Where Are They Now - The French Girl & Popped Collar Guy

7-11 Video 1987 - Where Are They Now?

Remember the “Popped Collar Guy” and the French girl carrying the rearview mirror, both trying to buy toothpaste? Here's their story...

The guy with the popped collar is Jake Poore, and the French girl is Catherine D. At the time, they were dating and both worked at EPCOT Center. Catherine worked in the French Pavilion in merchandise, while Jake was stationed in Future World at Epcot Outreach and the Teacher Center.

On the day of the now-famous 7-11 video, they had been dancing at the Laughing Kookaburra Lounge nearby. On their way home, they realized they needed toothpaste, so they made a quick stop at the 7-11, which was conveniently across the street from their apartment.



The Rear-View Mirror Story

As they were heading into the store, the rearview mirror on Jake’s car had fallen off the windshield right into Catherine’s lap. They found it hilarious, and Catherine decided to carry it inside, using it as a fake microphone while singing along to the radio. Jake had warned her not to lose the little screw that held the mirror together. In the video, Catherine points to the back of the mirror and says, “Jake, you lose the world!”—a nod to the fact that the screw had fallen out, making it impossible to reattach the mirror to the windshield.

The Toothpaste Incident
While Jake was chatting with the cameraman, Ken, about which toothpaste to buy, he picked up a box
of Colgate Mint Gel toothpaste, only to find it empty! Someone had stolen the tube and left the box. That’s when Jake tossed the box in the air, joking, “This lightweight sh*t, this calorie-reduction stuff won’t help anyone.” In the end, Catherine was right—they went with Crest Tartar Control toothpaste!




What Happened to Jake and Catherine?

No, they didn’t get married, but they’ve remained lifelong friends.

Catherine returned to France, where she now lives with her family. She has two adult children (a son and a daughter) and has built a successful career as a director at world-class companies that design and produce high-end fragrances and body care products.

Jake still lives in Orlando with his wife and three children (two daughters and a son). After an 18-year career at Disney, where he helped launch EPCOT Center, Disney Vacation Club, and the Disney Institute, Jake founded his own company. Today, he teaches other businesses the Disney approach, focusing on transforming healthcare. If you’re curious, check out his YouTube channel: Jake Poore YouTube or visit his website: www.WeCreateLoyalty.com

Here are some other pictures of Jake & Catherine from back in the '80s

I time traveled once. And it wasn't fun.

I time traveled once.  And it wasn't fun.

I've told this story frequently to friends and co-workers.  It usually gets a few laughs or I'm called crazy.  But I assure you, every bit of the story is true.  

It all started one morning when I was on my way to work.  It was early, probably around 6am.  I was living in Albuquerque and heading east on Alameda Blvd, and listening to the radio.  On the radio some of the on-air personalities (John Tesh I think) were discussing celebrity birthdays.  There were some comments about how old some celebrities were...and they were around my age.  I remember thinking, "I don't feel that old, I still feel young and full of energy".

I noticed my gas tank was low, and pulled into a gas station to fill up.  While I was waiting there, I decided to go inside and get one of my usuals...a Dr. Pepper and a Butterfinger.  I know, it's the "breakfast of champions".  It's what everybody says when they see me get them in the morning.   I get it.  

So I walk in, and make a mental note that nobody else is in the store except the cashier.  I grab the Butterfinger and head over to the fountain machine to fill up a cup with my desired beverage.  I notice at this time that the cup is made of very flimsy styrofoam.  I don't like drinking Dr. Pepper out of styrofoam, but I go ahead and fill it up.  

I then make my way over to the cash register where the guy that's working there this morning rings me up.  The place is still empty.  The guy didn't seem to be too terribly friendly, but he took my cash and handed me the change.  I can't remember what I said, but I remember cracking some sort of lame joke.  And got no reaction out of the guy.  He said nothing, and turned his back to do something.  As I'm stuffing the bills into my wallet, I caught something in my peripheral vision.  I look back and there must be at least 10 people in line behind me.

What?!  Where did they come from?  The place was empty a second ago.  Being a little startled, I realized I was holding up the line.  So I tried to finish putting my money in my wallet and grab my drink and Butterfinger to get out of the way.

In my hurry away from the counter, my thumb punctured the styrofoam cup.  Dr. Pepper started to leak and pour onto the floor.  I remember going "oh no, oh no, oh no" as I hurried to the door.  Then I slipped.  And I fell.  This is when it gets weird. 

When I fell, what I remember wasn't a big fall.  Just a small quick one.  I slipped on the liquid pouring out.  It wasn't a big deal, although kind of embarrassing if you were among strangers.  

I looked up, and the other people that were in line behind me were now circled around me looking down at me as I collected my items to get up.  They were expressionless.  Nobody asked "Are you okay?" Nobody smiled.  Just nothing.  Then I heard a male voice from the back of the store (probably the office) yell out "What the hell is going on out there?!"  The cashier replied "Some guy fell down out here".  The onlookers quickly dispersed.  And I felt bewildered.  What the heck did just happen?

Then I noticed as I rose to my feet, that my legs (mostly my shins) were throbbing with pain.  I noticed a few of the shelves knocked over too.  But I don't remember knocking any of them down.

I quickly threw the cup away, and went to get another one and leave.  As I'm making the way to the car, I notice I feel drained of energy.  And when I got to the car I pulled up my pant legs to look at my shins.  There were bloody gashes all over them.

What the heck just happened to me?  I came into the store full of energy and feeling good, and now I'm leaving drained of energy feeling old and decrepit.  When did I get those gashes?  What noises were made to make the guy from the back yell?  Where did all of those people come from?  Why were they all so silent and expressionless?

My legs didn't heal for over a month.  That's how bad they were injured.  But I don't know what I injured them on.  My fall didn't include any leg gashing experiences.

I don't know what happened.  But something happened.

The rest of the day...and kind of the next few weeks, I kept thinking about it.  What happened?  It's like I'm missing something.  Which leads me to a theory.  What if I'm missing time?  I've heard those alien abductee stories about people missing chunks of time.  I wasn't closely paying attention to what was on the clock, so I don't know for sure if I lost 10 minutes of my life.  I didn't black out or pass out.  I simply slipped and got back up.  

But again, I'm missing part of the story some how.  What if I was some how abducted...or an attempt to abduct me happened?  And what if I was put back at the same exact time.  If that's what happened, maybe they erased my memory back to the time I started to fall.  Then I was thinking...heck, if I was part of a group of people that could grab people to do some secret experiments on them, then put them back at the same time I grabbed them...what better time to grab somebody when they are in the middle of falling down? 

If you were just walking down the street, or sitting at a table talking to friends, and this group grabbed you and put you back at the same second...you would notice some sort of weird jump just happened.  I'm sure it's hard to put you exactly back in the same exact position.  And if people were looking at you when it happened, they would notice you jumped a few inches to the left or something.  But what if you were falling?  You are already disorientated.  Usually it's all a blur anyway.  Why not grab them before they hit the ground...do your experiments or tag them, whatever...and then put them back at that same second, just in time to hit the ground.  Genius.  

But how would you know when somebody is going to fall?  Time stamped security camera videos.  "Hey look at this video Zaltor, this human falls on Thursday morning at 6:02am. The store is empty, except for the guy in the back and the cashier.  And during this fall, the cashier has his back turned.  Nobody will notice the time shift.  Lets grab him!"

So if that actually happened to me...I'm thinking I must have put up one hell of a fight.  That would explain the gashes in my legs.  I must have knocked over a bunch of shelves I saw on the ground too.  The guy in the back must have heard the struggle.  Even though I don't remember any noise-worthy commotion that would cause somebody to yell like that, a struggle, that was erased from my memory, would explain his reaction from the back room.  And what about those people that suddenly appeared behind me at the register, and later were circled around me?  They were my time traveling abductors.  They appeared quickly to get ready and grab me.  When I looked up from my fall and they were standing around me so quickly...that was them putting me back.  Why did I feel so drained?  If I just fought for my life I would expect anybody would feel drained.  Throw in some weird tests on your body...how could you not feel drained?  What the heck happened during that split second fall to the ground?

In all honesty...do I really think I was abducted by beings that can time travel?  Probably not.  But what other explanation is there for all of these weird things that happened within a few minutes?  I don't have a good one, that's for sure.

The only other theory I heard that might have some merit, but still doesn't explain everything, is that I had some specific type of stroke.  You might have heard of those strokes people have where they are talking to somebody...and in their head they are making perfect sense, but to everybody else, they are talking gibberish and substituting weird words in place of others.  For example, I might think I'm cracking a joke to the cashier saying "Thanks for the change, all those ones will come in handy at the strip club".  But what he might be hearing is "Thanks for the banana, all the cars will follow my spoon on the road trip".

If I was having one of those strokes, that might explain the expressionless reaction to my clever quip at the register.  And having a stroke could cause me to fall down and black out for a minute or two and convulse on the floor knocking down shelves and such, as my brain rebooted.

But I have no memory of blacking out.  Just slipping and getting back up. 

What do you think?  Was I abducted?  Did I have a stroke?  Am I crazy?  What's your theory?


If anything, I thought the time travel theory about grabbing people who are in the middle of a fall, could be a good gimmick for some time travel movie.

The story of the 7-11 video shot at 2:30am in 1987

It was a magical night in America.  And a lot of you have now shared in it. Below is a little bit of the history of my old video that went viral.  I have some behind-the-scenes info and answer some frequently asked questions, as well as a few that haven't been asked.

First off, here is the video in question.  9 minutes.  An uncut moment, that seemed to be planned and orchestrated, with funny comments and real people at a 7-11 at 2:30 in the morning, just off Disney World property.

BACKGROUND INFO
Back in 1987, I was a college student, studying Television and Film Production at the University of Central Florida.  I was working part time at Disney World's EPCOT Center in the Outdoor Foods division (selling ice cream bars & drinks from carts).  I also had recently purchased my first camcorder.  I loved it.  Like many people do when they first buy a new toy, I used it a lot.  I took it everywhere...parties, road trips, restaurants, and anything else I could think of.

Chris, Ken and Jim (3 on the far right),
moments before heading to the 7-11

One night in August of 1987, I grabbed one of my college buddies, Ken, and headed out to a Disney party and brought the camera.  The party was hosted and populated mostly by fellow Disney employees from my department. I can't remember why I brought Ken, or why he wanted to go to this party, but it happened.  Along the way, we also teamed up with Jim, who was working with me at Disney.  
The apartment complex the party was hosted at was a place once called Vista Village.  It was were Disney housed their numerous interns on the College Program, as well as the International Employees that worked at the different country pavilions at Epcot.  It was located off of 535, near a bunch of hotels with night clubs and bars.  In other words, a lot of partying was going on in this area.  And at 2am, the bars closed shop, and we were wrapping up at the party we were at, and decided to head out. 

Our next stop was the 7-11 just across 535 from Vista Village.  I wanted to get a Slurpee.  While I was getting it, Ken decided to grab my camcorder and document the experience.  What you see in the video is what happened over the next 9 minutes, while we were there.  Apparently it was magic!  

I held on to most of my videos, but I always liked this one.  I thought my friend Ken was hilarious in it.  He was always quick on his feet and a master of improv.  I met him doing some Theatre stuff at UCF.  But every time I watched this, I got a chuckle.  In 2007, I started to digitize all my videos and get rid of everything VHS.  I then, started uploading some of them to my YouTube channel.  And I shared the links with some of my friends who were in them. Some of these videos had virtually gone unseen by them for nearly 25 years.  I saw them many times, but they hadn't. 

Shortly after my initial batch of YouTube uploads I stopped by my old stomping grounds in Central Florida and visited two of the people that are featured in a lot of my videos (one of them being Ken, the guy who did most of the talking in my 7-11 video).  I had a new camcorder and decided it would be funny to interview them about the YouTube thing.  Here is the video I shot that night.

As you can see with the uncomfortable quiet moments in this video, I was beginning to find out that a lot of my friends were a little uneasy (some with good reason) about having the videos out there for the world to see.  Especially, when I was already throwing a camera back on them.  What was I up to?  Nothing really.  Just having fun as usual.  And I thought "that was it" in regards this particular 7-11 video.  I would get occasional comments from strangers, but nothing really noteworthy.

Flash forward to June of 2013 (6 years after I uploaded it).  I started noticing that I'm suddenly getting a lot of attention on this 7-11 video.  Apparently somebody posted the video on a website called 4Chan and it was starting to blow up.  Then it was quickly reposted on Reddit by somebody else.  Then it was quickly followed as a featured video on YouTube's main page.  And as a result, I received close to 1 million views within 3 days.  It eventually did cross over the million view mark about a month later.  

It appears my little funny video wasn't becoming a popular find because of the jokes, it was because it was a perfect time capsule from the '80s.  And it featured not only things like cheap prices, old clothes and hair styles...but it also had something that's missing these days...people being friendly to strangers, and the strangers being friendly right back.

It triggered off discussions of "What happened to America?", "I wish I grew up in the '80s", "The internet and cell phones ruined us", and other popular comments such as "If you did this today, you would get assaulted or arrested", "Somebody should do this video today and see the difference", and of course, the "Where are they now?" comments (mostly focusing on the French Girl).

Then in April of 2014, another round of attention happened when somebody else posted it again on Reddit, which was followed up quickly with a story on Yahoo News.  This generated another half-million views within 24 hours.  After that it seems like once a year YouTube decides to feature it and recommends it to everybody and we do another round of getting a lot of views.

Where does it go from here?  Not sure.  That could be it.  But I have had two "agents" contact me to help me do big things with this video (Storyful. and Parnavi-Viral Spiral).  Not sure if they are legit (if you have any insight, let me know).  Not sure what those big things are.  But I might investigate.

Since a follow up video had been requested, and many people said you wouldn't get friendly people to talk to you today if you did this, I wanted to do another video.  In the summer of 2014, I made a trip to Florida (not just for this). I tried to talk some of the people about getting back together and heading over to this 7-11 again and doing another little video.  I couldn't get many others, but Ken (the main guy talking in the original) was up for it and we headed over.  Here is the video:


Not as fun.  Probably because we weren't there after 2am...plus we are guys in our 40s.  But, as you can see, we did still run into friendly people.
 All in all, it was kind of cool to have so many people see our fun little 1987 video, and to get caught up in the whirlwind of all the attention.

I will update this page if other news about it comes along.

FAQ

Did you make any money on this video?
Yes, I do have most of my videos monetized on YouTube.  Which means if enough people view the video, I get a check deposited into my bank account.  I have been regularly getting a check for about $100 2-3 times a year...until this video blew up.  I received a $2,000 deposit shortly after this viral burst.  I split the money with Ken.  I received close to $1000 on the second round, and several hundred dollar checks since then.

Do you know where the people in this video are today?

Most of them...no.  As you might have gathered from previous comments, I keep in contact with Ken.  As for Jim, the other guy that was with us...I haven't a clue to where he is.  Lost touch with him shortly after that summer.  I did run into the guy with the "Popped Collar" and the French Girl shortly after that at EPCOT's employee cafeteria.  We laughed about it.  She went back to France shortly after that.  He later asked me for a copy of the VHS that he could send her.  I ran into him occasionally at Disney over the next few years, but eventually lost track of him.  But thanks to the video going viral, he is now back in touch with me, and he is still in touch with the French Girl (who is still in Europe).  They both apparently had many friends send them the link asking if it was them in the video.  If you wants to know more about where these two are now, click here.  After it went viral, a nephew of the Night Manager contacted me and said it was his Uncle.  He played the video for the Uncle, who had no recollection of that night, but confirmed it was indeed him.   He has since retired from 7-11.  I also heard directly from the girl in the yellow top that dancing by the frozen foods. 

Ran into "Popped Collar" in Vegas - 2014

Apparently she was an employee of that 7-11 at the time, and still works for 7-11 at another Orlando location today.  She told me her current manager showed her the video.  I heard through the grapevine that the "cashier lady" was working at another gas station in Clermont, Florida up until recently.  And I did get an update on the two guys buying sugar.  The younger of the two did work at Disney, and the older guy was his dad visiting from Arizona.  A younger relative reached out and identified them.  He also told us that they had both passed on, but it was really good to see them alive and happy in the video and they remembered that time when those two went out late at night...but they didn't know about the video at the 7-11 part.  Nobody else from the video has come forward.  Keep in mind, some of these people were dating people they are probably not with today, or under the influence of something, and probably don't want to be identified.  Even though Ken was squeaky clean in the video, he does have a profession where he has to watch out for things that might pop up in the public about his background.  This might be the case for the others as well.  In June of 2014, I ran into "Popped Collar" in Las Vegas of all places at The Mirage Hotel.

The Accent
I guess there is an '80s way of talking.  There are many comments about our "accent".  I don't hear any difference from then to now.  But most say there is.  And a lot of people are saying Ken sounds like Ferris Bueller.  I don't hear that either.  But he was kind of (as one poster put it) channeling classic David Letterman bits from that time (i.e. "magic night in America")

click to see larger version

The Van
I have had a few comments about the "rape van" we got into at the end of the video.  Most people just wished they could see what the art was on the side of the van.  Well here it is.  It wasn't technically my van.  My '79 Trans Am was in the shop and my parents were letting me drive their van.  This was a photo taken in the early '80s of my mother, my brothers and me.  I'll keep looking for a better picture of the van.  But the painting on the side is of a lake or something with the sun setting on it.


Locals Not Tourists
One popular theory to why we all were so friendly, was because we were "tourists" mingling with other "tourists".  And when people are on vacation, they are happier.  That wasn't the case here.  We were pretty much all locals.  Even the Spanish speaking guys who said they were tourists (one of them was wearing a Disney employee shirt - see the Mickey on it?).  I worked at Disney, Popped Collar and French Girl worked at Disney.  I'm pretty sure that John and Kelly were Disney employees.  The younger guy buying sugar worked at Disney, The Mozzarella dude was probably Disney. (We all meet the Disney grooming standards of the time).  The 7-11 employees were locals obviously.  In other words...none of us were on vacation.  Who buys a bag of sugar while on vacation?

Video Cameras were common

The other theory to why people are friendly (and there probably is some truth to this one), is that cameras were probably not that common, so it was a novelty to see one and it was "fun" to be the focus of somebody's camera.  The part of this theory that is wrong is, home video cameras were the big new thing.  A few years back, they became affordable.  And they were becoming more and more portable.  We all were living and working in one of the biggest tourist capitals of the world.  Every day we saw tourists with cameras.  Lots and lots of video cameras.  And two years later, America's Funniest Home Videos premiered, featuring videos shot in the '80s on everybody's home video cameras.  

They were common enough, that I bought my own when I was a college kid, working a part time job.  It was about $1200 at Sears.  I used my paychecks from Disney to pay for college as well as my new investment.  I believe I put $200 down, and was paying $25/month.  This was my first credit purchase, which enabled me to get credit cards later. I remember shortly after I bought it, my dad and I had a big fight about it.  I made a huge purchase without involving him, and he didn't know if it was such a good idea.  But he later loved watching the videos I shot with it and living vicariously through my adventures.  All-in-all, it was a good purchase.  I loved this camera (see it above). 

Under the Influence
Another theory to why we are all so friendly is that we are all "coked up".  Let make this clear.  I have never done cocaine.  I don't plan on ever doing it.   In fact, I was such a goody-two-shoes at the time, I wasn't even drinking alcohol that night.  I waited until I finished college before I would booze it up on occasion.  I'm pretty sure Ken wasn't under the influence of anything that night at all either.  I can't speak for Jim or the others that were featured.  If I had to guess, I'd say a few of them recently had a few drinks.  And the popular theory behind John's mannerisms is that he might have been on Cocaine.  I don't know.  But I do know that not everybody was under the influence in this video.

Is that 7-11 still there and if so, where is it?
Yes, it's still there.  It's located at 13407 Apopka-Vineland R (535), Orlando, FL 32821-6368

Draft Card Comment
When Kelly says she has a "draft" card, she actually said "Giraffe Card".  There was a nightclub down the street called The Giraffe Lounge, and it was inside a hotel called The Royal Plaza.  The Giraffe Card was something like a "repeat customer" membership card with perks.  One of our stops earlier that night was to go inside The Royal Plaza and sneak up to where The Michael Jackson suite was.  He wasn't there though.  On our way out, Jim grabbed a "Do Not Disturb" sign that he is carrying around in the video.  When we were introducing ourselves to John and Kelly, Jim said he worked at the Royal Plaza (even though he didn't) and held up his Royal Plaza Do Not Disturb sign, which prompted Kelly to say..."I have a Giraffe Card".  But everybody...including Ken that night, thought she was saying Draft Card.  By the way...do people carry around a Draft Card? 

World Premiere Comment
When I said "see you at the World Premiere" to the French Girl and the Popped Collar guy, I was actually referring to the Employee Cafe at EPCOT.  That was the name of the Cafeteria.  And that's actually where I did indeed see them next.  But some people made the clever comment that the "World Premiere" would be on YouTube.

Where did we go next? 
I think we headed over to one of the nearby Disney hotels looking for fun, but didn't find much.  So we parted ways and called it a night.


Have any other questions?  Just ask.

Related Links:

Here is a podcast interview we did about the video called: Straight Outta Content


And here is the most recent interview...this one includes "popped collar"!
Nurtured Nerds

Vlogs on our our video:
Insanely Chill
Schmucks #4 - VSauce

Stories on video:
At a 7-eleven, 2:30am in 1987 (blog)
Witness the Most '80s Video Ever (Yahoo News)
This Video Shot In A 7-11 Is A Perfect Microcosm Of The '80s (Digg)
Oklahoma City Radio Station blog
A Look into an 80s 7-Eleven
Documenting the 7-Eleven this took place in

Other Message Board discussions about the video:
Reddit (round one)
Reddit (round two)
Reddit (2014 follow up video)
Home Video with Mozzarella
HM Surf song ("2009") that samples some of the audio
This Video...is Fascinating
Redditian

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