A KENDAL graduate has caused a stir by ‘hitch hiking’ his way across North America using controversial matchmaking app Tinder.

In a six-month trek across the USA, Daniel Beaumont used the dating app to meet up with more than 30 women who helped him get to New York.

The 24-year-old said the idea came to him after “the novelty wore off” conventional hitch hiking.

“I spent the first three months getting drenched by the side of the road and decided I needed a new plan – I’d installed Tinder on my phone a few months before but not really used it.

“I thought: ‘Here’s an app – why not try and use it to get to New York.”

The former Queen Katherine Street pupil was ‘matched’ with around 4,000 people after changing his Tinder profile to read: “Nomadic traveller of two years from Britain. Currently hitch hiking 20,000km across North America. Trying to get by through the generosity of wonderful people. Need to reach New York City by early November. Can you help me get there?”

Dan insists that Tinder, which allows the user to anonymously like or reject other users by swiping or tapping their profiles, was “just another way to meet people.”

“It wasn’t my intention to hook up with girls – Tinder has a bad reputation but I was using it for the right reasons.”

Dan said the girls he met with were “curious about my travels, wanted to help and often wanted to change themselves.

“They would talk to me and that might turn into anything from having a drink to them giving me a lift to us climbing a mountain together.”

Using Tinder, alongside other online platforms including CouchSurfing and Craigslist, Dan covered 12,000km to reach his final destination in New York.

He matched with “curious, like-minded, adventurous girls” with his adventures including a tour around Hollywood, a trip to the Grand Canyon and a weekend climbing in the Rocky Mountains.

His blog post “How I used Tinder to hitch hike North America” went viral within days, with Dan saying: “I think it’s because Tinder is a current topic that people are fascinated by.”

A graduate of Manchester Business School, Dan was set to take a banking job in London before deciding to go to Australia with a friend and working in the outback for three months.

After more than two years travelling, Dan’s next project is creating a hostel for backpackers in Berlin, called Podstel, with a focus on “creation and learning” as well as making a documentary on his adventures.

He said: “My purpose is to try and inspire people to get out of their comfort zones and challenge themselves, because that’s how most of my greatest experiences have happened.”