A Belgrade Record Breaker Is Back In The Air And On TV

We probably all know someone in our lives that you would call a dare devil or an adventurer. The kind of person always hunting down the next wild trip or adrenaline rush. Then there is the extreme adventurer. The Everest climber. The person who wakes up one day and says they want to be the first human to do something absolutely insane. That is exactly who we are talking about today. At only 19 years old, a Belgrade Montana resident became the youngest pilot on Earth to fly solo around the world.

His name is Matt Guthmiller, and now, more than ten years later, he is doing it again. Except this time, he is not alone. His newest journey is the focus of Disney+’s brand new series, The Worst Trip Around the World, which follows Guthmiller and comedian Juanpa Zurita as they attempt to circle the globe together.

“The premise of the show is this Mexican comedian, Juanpa Zurita, decides he wants to go fly around the world and so he tracks me down, convinces me to go fly around the world with him and we do that, and bring different guests along the way,” Guthmiller said to one news source.

Matt has been flying since he was sixteen, but the spark hit way earlier. He grew up playing airport simulator games and hanging out at the tiny airport cafe in Aberdeen, South Dakota. By sixteen he convinced his parents to let him take an intro flight. By seventeen he had his pilot’s license. And by eighteen he had a new idea.

He read an article about a young guy attempting to set the world record as the youngest person to fly solo around the planet. Matt basically thought, well, that looks fun. If he can do it, why can’t I. Within months he took off from California in his 1981 Beechcraft Bonanza and spent 44 days crossing five continents, hitting cities like London, Greece, Singapore and Honolulu, and ultimately setting the record.

The whole adventure took over his life and eventually led him to start a YouTube channel documenting flights and odd aviation challenges. That is what caught Disney’s eye years later.Filming for the new show started in 2019 but was shut down during the pandemic. They did not get to finish the trip until 2024.

Get our free mobile app

Matt is not sure if he will ever do another global loop, but he hopes the show inspires people to take a closer look at the dreams they usually brush off. Even if it sounds impossible. Even if you have no idea how to start. You just decide you are going to do it. And we love that message!