One Man and A Lot of Caffeine
by Sarah Keech
When people set goals they typically have a beginning, a middle, and eventually end with an achievement. For Winter (yes, just the one name), there was a beginning, he's working his way through the middle, but an end is probably never going to come. You see, this 30-something computer programmer/Scrabble-enthusiast has one very big goal: to visit every Starbucks in the world.
So far he's been to almost 7,000 Starbucks, but with new stores in new locations opening practically every day around the world, Winter's "new stores" list just continues to grow.
His journey has taken him from his hometown of Plano, Texas, to the far reached of the U.S. and beyond. Currently in Hawaii on his first "Starbucking" trip to Aloha State, Winter took some time out of his caffeine-driven schedule to answer a few questions for Hollywood Video.
Hollywood Video: For those out there unacquainted with your story, could you briefly describe how your journey began?
Winter: My journey began as a random idea while I sat at my usual Starbucks in Plano, TX, discussing how quickly new stores were opening around Dallas.
Hollywood Video: Can you describe what an average day out on the road is like for you?
Winter: A Starbucking day often starts in a rest area, a Wal-Mart parking lot, or a side street. Within minutes I am headed to the nearest Starbucks, changing out of my jammies as I go. At the Starbucks I ask for a sample coffee, make note of anything unique, and then take a photograph, which might entail waiting as long as an hour for cars to move from in front. Then like lather and rinse, I repeat the process over and over until I finish all the stores in the city and move on, or run out of time and have to find a place to camp.
Hollywood Video: As of today, how many Starbucks have you visited?
Winter: 6,974 by the end of the day.
Hollywood Video: Do you have a favorite Starbuck's location?
Winter: I prefer Starbucks that are architecturally unique or historical. There is one in the Camden neighborhood north of London, built in an old lockkeeper's cottage sitting next to a canal, which is filled with historical information about London, Camden, and the city's canal system.
Hollywood Video: Other than coffee, what do you like to drink?
Winter: I am a fiend for fresh-squeezed orange juice for breakfast, and Tradewinds bottled tea the rest of the time. Whenever I find a Tradewinds distributor I buy as many cases as will fit in my car.
Hollywood Video: Whatever happened with Jodi [Winter's girlfriend during the production of Starbucking]? Do you have a girlfriend now? Is it hard to meet women doing what you are doing?
Winter: You'd have to ask Jodi, but I think she finally decided she needed somebody who she could settle down with, and settling down is not in my immediate future. My itinerant lifestyle does make it difficult to maintain a relationship. I am limited to flings, short-term, or long-distance romances, currently one with a young woman in Hong Kong.
Hollywood Video: What do you do when you aren't on the road? Do you have a "normal" job?
Winter: I have to work, as a computer programmer on a contract basis, in order to support myself and my travels. But besides that, I am an active tournament Scrabble player, and I try to maintain a well-rounded life filled with as many other activities as time permits.
Hollywood Video: Do you think you will ever get tired of doing this?
Winter: My traveling does become tiring at times, but the personal satisfaction and opportunities that have arisen from my Starbucks project make it very easy for me to push past the mental and physical fatigue.
Hollywood Video: What is the strangest thing that has ever happened while visiting a Starbucks?
Winter: Perversely enough, having a Starbucks manager react to my quest by calling the Yakima police was pretty strange and unexpected. That was an extreme example of the adage--you can't please everybody.
Hollywood Video: Have you ever been checked out by a doctor to make sure all of this caffeine isn't damaging your health?
Winter: Actually, extreme amounts of caffeine, 4-8 shots of espresso a day, were causing anxiety, sleeplessness, and heart palpitations. A doctor recommended that I cut back, and I have tried to limit my consumption to 8 ounces during normal days (when I am not traveling).
Hollywood Video: What does the Starbucks Corporation think about what you are doing? Have they contacted you since the movie was released?
Winter: Starbucks does not seem willing to comment on my project except to give a bland statement. They have not contacted me about the movie, and in fact a screening at Starbucks headquarters proposed by one of their employees was suddenly canceled with no clear explanation. Draw your own conclusions.
Hollywood Video: Do you have anything to say to your critics who don't really see the point of your goal? Those who think it's an impossible dream and maybe a waste of time.
Winter: That is beyond the scope of a short Q&A, but I will eagerly challenge any such critics to justify why anything *they* are doing is *not* a waste of time. Going to work and buying stuff, for example--do those activities have a point?
Hollywood Video: Looking back at it all now, with the DVD release of Starbucking, would you be part of the documentary again?
Winter: Absolutely, the Starbucking documentary has been one of the most exciting things to arise from my Starbucks project.