Photos: Virgin

Virgin Will Pay You $100K to Say Yes to Travel for Six Months. Here's How to Apply.

by Matador Creators Oct 7, 2026

This post is produced in partnership with Virgin.

Chris Tomkins figured he had no shot. His next-door neighbor, a Virgin Voyages regular, sent him the listing for Virgin’s first Head of Yes, and he wrote it off on the spot. “I saw it and instantly just thought, well, I’ll never get that in a million years,” he told Matador CEO Ross Borden on CREATOR: The Podcast. The listing sat in the back of his mind for a few weeks, until he mentioned it to his dad, who told him he’d be a fool not to apply.

He applied, and he got it. Over the next six months, Virgin sent a bagpiper to his front door in Newcastle, had him talk a stranger into a helicopter ride over New York City, and put him on a cruise ship where Richard Branson made time to sit down with him for coffee. Now Virgin is hiring its second Head of Yes, and this time people in the United States can apply too.

What is Virgin’s Head of Yes?

chris tomkins, virgin head of yes

Photo: Virgin

Head of Yes is a paid, six-month creator gig. Virgin pays one person $100,000 in the US, or 75,000 British pounds (roughly the same in dollars) in the UK, to travel with its brands, take on whatever it lines up, and post about it. Travel expenses are covered. The name comes from Branson’s nickname, Dr. Yes.

Virgin isn’t asking for a follower count, either. “You haven’t got to be an established creator in the way that, you know, you’re working with brands already,” Chris says. “It’s literally just for someone who’s got a good story.” He’d been posting for about three years and selling watches part-time when he applied.

The essentials:

  • Pay: $100,000 (US) or 75,000 British pounds (UK), plus travel expenses
  • Length: Six months, starting January 2027
  • Who can apply: Anyone 18 or older who lives in the US or UK, except Virgin Group employees
  • Follower minimum: None
  • Deadline: Oct. 20, 2026, at 11:59 PM ET
  • Winner announced: Nov. 30, 2026

What the job actually looks like

Chris found out on a Saturday, a week after the final-round day in London. His parents were visiting when his phone rang, and both of them pulled out their own phones to film him. Virgin had tipped them off, knowing he’d want the reaction on camera. “Being told I was Head of Yes is probably the best day of my life,” he says.

He rarely knew where he was going until a few days before he left. Each trip started with a reveal, and the first one set the tone. Virgin told him to wait at home because someone was coming to the door, and that it wasn’t a celebrity or Branson. Then he heard bagpipes from down the road. The piper was there to announce Edinburgh: whisky tastings, castle tours, and a stay at Virgin Hotels Edinburgh.

In February, it was New York for Valentine’s Day. Seoul was revealed during a K-pop dance lesson in London. The run ended with a road trip through the American South, through Atlanta, Nashville, and New Orleans. His favorite trip was on an adults-only Virgin Voyages cruise — that was his first cruise, and he’s since sailed again with a mother and son he met on the flight to Miami.

The work is less scripted than you might expect. Chris and the Virgin team mapped out videos from each itinerary, but after Edinburgh, the team found it liked his behind-the-scenes footage more than the polished hero edit.

Dates can shift, so you need to stay flexible for the whole six months. The deal also isn’t exclusive, and Chris kept working with other brands throughout. He was selling watches part-time when he applied; the role is what let him go full-time as a creator.

Chris’s advice for your Head of Yes video

Chris’s application ran about two minutes. He went back to the yes that started everything: quitting his job to go backpacking. The video opens on him riding the escalator out of his old workplace, then cuts to skydiving and bungee jumping in Australia. He didn’t stop at the highs. He also put in the comedown: landing home broke and taking a call-center job in Newcastle, headset and all.

His advice is to pick a moment that actually matters to you, even if it’s only one. “If it’s powerful to you, when you speak on it, it will come across as powerful,” he says. And don’t build your video around what’s working for someone else. “Stay in your own lane,” he says. “Virgin is a personality brand, so personality first.”

 

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How to apply

The whole application is one video, and you can shoot it on your phone this week. There’s no form, no résumé, no follower minimum, and no pitch deck. Last year’s UK-only round drew more than 400 applicants. This year the US is in the pool too, and you have until Oct. 20.

  • Pick your yes. Think of the time you said yes to something and it changed where your life went: a trip, a move, a career jump, a risk that took a while to pay off.
  • Tell it your way. Talk to the camera, cut together old footage, or both. Chris’s ran about two minutes and included the messy parts.
  • Post it publicly on TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube. Tag @Virgin and add #HeadOfYes. Your profile has to be public for Virgin to see it.
  • Beat the deadline: Oct. 20, 2026, at 11:59 PM ET.

From there, Virgin picks a shortlist, brings those applicants in for a Brand Immersion Day, and names the new Head of Yes on Nov. 30. One thing to know before you post: by applying, you agree that Virgin can repost your video, in whole or in part, on its channels.

Read the full details and T&Cs on Virgin’s site.

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