564 He was now worried that if we continued with the sleeper cell, 427 00:19:34,651 --> 00:19:36,653 it would affect his driver rating. 428 00:19:36,740 --> 00:19:40,353 And that's when I realized Andy had been turned. 429 00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:42,703 When he took me outside and showed me that he had 430 00:19:42,790 --> 00:19:46,141 transferred his entire karaoke machine into his Uber, 431 00:19:46,228 --> 00:19:48,535 words were not even necessary. 432 00:19:48,622 --> 00:19:50,711 We knew this was the end of The Lucky Group 433 00:19:50,798 --> 00:19:52,669 and our fight for the onesie. 434 00:19:52,756 --> 00:19:54,671 I had the first karaoke taxi in the world. 435 00:19:54,758 --> 00:19:59,807 Now have the first karaoke Uber in the world. 436 00:19:59,894 --> 00:20:02,288 I couldn't help but feel a bit betrayed, 437 00:20:02,375 --> 00:20:04,725 but maybe from the very start we had been fighting a battle 438 00:20:04,812 --> 00:20:07,075 that could never be won. 439 00:20:07,162 --> 00:20:09,599 Just like telegraphs had been replaced by telephones 440 00:20:09,686 --> 00:20:11,949 and horse and buggies by cars, 441 00:20:12,036 --> 00:20:14,561 the free market had again chosen a winner. 442 00:20:14,648 --> 00:20:16,171 The real enemy wasn't Uber. 443 00:20:16,258 --> 00:20:18,695 It was progress. 444 00:20:18,782 --> 00:20:21,002 If Andy didn't want to move forward with the sleeper cell, 445 00:20:21,089 --> 00:20:23,961 there was also no longer a need for us to be married. 446 00:20:24,048 --> 00:20:25,963 So I sat down with a divorce lawyer 447 00:20:26,050 --> 00:20:27,878 to explain my situation. 448 00:20:27,965 --> 00:20:30,751 Oh, so what did he think was going on during that time? 449 00:20:30,838 --> 00:20:32,970 He just thought he was ordering lunch from someone 450 00:20:33,057 --> 00:20:35,103 at a Chinese restaurant. 451 00:20:37,671 --> 00:20:39,716 Okay. 452 00:20:39,803 --> 00:20:40,761 Fortunately, the lawyer said our marriage 453 00:20:40,848 --> 00:20:42,676 would be easy to nullify. 454 00:20:42,763 --> 00:20:45,766 So that's where the element of fraud comes in, 455 00:20:45,853 --> 00:20:47,202 that you brought him to the restaurant 456 00:20:47,289 --> 00:20:49,422 under false pretense, 457 00:20:49,509 --> 00:20:52,163 that you performed the ceremony without his knowledge 458 00:20:52,251 --> 00:20:54,078 and in another language. 459 00:20:54,165 --> 00:20:55,776 But as I sat there listening to him lecture me 460 00:20:55,863 --> 00:20:57,778 about all the mistakes I had made, 461 00:20:57,865 --> 00:21:00,041 I was reminded of the vows we had taken 462 00:21:00,128 --> 00:21:01,347 at that Chinese restaurant. 463 00:21:03,871 --> 00:21:06,439 I had promised to love and accept Andy for who he was, 464 00:21:06,526 --> 00:21:08,310 not who I wanted him to be. 465 00:21:08,397 --> 00:21:10,443 I do. 466 00:21:10,530 --> 00:21:13,489 So if Andy wanted to be an Uber driver, I'd support him, 467 00:21:13,576 --> 00:21:15,448 because no matter who he worked for, 468 00:21:15,535 --> 00:21:18,407 I knew no one could stop him from being himself. 469 00:21:18,494 --> 00:21:21,976 Oh, this a karaoke Uber, 470 00:21:22,063 --> 00:21:24,935 so you can sing. 471 00:21:25,022 --> 00:21:29,331 ♪ A feather in his cap and called it macaroni ♪ 472 00:21:29,418 --> 00:21:31,377 ♪ Yankee Doodle keep it up ♪ 473 00:21:31,464 --> 00:21:33,770 ♪ Yankee doodle dandy ♪ 474 00:21:33,857 --> 00:21:35,816 ♪ Mind the music and the step ♪ 475 00:21:35,903 --> 00:21:38,340 ♪ And with the girls be handy ♪ 476 00:21:40,908 --> 00:21:41,648 Hoo. 477 00:21:43,693 --> 00:21:45,042 So you're aware, Andy and I won't be kissing, 478 00:21:45,129 --> 00:21:47,262 because he has an STD right now. 479 00:21:47,349 --> 00:21:49,656 - Oh, okay. - Is that okay? 480 00:21:49,743 --> 00:21:51,658 Yeah, no, that's fine. You don't have to kiss. 481 00:21:51,745 --> 00:21:53,660 - I mean, you can hug. - Okay, sure, yeah. 482 00:21:53,747 --> 00:21:55,966 But both of you have to sign-- sign the papers. 483 00:21:56,053 --> 00:21:56,793 Yeah, yeah, yeah.