24/7 livestreaming leads Bend man to deeper reflection

(Update: Adding video, livestreamer comments)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) - Bend resident Ethan McChristian recently made the courageous decision -- some might have another word for it -- to broadcast every moment of his life for a livestream audience for six weeks straight, an unusual project he started back on July 1.

Well, "almost" every moment...

That means you can watch McChristian live his daily life, 24 hours a day, seven days a week on his YouTube channel through mid-August.

So far, more than 1,000 subscribers have spent some time watching McChristian eating, exercising, biking, shopping and even sleeping.

McChristian said he got the inspiration for this project from his friend and former roommate, Michael Gerry, who livestreamed a full year of his life, from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31,2019.

"When I was a part of my best friend's project in 2019, I think there was a lot of superficiality in some of the things that I did," McChristian said Monday. "Maybe dishonest ,that came out in ways I wouldn't be proud of today, in a way that I wasn't proud of then."

From the beginning of his livestreaming journey, McChristian noted the positive and rewarding changes that has come from the level of vulnerability he's choosing to have with the public.

Although McChristian posts a variety of content, there is fan favorite.

"To be honest, the most views (are) going to be on a 'sleep stream,'" McChristian said.

McChristian does have a quick reply to an obvious, much-asked question. He said he won’t show three things – showering, sex and going to the bathroom, so the stream is entirely "PG."

One of the biggest challenges, as you also might have guessed, is technical: getting a signal out in areas with bad cellphone coverage. Just once so far -- while cliff diving, no less -- McChristian said he did lose the livestream entirely, for a short period. But he had a workaround: He was able to record his experience and upload it to YouTube.