After traveling across the United States on a OneWheel, Joey Luthman decided his next challenge would be even bolder: attempting the world record for the most pogo stick jumps with no hands. But for the actor and filmmaker, the spectacle is never the end goal. Each challenge is part of his “Joey’s Journey to One Million” campaign, designed to raise awareness and funds for EveryCat Health Foundation and feline health research.
In the interview, Luthman discusses turning his 2025 journey into the documentary CAT MAN: Journey to Save Cat Kind, using his experience as an actor to advocate for something deeply personal, and pursuing a $1 million fundraising goal without treating it as something that must happen overnight. For him, the greater achievement would be seeing the mission continue to grow long after the number is reached — because, as he realized while watching his story connect with other cat parents and animal lovers, “it feels like it’s something bigger than me now.”
In 2025, you traveled across the United States on a OneWheel, and now you are attempting a world record on a pogo stick. When did you realize that unusual physical challenges could become such a powerful way to draw attention to feline health research?
People are always drawn to unusual acts, and I found that especially true in my OneWheel cross country journey. The lead up to the trip showed me that there was a big interest in my goal to raise money for cats, and to be doing it in a unique way. Going for the pogo stick world record is a lifelong goal of mine that will also gain a lot of attention for a great cause.
There is naturally an element of spectacle in attempting a world record. How do you make sure people enjoy and engage with the challenge while still leaving the event understanding that the work of EveryCat Health Foundation is the real reason behind it?
The event will be exciting for people to attend and be a part of, and we are always informing anyone in person, or online, about EveryCat’s amazing work. If anyone has questions about the research side of things, or the organization’s history, we are providing all that information and making sure everyone knows that all the money from merchandise, food, and donations goes directly to EveryCat Health Foundation.
CAT MAN: Journey to Save Cat Kind turns your 2025 journey into a documentary. What did you learn about yourself when that experience stopped being only a personal memory and became a story being told to other people?
The cross country OneWheel journey really was a special experience for so many reasons. We met lots of amazing, kind, and loving people along the trip, as well as tons of adorable cats. Knowing that cat parents out there, who are either going through a similar experience to mine or just have a passion for our feline friends, are watching this documentary really touches me. It feels like it’s something bigger than me now, and can make a positive impact on the world.
Your campaign has a goal of raising $1 million for feline health research. When you chose such an ambitious number, did it feel intimidating, or did the scale of the goal actually strengthen your determination?
It absolutely strengthened it! I knew it wasn’t going to be done over night, or even in the next few years, but having such a big number to shoot for makes me want to push further to achieve it. With all the challenges and stunts that I’ve been thinking of, for the future, I will have lots of great opportunities to reach this goal.
You have built a long career as an actor, with credits including iCarly, Modern Family, Grey’s Anatomy, and Criminal Minds. How much does your experience in front of the camera help — or perhaps complicate things — when you are appearing not as a character, but simply as Joey advocating for something deeply personal to you?
My acting career has helped me with having great confidence speaking to a larger audience, whether that’s online or an in-person crowd. I’m not playing a character, and this campaign comes from a very personal place, but my acting experience it has allowed me to convey my thoughts in a professional and engaging way.
Allisyn and Dylan Snyder documented your journey in CAT MAN and will once again capture this next adventure. How does the relationship between filmmaker and subject evolve when the people behind the camera are no longer documenting a single event, but witnessing a long-term mission?
Dylan, Allisyn and I have been working together for over 10 years now. We have a really strong flow when we are in the thick of a creative project. All of us have traded out being behind, or in front of, the camera many times. So, there’s never felt like a huge amount of pressure being the subject of something we’re working on. Documenting my cross country trip over 45 days was definitely unique to all of us, but we still treated it like we would with any of our films. From filming, to editing, we had a lot of fun creating the documentary, and I’m very excited for more to come!
Between crossing the country, making a documentary, and now attempting a world record, your campaign seems to keep growing in scale. When you imagine finally reaching that $1 million goal, what do you hope will remain afterward beyond the money itself?
The scale is definitely growing, and I love it! It means more eyes will be on EveryCat Health Foundation and their mission. Even after I reach $1 million dollars, I hope that EveryCat becomes a household name and will be receiving more donations than ever, so they can help cat for generations to come.
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