‘Nightmare fuel’: Austin couple didn’t expect their morning run to end with 11 firefighters and a camera

A morning jog in Austin, Texas, turned into something far more memorable for a married couple when they stumbled upon a man stuck at the bottom of a deep, mud-filled hole. The incident, which has since gone viral, brought together a comedian, a film crew of two joggers, and over a dozen firefighters on a regular weekday morning.

Nat and Caleb, an Austin-based married couple who run a boat rental business, were out for their usual morning run when they noticed a commotion. According to Newsweek, they pulled out their phones and started filming, capturing the moment emergency services arrived to rescue 40-year-old comedian and Lie, Cheat & Steal podcast host Pat Sirois, who had fallen through a poorly covered hole in the ground.

The video, posted on their TikTok account natandcalebbb, quickly racked up over 10.7 million views and 1.8 million likes. In the clip, Nat can be heard saying, “We’re rescuing our new friend Pat; he’s in this hole,” to which Pat casually replied, “Sup, hey, how y’all doin’?” When a firefighter asked if he was okay, Pat responded, “I’m fine. I’m just in a hole.” The lighthearted exchange drew thousands of comments, with one user calling it “actual nightmare fuel.”

Only in Austin would a morning jog end like this

According to Pat’s own follow-up video on TikTok, he had also been out for a morning run and had stopped to take pictures of old buildings in the area. He noticed a pile of dirt with a particle board on top and stepped on it out of curiosity. The board gave way, and he fell into a smooth, cylindrical shaft filled with mud at the bottom. Unable to climb out due to the slippery walls, he waited while bystanders called for help.

It took 11 firefighters to get him out. One of the responders at the scene picked up the particle board that had been covering the hole and shook his head, a reaction that many viewers noticed. Pat said the soft mud at the bottom of the hole likely cushioned his fall, and he escaped with only a bruise on his leg. Firefighters transported him home after the rescue.

Pat later addressed doubts about whether the incident was staged, pushing back on the idea that anyone would willingly jump into a hole and call emergency services just for content. He also noted the humor in how he filmed his own storytime video from above so viewers would recognize him as the man in the hole.

The comment section had plenty to say. One user joked, “I got a hole lotta questions.” Another asked, “Good to see you supporting underground artists.” Some viewers raised more serious questions, with one asking whether Pat could take legal action against whoever was responsible for the unsecured covering.

If you enjoy stories about reality TV contestants making surprising moves behind the scenes, you might also want to read about a Survivor castaway who was secretly in contact with another player before filming even began. The incident has drawn attention to safety concerns around construction and utility sites in busy urban areas, where loose or inadequate coverings over open shafts can pose a real danger to pedestrians.

Austin, a rapidly growing city, has seen a surge in construction activity in recent years, making incidents like this more likely. For now though, most of the internet seems to agree: Pat handled it with about as much grace as anyone reasonably could. Austin is no stranger to unexpected moments making headlines, like the time a reality TV contestant revealed a surprising reason for leaving a popular dating show.