Actor Joey Luthman has found an unconventional way to fundraise for feline health: turning endurance stunts into stories. Over the past two years, Luthman has built a body of creative work — a cross-country ride, a documentary film, and now a world-record attempt — all in service of a single goal: raising $1 million for EveryCat Health Foundation, a nonprofit focused on advancing feline health through research and education.
Turning a Ride Into a Film
Luthman’s fundraising mission began with a physical feat: riding a OneWheel electric skateboard across the country, from California to Maine. But instead of letting the journey end when the ride did, Luthman turned it into a full-length documentary, “CAT MAN: Journey to Save Cat Kind.” The film premiered at the PopCon Film Festival 2026 and is now touring beyond traditional theaters — screening at coffee shops, humane society facilities, and cat sanctuaries, bringing the story directly to the communities most invested in feline welfare.
By documenting the ride rather than simply completing it, Luthman extended its reach: the film has become a fundraising and awareness tool that can keep working long after the OneWheel trip ended.
A New Physical Feat, With the Same Storytelling Instinct
Luthman is now applying that same approach to a new challenge — attempting to break the world record for consecutive pogo stick jumps with no hands, currently set at 16,100. As with the OneWheel ride, the stunt is designed to draw a crowd and a camera: the record attempt will unfold as a public event featuring a raffle, games, and stand-up23 comedy, turning what could be a solitary athletic feat into a shared, story-driven fundraiser.
That instinct to pair spectacle with cause is deliberate: Luthman has said he wants the record attempt to double as a gathering, a place where people can watch, take part in the surrounding activities, and ultimately help make the day a substantial fundraiser rather than a solitary athletic feat.
Creative Work Rooted in Personal Loss
The throughline across Luthman’s projects is personal. In 2023, he lost his cat, Winter, to chronic kidney disease (CKD), and soon after watched a close friend’s cat, Momo, lose a battle with cancer. Rather than channel that grief privately, Luthman built public creative projects around it — searching for a research-focused organization to partner with and finding that fit in EveryCat.
Luthman has pointed to EveryCat’s track record of breakthroughs in feline health as the reason he chose to align his fundraising with the organization above others. “EveryCat Health Foundation’s work over the years has led to breakthroughs in helping cats,” he said. “With the work they’ve funded on feline chronic kidney disease and cancer, I thought it was the perfect place to connect with to raise money for these causes.”
A Growing Creative and Advocacy Portfolio
Beyond the film and the record attempt, Luthman continues to show up in person for the cause, including planned appearances with EveryCat at CatCon 2026 in Pasadena this October. Each project — the ride, the film, the stunt, the public appearances — functions as another chapter in an ongoing, self-produced campaign that blends performance, storytelling, and advocacy.
EveryCat President and CEO Jackie Ott Jaakola has recognized that sustained creative effort. “Feline chronic kidney disease is far too common, and it leaves far too many cat lovers heartbroken,” she said. “We are proud to continue funding CKD research, and grateful for Joey Luthman’s continued support for our mission to help cats around the world live healthy and happy lives.”
Since 1968, EveryCat Health Foundation has funded more than $12 million in feline health research at over 30 partner institutions worldwide — work that Luthman’s expanding portfolio of creative projects continues to spotlight.