Students survive 48 hours in Walmart without going insane or getting arrested

Indiana University students and Indianapolis natives Noah Maxwell, left, and Christian Perry are a pair of aspiring YouTube stars who spent 48 hours straight in Wal-Mart and lived to tell the tale. (Photo: Christian Perry)

INDIANAPOLIS — How long did it take Indiana University students Christian Perry and Noah Maxwell to grow tired of the Walmart atmosphere as they embarked on a journey to spend two consecutive days in the ubiquitous big-box store?

“About 35 minutes in because I was already getting sick of it,” Perry said with a laugh. “I started really listening to the music and realized that it’s just non-stop. And then the lighting and everything. … I was starting to lose my mind. After a little bit you get into this state where you just feel out of it.”

But still, the two Southport High School graduates and Indianapolis natives soldiered on. And they did so in the name of YouTube comedy.

Together, Perry, an IU junior studying liberal studies, and Maxwell, a senior studying media, produce The Christian and Noah Show on YouTube.

They upload shows on Mondays and Thursdays, and in their two months of posting clips online, the pair has attracted 333 subscribers. Previous videos include clips like “Two Dumb Millennials Catch a Giant Fish,” “Don’t Ever Rob a Canadian” and “Visit to Abandoned Warehouse Goes Wrong.”

So far, their visit to Walmart is their biggest hit to date, bringing in more than 6,100 views in five days. It’s also a spiritual sequel of a video Maxwell uploaded in May 2016 when he spent 24 hours in Walmart by himself. That 13-minute clip has generated more than 370,000 views.

As far as why they decided to give it a go, Perry said it was a combination of curiosity and frustration with others who take the challenge.

“You’ll see other challenges and stuff, and some people have done it with the 24 hours, but they don’t show proof with like a timer or anything … we decided on 48 hours and to make it legit,” he said. “I would say it was a blast, but it really wasn’t.”

From there, they did what they could to make their time inside Walmart enjoyable. They played every game in the electronics section and arcade. They read books and product labels. They listened to podcasts and attracted dirty looks from security.

“We quickly realized if we buy stuff like every three hours, they can’t really say anything to us because we’re customers. So we spent a lot of money in there,” Perry said. “I bought a bunch of gum and Noah kept buying food. … We ate at the Subway in the store. We even got haircuts at the salon.”

For rest, they made a fort in the toilet paper section and tried to get some sleep. But Perry said the highlight for him was some alone time in the Walmart bathroom.

“At one point I just went in there and sat down on the toilet for like an hour. It was the only place that was quiet and away from the lights,” he said. “It was probably the best time I had.”

At the end of their adventure, the only Walmart staff member they told about their two-day stay was the greeter working when they left. The man at the front door didn’t really react to the news as he shook Perry’s hand.

Instead, the greeter began singing the folk song Man of Constant Sorrow, made popular to younger generations because of the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou. Perry joined him, making the performance a duet.

Perry said most people who see the clip still can’t wrap their minds around the idea of spending that much time in a Walmart, and he says he doesn’t plan on stepping foot inside one of the stores again in a very long time.

But in the end, Perry, a former star running back at Southport High, said it was all about bringing a few laughs to whoever sees it. They plan to move to Los Angeles when school is over to continue writing, performing and sharing comedy with the world.

“I actually just stopped with football because this is my passion,” he said. “Making people laugh is something we both love to do. It just takes people away from their problems.”

Follow Justin L. Mack on Twitter: @justinlmack