Chinese man makes amazing 'Friends' world, lives in it


One man in China is so obsessed with the American sitcom "Friends" that he's transformed his entire life to mimic the show.

Everything from his apartment, to his work, to his family is modeled after the popular 90s episodes.

His obsession began after a particularly hard break-up.

"My first love had left me," he explains, "Every day I was almost crying. One of my friends told me, 'You have to watch Friends.'"

He took his buddy up on the offer and quickly binge-watched the sitcom, deciding that he would model his entire life after the show's happy group.

The Beijing man legally changed his name from Du Xin to Gunther, after the sitcom's awkward bartender (although he disagrees saying Gunther is "a little bit cool") and married a woman named Rachel.

They have a son named Joey, and live in an apartment designed as an exact replica of the apartment Chandler and Joey share for the majority of the show's years.

This includes a foosball table, "BayWatch" collection, the iconic frame that hangs on Monica's door, even the Lionel Ritchie album Chandler hugs in the episode when Janice dumps him.

What's more, Gunther quit his full-time job to purchase a coffee shop, which he promptly named "Central Perk" and designed like the group's favorite hangout.

The couple own a cat, named "Smelly Cat" and claims their relationship is most like Chandler and Monica's, saying, "I try to treat my wife like Chandler treats Monica. I learn a lot from Chandler."

Gunther also explains his belief that "Friends" is more than a hobby, it's a therapeutic experience, stating, "I try to persuade more people to watch Friends just like persuading a lot of people to believe in some kind of religion."

"Friends makes me happy," he continues, "For me, I'm living in Friends, of course, I'm happy every day. We all want to live in this dream and never wake up."