SOUTH BEND — To Uber riders around South Bend, he’s known as the ‘Karaoke Man’. Thomas Koroch drives his customers around and gives them a chance to sing their favorite tunes.

Koroch started the karaoke experience about six months ago because he wants his customers to have a memorable experience.

“It started out with a lot of Notre Dame students and I would pick them up and I found out I could do karaoke,” said Koroch as he played videos of former riders who allowed them to post their tunes to his YouTube page.

“What I really wanted to do is that people would get out of the car and they would be, really couldn’t believe what they had just experienced and I wanted them to be able to see it the next day,” he said. “For better or for worse.”

You don’t have to do karaoke if you get in Koroch’s Black Toyota Sienna, but he’ll play videos of past customers to spark your interest.

“I think people are more relaxed and although I do have camera equipment and this is not your typical van when you’re in it, it’s still not in your face and they can be more at ease and more natural,” he said.

Koroch said if his customers decide they want to record their karaoke experience, he will shut off the Uber ride so they’re not being charged for their trip any longer. He wants those instances to be separate from the actual Uber trip.

Ninety-eight percent of the time he said people don’t want to have their karaoke experiences recorded, but often those are the most memorable rides.

“Just the last people in the world that you thought would be kind of magic, and then they just end up being magic what they do back there and I just have to scratch my head sometimes,” he said. “I just can’t believe what I’m witnessing. It’s so fun I think I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”

He doesn’t make any money from the videos, but wants his riders to cherish the memories from his Uber trips. Koroch is considering mixing in conversations he has with people that are compelling with all of the videos on his YouTube and Facebook pages.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeHxxPCVSh0w2AtMIqcEG3Q

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nearlyfamousthomas/?fref=mentions

Source: WNDU