San Francisco man talks about walking into active volcano

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A San Francisco man is reaping fame, but not necessarily fortune, after returning unscathed from a very close encounter with a volcano. He visited one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world, in the South Pacific. The man works in a San Francisco start-up and cracked the public consciousness with a video.

We all say we love adventure, but rarely does adventure define us. Sam Cossman is one of those few.

"I like to live a little bit outside the box," Cossman said.

He likes to live not just the box of a trendy San Francisco start-up. No... his latest out of the box iteration has gone viral on YouTube.

"We just reached two million in four days and climbing," Cossman said.

Two million, as in hits. Maybe you're among those who have seen the video from the South Pacific island of Vanuatu. For Cossman and two friends, more than a helicopter ride. Having flown up to the edge of the Marum Crater they descended 1,200 feet into the fury of an active volcano.

"This was an opportunity to get a glimpse into the center of the Earth and really see what created us all. It was an inspiring moment," Cossman said.

And why not, from a 33-year-old who has dived with sailfish, explored Antarctica, plunged over watery cliffs, and goodness knows what else.

"I think it's just the way I've been wired," Cossman said.

"The dream was to discover the world's most unique experiences and try to do as many as I can before my time here is up," Cossman said.

As the video shows, Cossman and his partners moved within 20 meters of the churning, 2,000 degree lava. It was close enough for globs of molten earth to burn through sections of their protective suits. All of us live on this planet. Here is a 5'9", 140 lbs. man who confronted it at the end of lifeline.

When asked if he told his mother, Cossman said, "Yeah, she thinks I'm crazy and was fearful I would become a human smore."

Clearly, he didn't. For Cossman, scratch another one off the bucket list, at two million hits, and counting.