How To Survive On A Bike Courier's Salary — And Still Buy Weed (HBO)

How To Survive On A Bike Courier's Salary — And Still Buy Weed (HBO)

Sean, a bike courier in New York City, says his on-demand job has a special perk — the freedom to plan his delivery route through the neighborhood where he buys weed.

On-demand jobs like Postmates, who Sean bikes for, are rapidly growing in popularity. In 2016, 3.7 million people worked on-demand jobs; by 2021, that number is expected to triple. The Postmates app works similarly to Uber, except users are able to order food or practically anything else sold in stores to their front door. Sean started working for the company part-time to make extra cash on the side on top of his other job at a spa. He typically pulls in anywhere from $10 to $200 a week working up to 20 hours.

Sean currently rides a couple days a week, sans helmet — and health insurance. VICE News followed him along his route during a typical day.

VICE News profiles Americans working in jobs today that reflect that landscape of our current economy. This episode follows Sean, the on-demand Postmate, as he takes on his work day by bike in New York City.

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49 Comments

  1. gumpi ball on January 5, 2020 at 9:14 pm

    like

  2. Bill Rose on January 5, 2020 at 9:17 pm

    poser

  3. Cedric Yeung on January 5, 2020 at 9:19 pm

    His saddle is too low

  4. Maxaa _ on January 5, 2020 at 9:20 pm

    I just lyk everythng abt this guy

  5. Iv An on January 5, 2020 at 9:20 pm

    So advanced and no health insurance….lol

  6. SOULJAHZ KINGDUM on January 5, 2020 at 9:20 pm

    Holy shit he says “like” a lot. it’s like fucking annoying

  7. Daniel Gorr on January 5, 2020 at 9:21 pm

    Like….like …..like

  8. X-pert Mastermind on January 5, 2020 at 9:21 pm

    Do you see how he’s bouncing up and down while riding? That’s called a bad bike fit. This is not a real bike courier, a real courier wouldn’t have a bad fit and cruise around with no helmet.

  9. Randy Barrett on January 5, 2020 at 9:21 pm

    Dude has no clue how to ride a bike – raise the saddle, put AIR IN YOUR TIRES, wear a helmet. Jeez, I spent a few months in The Netherlands where there were bikes everywhere and I saw so many under-inflated tires I couldn’t believe it

  10. breakline on January 5, 2020 at 9:23 pm

    This comment is like, my conment, like, it’d be fun if like, you know like, you read it

  11. SANDWICH Sani on January 5, 2020 at 9:24 pm

    Raise your seatpost goddammit,wear a helmet would be good too

  12. Matt Smith on January 5, 2020 at 9:24 pm

    One of the dumbest cyclists Ive ever seen

  13. Kim Yusaf on January 5, 2020 at 9:24 pm

    and he was ‘like’.. so I was ‘like’ and ‘like’ you know.. it was ‘like’ …. so ‘like’

  14. Christopher Rouse on January 5, 2020 at 9:27 pm

    Oh geez why where you the first hit on the yube. such a tool. Get a real job

  15. Unique anartist on January 5, 2020 at 9:32 pm

    Update Postmates does offer health insurance. Also you can get free health insurance from the city 🙂

  16. G. Repp on January 5, 2020 at 9:32 pm

    holy shit, i did this all day. it looks just like this. i even drove past a limo

  17. Moss stellflug on January 5, 2020 at 9:32 pm

    Get a real job

  18. sew? on January 5, 2020 at 9:33 pm

    I laughed ….. I cried…… Always get a p. Od. For nipple guards….. newb.

  19. Andreas Dahl on January 5, 2020 at 9:35 pm

    dude, you need a bigger bag! and raise ur seat 😛

  20. Marcos Villalobos on January 5, 2020 at 9:35 pm

    If this guy is 23 years old I’m 10 dude looks 30

  21. P Spot on January 5, 2020 at 9:35 pm

    This is not a professional bike courier. and part time work is not salary work. video title is misleading, the video itself is maybe somewhat informative on how postmates works, but this is a disservice to the cycling community.

  22. SchmeddyBallz on January 5, 2020 at 9:37 pm

    Half way through I was convinced that this guy is not a bike courier much less a biker. Scrolling through the comments it looks like other people agree with me. What I noticed was that he was using a brand new lock that had virtually no wear on it; any bike courier that has been working daily for a while will have a scuffed and dirty locking lock. His bike is another giveaway. It wasn’t well maintained as you can see tons of rust on the chain in one shot and his bars even look bent in head on shots. Also the pedals he was using were POS old school pedals that no avid rider or courier would ever use. This is clearly an ad for postmates and he doesn’t even ride for the company considering that he isn’t even using their standard issue courier bags that they have. And the dead fucking giveaway is that his saddle isn’t even at the right height, which would get very uncomfortable and eventually cause injuries after hours of pedaling in that position.

  23. Dale Zapple on January 5, 2020 at 9:40 pm

    Pitiful bike, sells for under 100 on Craigslist all day long… So sad

  24. Zooman X on January 5, 2020 at 9:42 pm

    Dude, where’s my weed?

  25. Brett Huber on January 5, 2020 at 9:43 pm

    This guy is not a messenger and using postmates takes work away from real couriers. Postmates and similar companies are ruining the industry for a litany of reasons. He clearly states more than one in this video

  26. Morningson on January 5, 2020 at 9:43 pm

    A helmet would be nice.

  27. M McTavish on January 5, 2020 at 9:44 pm

    “I’m worried about getting hurt because I don’t have health insurance” PUT A HELMET ON!

  28. lejoe48 on January 5, 2020 at 9:44 pm

    Él es muy joven, no hay problema (aunque es un trabajo peligroso) la cosa se complica cuando uno pasa de los 40-50 años de edad y sigue haciendo estos trabajos. Ahí comienza el problema y la desesperanza.

  29. Otto Carnage on January 5, 2020 at 9:44 pm

    People on bikes don’t get hit by cars, they get hit by motorist.

  30. Guy Thompson on January 5, 2020 at 9:45 pm

    2 quinoa tacos and an avocado toast delivered by a bike courier is the most millennial shit ever.

  31. Toudou Honda on January 5, 2020 at 9:47 pm

    There’s no such job like that here in the Philippines. I’d love to go bike around and deliver stuff for people as a summer job!

  32. thinkoddly on January 5, 2020 at 9:49 pm

    He said "LIKE" more than a million times.

  33. Jamuler on January 5, 2020 at 9:51 pm

    Worries about getting hit by cars doesn’t wear a helmet

  34. jsblee on January 5, 2020 at 9:51 pm

    Stop buying weed and purchase your helmet, bruh

  35. El Nene .Galan on January 5, 2020 at 9:54 pm

    Everybody criticizes this guy instead of praising him fr making a decent/honest living, not being homeless/drug addict and a burden to society…God Bless Him

  36. Jesse Lopez on January 5, 2020 at 9:56 pm

    "Been out here for 2-3 hours made $10 bucks." Ok. This is a FUCKING NIGHTMARE!! You use your car/bike to work hard for a company
    no benefits or set pay?!?! No reimbursement for gas or repairs?!?! I would NEVER do this type of work. People are getting the pennies someone’s making the dollars!! Wait got to go. I need to get on my bike, I’ve got to deliver one small coffee 23 miles.
    In the snow. Hope I get $1 tip.
    Peace
    PEOPLE

  37. Sills71 on January 5, 2020 at 9:57 pm

    Great… people are ordering food 3 blocks away that has to be put into disposable containers… perfect.

  38. VICE News on January 5, 2020 at 9:58 pm

    Sean currently rides a couple days a week, sans helmet — and health insurance. VICE News followed him along his route during a typical day.
    WATCH NEXT: Kids of the corn farm – http://bit.ly/2yfc35F

  39. The Meech on January 5, 2020 at 9:58 pm

    2:47 dude…fold that slice!

  40. Brazuca Real on January 5, 2020 at 10:00 pm

    What a fucking loser, por head faggot.
    His fucking tire is flat, as his capacity to think. Flat.

  41. Just Ryan on January 5, 2020 at 10:02 pm

    Want to make 450-760 per week? And by that you mean $4.50-7.60 per week… Demand is extremely low. There’s no money in Postmates. The only people making money is Postmates off their commission they don’t even have to work for.
    If you want to convince someone you can make $450-760 weekly… filming $10 for 2 hours is not helping.

  42. Jarjar Binks on January 5, 2020 at 10:02 pm

    Did he overuse the word “like”?

  43. David Hutchinson on January 5, 2020 at 10:04 pm

    Unless you are making at least $600 a week it’s chump change.

  44. Sean Sullivan on January 5, 2020 at 10:04 pm

    Bike looks like something outta the Soviet Union. Remove that kickstand to save 100 grams noob.

  45. Byron C on January 5, 2020 at 10:06 pm

    holy shit there is a lottttttttttttttttt of bullshit in this video.

  46. Frederik Tolberg on January 5, 2020 at 10:07 pm

    A bike messenger not using a fixed gear bike smh

  47. MNH on January 5, 2020 at 10:07 pm

    worked for 3 hours..then buy weeds..then complained " i need to work to buy stuff i want, apart from weeds"

  48. Jekes Pekes on January 5, 2020 at 10:10 pm

    Why is this about weed?

  49. snurk agurk on January 5, 2020 at 10:13 pm

    Funny how he dosen’t invest in a bike rack

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