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.
80 people enter a Manhattan Best Buy wearing blue polo shirts and khaki pants. Chaos ensues.
This 2006 mission is the first 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 Best Buy video adds some interactions with employees that we didn’t even realize we had on tape! The original, lengthy Best Buy 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 a brand new mission coming out in just a few weeks.
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.
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:
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.
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
No Pants Subway Ride in Istanbul, Turkey, January 8, 2012
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:
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.
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:
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.
Improv Everywhere is a New York City-based prank collective that causes scenes of chaos and joy in public places. Created in August of 2001 by Charlie Todd, Improv Everywhere has executed over 100 missions involving tens of thousands of undercover agents.
Photo by 
No Pants Subway Ride in Istanbul, Turkey, January 8, 2012
