His mission? To drink a cup of joe at every Starbucks in the land. Here, the story of one man, over 12,000 coffee shops, and what happens when you down 29 Talls in a single day

Some people collect stamps, or comic books, or third-world orphans. Others are into sports cars, or handbags, or handguns. For itinerant freelance computer programmer Winter (yes, just Winter; he legally changed it from Rafael Antonio Lozano earlier this year), it's all about Starbucks. Like, all about Starbucks: Since 1997, the 34-year-old has been on a highly caffeinated mission to visit every one of the 12,000-plus Seattle-based bean shacks around the globe. By the time Radar recently spoke with Winter, he had already been to 5,778 stores in North America and another 355 international outposts. Between gigs (last year he worked 40 weeks), he roams the country, usually alone, in his '97 Honda Civic hatchback. He bought the car off eBay in 2004—at the time it had 78,000 miles on the odometer; it now has almost a quarter million. He has been to every state except Hawaii. Winter's tale has been made into a documentary film called Starbucking, which has played small festivals and will be released on DVD next year. During one day of shooting, Winter set a new personal best by visiting 29 different Starbucks in a single day. When the sun set on that jittery occasion, extreme nausea was only one of his many concerns.

RADAR: Okay, not to depress you, but don't about 40 new Starbucks open every month in North America alone?
WINTER: I hear numbers like that, and I hear numbers like three to five a day. But it's entirely possible to visit all the stores in North America. It's when you take it on a global scale that it becomes practically impossible. I'd say I've been able to keep up pretty well with the rate in North America and if I wanted to make a push to get them all, I could do it. But it's more important to keep my job. That's what separates me from someone who is truly obsessive-compulsive.

Right. Do you get free coffee?
I introduce myself and my project and ask for a sample, which is the minimum that I need to consume, and I almost always get it.

Need to consume?
The primary rule is I have to drink at least one four-ounce sample of caffeinated coffee from each store. The store has to have actually opened for business; I can't get there the day before, when they have friends-and-family day and they're giving drinks away—in many ways that's kind of arbitrary. It has to be a company-owned store, not a licensed store. I have to drink the coffee, but there is no time limit on when I have to drink the coffee. But the longer I go without drinking it, the greater the risk that I might lose it. There are two stores I need to go back to in Washington State because I didn't finish the coffee—I lost it. I took it out of the store, I had it in a cup, and in the middle of the night I forgot I hadn't drank it all and I used the cup to relieve myself.

The day you hit 29 stores, what were the side effects?
Well, pretty early on I started developing a headache, I started feeling jittery. Later, because of all the liquid I drank, I started feeling bloated. Just looking at the little cup of coffee made me nauseated.

How many total ounces did you drink that day?
One hundred and four ounces and three shots of espresso. It hurt. And I lost an hour when my jeans ripped in the crotch while I was leaping up to a stone ledge to take a photo—so I had to stop at a mall to buy a pair of jeans. Toward the end of the day there were times when I felt like I was going to hurl, and I really didn't want to because I don't have a rule in place for what happens if I vomit. Would I have to go back to the store and drink the coffee? I probably would. So I definitely wanted to avoid vomiting.

What's the worst you've felt because of this?
I've never been in the hospital in my life. My immune system always seems to take care of it. There was one time when I got some kind of stomach infection and had to have some antibiotics in St. Louis and that felt pretty bad. There have been times when I felt bad enough that I couldn't drive. But even when I had to park my car on a hill because the alternator was out, and I still managed to push it to get it started, and I had a hundred bucks in my pocket to get back to Houston. I've never felt low. But I'm kind of privileged because I can count on my parents. They're not going to fund my project, but they're not going to let me starve in the desert, either.

Has anyone expressed concern about your physical or mental condition?
Only people that don't know me. I'll get e-mails saying, "Hey, I'm worried about your health." But you can't really take those too seriously.

How much have you spent on this project?
Most of my discretionary income. $29,561.86. (He keeps detailed records in a log he posts on his lo-fi website, starbuckseverywhere.net).

Starbucks must have called to find out what you are up to—what did you say?
I told them I want to visit every Starbucks and do something unique. I told them the truth.

That's still the main motivation?
It has not changed but it has expanded. Now that I've started getting publicity, it's been in the back of my mind that I could use this publicity to promote my philosophical ideas about how to change the world. If I gain any measure of fame from the film, I intend to promote my philosophy, which I expect will make me popular among some, but very unpopular to most. I expect my life to become more difficult.

Can you tell us more about your philosophy?
Yes, but it would be so vague: like I'd like to see an elimination of global conflict. But there's no point in even printing that because every other man on the street could say the same thing.

You mentioned the film—any money in it?
I will make 25 percent of profits, if there are any. But being the subject of a documentary film is easily the highlight of my project.

On your website, you have both "hot chicks" and "epistemology" on your list of interests.
That list is kind of outdated but I still like hot chicks and I'm still into epistemology.

Ever picked up a hot chick in a Starbucks? Epistemologically speaking?
Um, I would say, yes, of course, I've had brief conversations with plenty of hot chicks, but they've never gone anywhere, due to the fact that I am always passing through. I'm sure that works to my disadvantage. I've sensed possibilities but they would have required me to actually stay there and pursue something—and that's incompatible with my lifestyle. One girl in Dallas who I kept trying to go out with finally did, but it never went anywhere. We went for coffee at some café, but not at Starbucks.

If the movie takes off, you might meet a lot more.
I'll probably get a lot of e-mails from a lot of girls. I've gotten tons of e-mails from girls saying, "Hey, I love your project, I'd love to meet you for a cup of coffee." Guys, too. But what most often happens is that by the time I actually get to where that person is and send an e-mail saying, "Hey, I'm coming to town," the person has forgotten about me.

Ever gotten any shit from the PC police?
I've gotten lots of e-mails about different aspects of Starbucks—from putting mom-and-pops out of business, to not paying farmers a fair price for their coffee, to contributing to the cookie-cutter-ization of America.

How do you respond?
If the e-mail is written sensibly, I always try to give a well-reasoned response. I would say it is more important to give people the choice of where to go than to try to impose diversity. I would say something like that.

In every photo of you I've seen, you're wearing a Starbucks T-shirt.
I'm wearing one right now. I've worn one every day of my life since October 2001.

How many do you own?
I don't reveal that number but it's big. I think it's fun to keep some things mysterious. And maybe there's an opportunity there for a contest at some point—guess how many T-shirts he has and win a prize.

Can anything make you stop?
I have no intentions of ending my project so long as there remains a Starbucks I have not visited. Even if I'm broke, I could do it on the cheap or by soliciting sponsorship. The only way I foresee stopping is if I'm imprisoned or persecuted by the government, or if my life were seriously threatened. But I hope to avoid that.