Jkotrides

Same great friends... This time the surprise was on Jory as he thought his family was traveling for a hockey tournament when in fact, it was the first visit to see his BFF since we moved from NY to SC

Soultana and Jory's video featured on viral video show "Right This Minute."

A Rochester, NY teen went the extra mile, by going more than 700 miles, to shock his childhood best friend with a surprise visit. Jory Knauf, 15, traveled to Indian Land, South Carolina this August to visit his childhood friend, 16-year-old Soultana Kotrides. Except he didn’t tell her he was coming, and when he did finally arrive, he was disguised as a FedEx driver. As you can see in the video which has been viewed more than 15 million times on YouTube as of Friday afternoon, Soultana was completely, and utterly shocked. Soultana’s father, John Kotrides, captured the moment as Soultana recognized her friend — who she hadn’t seen in over a year. Upon the realization that the delivery man was indeed her friend Jory, she collapsed at his feet before embracing him for lengthy hug amid an emotional and surprising reunion. John says Soultana and Jory became friends as preschoolers in the same neighborhood. They remained close until Soultana moved south in the seventh grade. Jory remains in Chili and Soultana was a former student of Gates-Chili Central School District. The families stayed in touch and visit each other often, John says, but the pandemic prevented that annual opportunity this summer — or so Soultana thought. John says both families thought the kids could use some positivity during a tough year, and he added that both families were tested for coronavirus before the reunion. Licensed for distribution through T & T Creative Media

A South Carolina teen went the extra mile, by going more than 700 miles, to shock his childhood best friend with a surprise visit. Jory Knauf, 15, traveled to Indian Land, South Carolina this August to visit his childhood friend, 16-year-old Soultana Kotrides. Except he didn’t tell her he was coming, and when he did finally arrive, he was disguised as a FedEx driver. As you can see in the video above, which has been viewed more than 10 million times on YouTube as of Friday afternoon, Soultana was completely, and utterly shocked. Soultana’s father, John Kotrides, captured the moment as Soultana recognized her friend — who she hadn’t seen in over a year. Upon the realization that the delivery man was indeed her friend Jory, she collapsed at his feet before embracing him for lengthy hug amid an emotional and surprising reunion. John says Soultana and Jory became friends as preschoolers in the same neighborhood. They remained close until Soultana moved south in the seventh grade. Jory remains in Chili and Soultana was a former student of Gates-Chili Central School District. The families stayed in touch and visit each other often, John says, but the pandemic prevented that annual opportunity this summer — or so Soultana thought. John says both families thought the kids could use some positivity during a tough year, and he added that both families were tested for coronavirus before the planned gathering. The video has since gone completely viral, with more than 15 million views on YouTube, and has been seen on Fox News, the Today Show, as well as other outlets. John says Jory and his mother were able to visit for a week before returning to New York. Licensed through T & T Creative Media for distribution