Ian Edwards is a 25-year-old bus driver who, like lots of 25-year-olds, loves "Harry Potter."
In fact, he loves it so much that two weeks ago he decided to listen to the audiobooks on his portable bluetooth speaker as he drove his bus route on the University of Georgia (UGA) campus.
Now, according to UGA students, he's a legend on anonymous gossip app Yik Yak, popular at college campuses for its location-based message boards.
Edwards recently graduated from the university with a music education degree. His bus driving job, shuttling students on the "East West" campus route, helps make ends meet when he's not teaching music lessons. "We’re one of the biggest transit agencies in Georgia, but we’re also one of the few that allows drivers listen to music while driving," Edwards tells Tech Insider.
For awhile, he played album after album of his favorite music. But then he had a thought: Why not use the hours driving as a time to get some reading done? A self-described "long time, multiple-midnight-releases kind of 'Harry Potter' fan," Edwards decided to give J.K. Rowling's audiobooks a whirl.
"Within a few days I had people coming up and telling me that "Harry Potter" made their day," Edwards said. Then he saw the Yik Yak posts on a private Facebook page for campus transit employees where drivers can request shift trades. One driver who uses Yik Yak tagged Edwards in this screenshot.
Edwards was surprised and amused by the post, and, because he's a seasoned Reddit user, uploaded it to Imgur.
"I got called out today. Apparently I'm becoming famous on campus," he captioned the screenshot. Now his post has nearly 4,000 upvotes and is currently sitting on the front page of the "Harry Potter" subreddit. In the comment section, even more UGA students came out of the woodwork to praise Edwards.
"It’s funny — on the Reddit thread there were 30 or 40 people saying 'Yeah UGA!' or that they had gotten on my bus," Edwards said. "I just got a reply that said, 'I had you as my bus driver this week, it made my day!'"
Meanwhile, the Yaks continue to roll in:
Edwards, who had never used Yik Yak before, created an account. "I wrote a post this morning asking if the East West ridership would be devastated if I switched to 'The Hobbit' now that I had finished all of 'Harry Potter.'"
Edwards has already started on "The Hobbit," and might start the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy next. He's also considering "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and "The Chronicles of Narnia."
Aside from a newfound appreciation for Yik Yak, Edwards' takeaway from his blip of internet fame is a surge of pride for the "Harry Potter" fandom. "It's a really vibrant community, and it’s just amazing that it’s still going this strong," he said.
