Jason Vaughn began filming travel videos when he weighed 380 pounds because he was tired of vacation content made for people who already knew they belonged.
Through his YouTube channel Fat Tested Travel, Vaughn helps plus-size travelers, fat travelers and people of size answer the questions most travel shows skip: Will the ride restraint close? Is the seat wide enough? Can you fit comfortably in the cruise cabin shower? Is the walkway, booth, theater seat, pool chair, or attraction actually accessible for a bigger body?
Vaughn, who is based in Florida, is preparing for his biggest project yet: a 100-day solo road trip built around historic Route 66 during the highway’s 100th anniversary.
The project, titled “Route 66: The First Great American Road Trip,” is planned as an 11-episode documentary series following Vaughn from Chicago to Santa Monica, with additional travel across the country before and after the Mother Road portion of the trip. In total, the journey is expected to cover about 8,000 miles.
Episodes are scheduled to begin airing weekly on YouTube on Sept. 12, with a live finale planned for Nov. 11 — exactly 100 years after Route 66 received its official designation.
Vaughn says the series will focus less on nostalgia and more on the people still keeping Route 66 alive today: motel owners, diner workers, museum volunteers, local historians, veterans, small-town business owners and travelers who still believe the road matters.
“Most Route 66 coverage treats the road like a museum behind glass. I want to treat it like a living place. The centennial is the reason people will tune in. The people along the road are the reason they’ll stay.”
The series will include conversations along the route, visits to classic roadside stops and reflections from the people who live, work and travel along the Mother Road. Vaughn also hopes to include major preservation voices connected to Route 66 history if schedules allow.
Vaughn’s story adds another layer to the project. His highest recorded weight was 427 pounds. He started filming Fat Tested Travel at about 380 pounds and is around 300 pounds.
That change has made the project feel more urgent. Vaughn says he wants to capture as much plus-size travel content as possible while he can still speak directly from inside the kind of body his audience recognizes.
“The contradiction is part of the story. I’m changing, but my audience still needs the same information. I don’t want people sitting at home waiting until they’re smaller, thinner, richer, braver, or less anxious before they feel allowed to travel. I want them to know they can start where they are.”
Vaughn founded Fat Tested Travel in 2022. The channel covers theme parks, cruises, road trips and American travel with an emphasis on plus-size accessibility, practical travel details and honest value analysis.
Vaughn is also a travel agent specializing in theme parks, cruises and vacation planning for travelers who often feel overlooked by traditional travel media. The channel reaches a growing YouTube audience and nearly 8,000 email subscribers.
The project is independently produced and supported through sponsorships and a public crowdfunding campaign at fundrazr.com/motherroad.
(Image of Jason Vaughn from his Fat Tested Travel channel page on YouTube)