Canadian runner transforms daily jogs into GPS art — 'dancing stick man' turns overnight internet sensation

Every person has a pastime they thoroughly enjoy, whether it is reading a fantasy novel or gardening. Others, however, are more interested in unconventional hobbies. Duncan McCabe, a 32-year-old who goes by @duncan77mccabe on TikTok, has a penchant for the peculiar. McCabe, an avid runner and animation enthusiast, set out on a journey to create a dancing stick figure on the most unexpected canvas: a GPS map.

McCabe used the popular GPS-tracking app Strava, which connects runners, cyclists, hikers, and walkers, and allows them to record their routes. Using the app's map function, he recorded 120 runs, and when he strung all the maps together, it revealed a stick figure dancing to the song "Purple Hat" across the streets of Toronto. While the dancing man may look simple at first glance, the process involves a complex method. "You need to have a lot of frames per second to give it motion," shared McCabe with The Washington Post. 

His video is a part of the growing trend known as GPS art, which involves using apps with location tracking to create digital drawings. People have gone on to make a strawberry, a donkey, and even a dragon. However, McCabe took it to a different level by managing to create an animation with his GPS art.

“If I have a long-term vision, I’m willing to work for a very long time," said McCabe. "Each piece of art is a frame, and if you combine them, you can turn frames into motion."

McCabe, an animation enthusiast, loves making short films and began by creating this video last year, turning 430 miles of running into a 30-second clip featuring several animals. He said that the idea for the dancing animation actually stemmed from a conversation with his wife, in which she mentioned a dancing figure in a flipbook style.

"The lightbulb went on," he told the outlet. "I could visualize it in my head." According to the publication, he used PowerPoint to map out his runs so that the movements were clear to him. He started by making individual maps in Strava. "You get a little less accuracy, but it’s easier for vision," he said.

People in the comment section were taken aback by the effort that he put in to make the video possible. "This is very good. I have dabbled with Strava art but quickly ran out of ideas runnable within my 10-15km longest run distance. This is such a cool new take on it. Kudos," wrote @alibellator. Another comment by @adriyonce added, "I love it when people have cool hobbies." Another comment by @sam read, "Okay, but like this actually might make me want to go for runs 'cause this is so fun."

Many talked about how cool the outcome was: "I’m afraid this is incredibly attractive in ways I cannot describe," wrote @hiccupandwink. "This is mad impressive. I’d die for you to do the Macarena, YMCA, or turn yourself into Pac-Man," added @HEYmushroomtree. 

You can follow Duncan McCabe (@duncan77mccabe) for more animation videos on TikTok.