A local teacher has been making a big splash on social media with his unique relationship with the Golden Arch on Main Street in Payson.
Several months ago, Scott Haney, a physical education teacher at Salem Hills High School, decided that he was going to do a 90-day challenge avoiding McDonald’s — specifically, its Sausage McMuffin.
On April 2, Haney went through the Payson McDonald’s drive-thru and said, “I’m just here to tell ya’ I’m gonna’ miss ya’ for another 90 days.” To which, the employee said, “Scott, are you quitting again?”
“I know, I’ve had too many Sausage McMuffins and too many Double Cheeseburgers with no pickles. So, I’ll be back in 90 days,” he said.
“I’ll be waiting for you, Scott,” the employee responded.
Over the next several weeks, Haney fell off the wagon by driving to McDonalds and attempting to order food, but was met with resistance. On day 41, in fact, there was a sign that read, “Scott, no orders until July 3rd. Stay strong!”
“Nevermind. I see your note on here. I’ll be back in 50 days,” he said.
That video was seen over 25 million times on Instagram, and gained the attention of the infamous burger chain itself, commenting, “here for u when ur ready.”
Even the fast food restaurant was rooting for him to complete the 90-day challenge, and by July 3, he surpassed his goal by making it 93 days. And of course, he was greeted by friends, family and staff before ordering two Sausage McMuffins and a Diet Coke.
Haney told Serve Daily that it is all in good fun, adding that he has always loved trying to make people smile.
“I think we take ourselves too seriously,” he said. “I’d do these videos if I had three views or 25 million views. I just like making people smile.”
In March, just prior to starting his McDonald’s challenge, Haney’s mother passed away. He said that since then, he’s been looking for ways to serve his community and the world around him one funny video at a time. He has also been trying other challenges that he hopes will get the community to be more kind.
“Right now, I’m doing 30 days of no swearing, and it’s to get people to think about the words they say,” he said.
Haney is also a baseball coach, and he travels around the country for different events. He said that he has found that a lot of people he comes in contact with, use swear words and he hopes this challenge will encourage people to “use other words.”
“I think the whole world needs to be nicer,” he said.
Haney has been teaching at Salem Hills High School for the past 21 years and was at Payson High School before that. He’s been teaching for 40 years, and he is also married with four kids and soon-to-be nine grandkids.
“I love making videos, but I won’t post anything that won’t make my family proud,” he said.
Social media isn’t the only screen Haney has made appearances on. The high school teacher-turned content creator once won money on Wheel of Fortune.
