This is what a $55,000 Kickstarter potato salad party looks like

By Ben Popper
on October 1, 2014 01:31 pm

This past weekend saw the culmination of a small internet joke that snowballed into a ridiculous viral sensation. Columbus, Ohio native Zach "Danger" Brown wanted to raise $10 on Kickstarter to make a potato salad. He got $55,000 instead. So he used all the extra cash to throw a party, dubbed Potato Stock.

Taters were mashed, mayonnaise was liberally applied, and hundreds of pounds of delicious spuds were consumed. Some local charities got a big cut of the funding. After the hangover cleared, The Verge hopped on the phone to chat with Brown about the perils of internet fame, satisfying your backers, and what he’s planning to do next.

"I am still the owner, but day to day it’s been difficult to do anything but potato salad."

Before the project took off on Kickstarter, Brown worked as a software developer building websites and mobile apps at a company he founded called Base Two, but has been on a prolonged hiatus. "I am still the owner, but day to day it’s been difficult to do anything but potato salad." Now that the big event is over, however, he doesn’t think he’s going back.

"If the past couple of months have been any indication I am willing to do things that make me more than a little uncomfortable to pursue big things that make me happy," he explained. "This project has opened some doors for me that I want to explore."

Brown has been cold calling television comedies he admires, hoping his brush with internet stardom might land him a starter gig. During the most manic part, he was emailing the head writers of shows to ask if they could use him for anything. ("I’ll make the coffee!" he’d offered.)

At the same time, he’s leery of trying to parlay the viral success of the world’s most expensive potato salad into an entire career. "I don’t want to be the guy who is clinging to his 15 minutes of internet fame a year from now, shilling potatoes or mayonnaise."

Images courtesy of CD 102.5 and @PotatoStock

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Zach "Danger" Brown prepping the salad his supporters paid $55,000 for.
No potato salad party is complete without Mr. Potato Head, of course.
Potatos by the people, for the people.
If there was ever an event where a potato sack race is an appropriate form of entertainment, this was probably it.
Not just for kids.
A sold-out crowd enjoys classic potato jams.
Brown samples the spoils.
Still more Mr. Potato Heads. (Not pictured: $55,000 worth of potato salad.)