Crushing It

Someone told me that people we have a crush on are people we want to be like. I think that must be true about my crush on video-producer Meir Kay.

I was 16 when I watched Meir Kay’s videos the first time. He burst onto screen with a shout, a laugh, and a kippa so large, it’s like he wanted us to notice. Meir was making the world a little kinder by filming dance parties on the subway, cutting strangers’ hair for cancer, and setting up a bed to jump on in the middle of Manhattan.  

He was living it up on YouTube. Millions were watching, he was bringing fountains of hope to viewers. Maybe it was the smile, or the unexpected situation Meir put people in, but whatever he was doing was working. I wanted to be a part of that. 

What started as a crush evolved into an obsession. I was going to partner on a project with him whether or not he liked me, wanted me, or even cared if I could help him. Something about his constant showing up and the joy bubbling through the screen made me want a piece. Scratch that - I wanted to bring my own slice to the pie. 

I started watching everything. He published these life-lesson skits that I shared with anyone who’d listen. I obsessively Googled his interviews, listened and tried to get to know how he thought. When Meir started a weekly motivation series, guess who was his first viewer? Probably his mom, but I was definitely second in line. 

I once bumped into him at a Shabbat dinner in New York. I freaked out so hard that I left - how the hell was I supposed to act next to someone I wanted to be like? Meir was doing great things and I didn’t know how to get started. I assumed he had the copyright on a secret sauce I wasn’t privy to. 

Shortly after that night, I almost got a chance to work with him. He put out a job listing for an assistant and I wanted it at any cost. My resume only listed about 9 years of teaching experience and I didn’t think that’d do the trick. So, I applied with a Buzzfeed post in lieu of my cover letter and that got his attention quick. We didn’t end up working together that time, but I got my first job in marketing thanks to his referral.

5 years after I watched his first video, I finally started a project with him. One of his most-thoughtful initiatives is Super Bowl parties for people experiencing homelessness. I was going to take the organization from 2 parties and host 20 Super Soul events for 2020. It was marvelous. 

Something changed about the way I looked at Meir. I started to learn the ingredients to his secret sauce- and I couldn’t believe it.  As we got closer, I watched how he managed to impart so much goodness to the world. With that, my crush deepened, but I didn’t want to be with him. The more I got to know what a beautiful human he was, the more I wanted that for myself. I wanted to be him. 

Conversations started to replay in my head. I looked back at what I felt watching his videos at 16. I thought again about why I wanted to work with him - and I realized so clearly. Meir’s secret sauce only contained one thing. Meir shows up. He does stuff. 

I totally still have a crush on Meir. We might not have the same dreams, but he’s always DOING things. And if crushes are just on people we want to be like…well Meir’s one of the only people I ever want to have a crush on.