Rising Stars: Meet Michael Sinczak (Homeless Pelican)

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Sinczak (Homeless Pelican).

Michael Sinczak, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My story started with a skateboard.

I began skateboarding as a teenager in Poland, and that was also my first real contact with a camera. One of my closest skateboarding friends was a professional filmmaker working for an advertising agency, so I naturally became interested in filming and photography. Around the same time, I occasionally appeared as an extra and actor in local productions and commercials. Looking back, I didn’t realize it then, but those experiences would later become incredibly valuable.

In my early twenties, I tried to build my own skateboard brand. It was an ambitious dream, but Poland at that time wasn’t an easy place for a young entrepreneur with no capital or business experience. Eventually, reality caught up with me, and I had to focus on making a living instead.

For the next several years, I worked abroad in countries like Sweden and Norway, taking on all kinds of jobs. The position I held the longest was working as a chef. Although those years weren’t glamorous, they taught me discipline, independence, and gave me the financial freedom to keep chasing bigger dreams.

In my late twenties, I made one of the biggest decisions of my life. I quit everything and moved to Japan.

Before leaving, I taught myself photography from a few books and started learning acting more seriously. Japan turned out to be far more welcoming than I had ever expected. I spent three unforgettable years in Tokyo, working in the entertainment industry as a foreign actor. My work ranged from being an extra to landing larger roles in TV dramas and commercials. At the same time, I also worked as a freelance photographer.

Those years were some of the most exciting of my life. I met incredible people from all over the world, experienced a completely different culture, and built friendships that still last today. One of those friends happened to be a Polish YouTuber with over one million subscribers.

Interestingly, long before that, many people had already been telling me that my lifestyle and personality would be perfect for YouTube. I never took it too seriously. But after talking to my friend and seeing what was possible, something clicked. I thought, “Maybe I can do this too.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, I decided to start filming my own adventures. My idea was simple: travel across Japan by motorcycle and create a different kind of travel content. The problem was that I knew almost nothing about YouTube. I didn’t understand the algorithm, storytelling, thumbnails, or how to build videos that people actually wanted to watch. On top of that, the Polish audience is known for being demanding and highly critical, which made growing even more difficult.

Still, I genuinely love traveling. It has always been my greatest passion. Instead of giving up, I became obsessed with learning. I spent hundreds of hours studying YouTube, improving my filmmaking, learning how to tell better stories, and eventually made one of the biggest decisions of my career: I switched from creating videos in Polish to producing all of my content in English. It was a huge risk because I was essentially starting over, but I believed it would allow me to reach people from all over the world.

For four and a half years, I uploaded videos every single week. Most of them received only a few hundred views. There were many moments when it would have been easy to quit, but I kept going because I genuinely enjoyed making them.

Then, one day, everything changed.

One of my videos finally went viral. Suddenly, years of hard work, persistence, and constant learning started paying off. Everything finally made sense.

Today, I travel full-time, creating documentaries and travel videos from places that many people never get to experience. Recently, my audience has become especially fascinated by my series from China, where I try to show everyday life beyond the headlines and stereotypes. It has been incredibly rewarding to see viewers from the United States and all around the world become curious about places they previously knew very little about.

I’m still learning, still traveling, and still skateboarding. In many ways, I’m doing exactly what I dreamed about as a teenager—I just never imagined the journey would take me here.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road.

Looking back, I think the biggest challenge wasn’t learning how to film, edit videos, or travel the world. The hardest part was continuing to work towards something when there was almost no evidence that it would ever succeed.

For four and a half years, I uploaded a new video almost every single week. Most of them only received a few hundred views. I invested countless hours into filming, editing, learning new skills, and often spent my own savings just to create another video. There were many moments when it felt like all that work was leading nowhere.

At one point, I honestly wasn’t even sure if it was possible to succeed on YouTube anymore. After years of putting in so much effort with so little to show for it, I gradually stopped believing that it would ever happen.

I’ve always been an incredibly stubborn person, though. Once I commit to something, I find it very difficult to quit. So instead of constantly asking myself whether it would ever work, I simply kept making videos. I focused on improving with every upload, learning new skills, and trying not to think too much about the outcome. I just kept moving forward.

Even though I felt discouraged hundreds of times after publishing videos that barely got any views, all of those difficult moments lost their importance the moment things finally started to work out. Looking back now, every disappointment, every failed upload, and every moment of self-doubt became part of the journey that shaped me into a better storyteller and filmmaker.

One thing that has always stayed with me was something my friend—a well-known Polish YouTuber with over one million subscribers—once told me. He said he had never met anyone who had worked as hard as I did to reach their first 100,000 subscribers. Whether that’s objectively true or not, hearing those words meant a lot to me because they came from someone who truly understood what building a YouTube channel takes.

Looking back, many people had always told me that I had the personality, the courage, and the talent to do something like YouTube. The challenge was never finding my passion—it was learning how to reach a wider audience and tell stories in a way that people wanted to watch. Once I figured that out, everything slowly started to fall into place.

Despite everything that has happened, I remain incredibly humble. I never take this journey for granted. Every single subscriber, every view, every like, and every comment means something to me because I know exactly how difficult it was to earn them. I’m genuinely grateful to everyone who has supported me along the way. Without my audience, none of this would have been possible, and I never forget that.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Today, I’m a full-time travel filmmaker and YouTube creator behind the channel Homeless Pelican.

Although my videos are technically travel documentaries, I don’t think of them as typical travel content. I’m far less interested in famous landmarks than I am in everyday life, local people, and places that most tourists either overlook or never even hear about.

Some of my favorite moments happen completely by accident. I can spend hours walking through an ordinary neighborhood, start talking to a stranger, and suddenly find myself invited into someone’s home, attending a local celebration, or discovering a place that never appears in any travel guide. Those unexpected moments are what I enjoy filming the most because they feel genuine and impossible to plan.

I’m also fascinated by countries that are often misunderstood or viewed through stereotypes. Recently, much of my work has focused on China. Instead of discussing politics or repeating what people already hear in the news, I simply show everyday life and allow viewers to make up their own minds. I believe that travel has the power to replace assumptions with first-hand experiences.

What I’m most proud of isn’t a particular video or subscriber milestone. It’s the community we’ve built. Reading comments from viewers who tell me they have changed their opinion about a country, booked their first solo trip, or become more open-minded because of my videos is far more rewarding than any number on YouTube.

I also believe my background gives me a different perspective. Having lived and worked in several countries, including Japan, Iceland, Sweden, and Norway, I don’t see myself as someone who simply visits places. I try to understand how people live, what makes each culture unique, and why different societies think the way they do.

If there’s one thing that sets me apart, it’s curiosity. I don’t travel to prove a point or chase luxury. I travel because I’m genuinely fascinated by people and the world around us. I think viewers can feel that curiosity, and that’s why they choose to come along for the journey.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I actually had the opportunity to spend about three months in Ohio back in 2021, mostly in Cleveland, where one of my close friends lives. It was a very memorable period of my life.

What I liked most was how open and friendly people were. It was surprisingly easy to meet new people, make friends, go on dates, and experience American culture firsthand instead of only knowing it from Hollywood movies. That was something I had always been curious about, and it definitely lived up to my expectations.

Of course, not every experience was comfortable. I’m naturally drawn to places that most tourists avoid, so I spent time exploring areas like East Cleveland and even parts of Detroit. Sometimes those adventures felt a little risky, but they also gave me a much more honest perspective on the country. I believe every place has both beautiful and difficult sides, and I always try to show both.

During that trip, I also visited Niagara Falls and New York City, which were incredible experiences in completely different ways.

Overall, I really enjoyed my time in the United States, and I’d love to come back. One of my biggest travel goals is to create a full documentary series about the U.S., driving across the country in an old American car and discovering the people, small towns, and hidden places that most travelers never get to see.

Pricing:

• Available upon request. • YouTube sponsorships & product placements • Brand partnerships • Commercial video production • Tourism & destination campaigns

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.youtube.com/@HomelessPelican
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homeless.pelican/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@HomelessPelican