Everything You Need To Know About TikTok’s Lieutenant Dan
Joe Malinowski became a celebrity overnight. Joe, better known as Lieutenant Dan, is TikTok’s latest viral sensation. A clip of “Dan” preparing to weather Hurricane Milton on his 22-foot sailboat in Tampa Bay had the internet reeling. Luckily, Lieutenant Dan survived the storm, but now people want to know more about this man they’ve been so invested in for days. Here’s everything you need to know.
How Dan Got His Name & Why He’s Suddenly Famous
His name “Lieutenant Dan” is a nod to the movie Forest Gump. In the film, Dan was also a seafaring amputee like Joe Malinowski. The fictional character lost his legs during the Vietnam War. Tampa’s Lt. Dan had his left leg amputated below the knee when he was 16 years old after being in a car accident.
A TikTok user by the name of Tampa Terrence has been following up with Lieutenant Dan since the pair first came into contact ahead of Hurricane Helene. Less than two weeks later, another hurricane (Milton) was on its way and he still had no plans of leaving.
“Right now, I’m waiting for the storm surge to come in to raise the boat up,” he said in a video posted on Wednesday. “The boat’s gonna go up, and I’ll go up with it, and when the water goes out, I’ll come back down again.”
His decision to ride the storm out on his boat came after Tampa Mayor Jane Castor told people who were in the mandatory evacuation zones that they would die if they didn’t leave. However, Lt. Dan made it out and lives to tell the tale today.
Lieutenant Dan’s Rocky Past & Bright Future
Many people have questioned why Dan didn’t evacuate, especially with the reports of the storm being so violent. His answer was simple.
“I put my faith in God. I don’t put my faith in man,” he said. “God told me to come out here and get a boat. I came out here and got a boat. Everything he’s been telling me the last few days, I’m doing the right thing. He got my back. I’m in good shape. I ain’t sweating it.” The way the storm unfolded, Tampa actually experienced a reverse storm surge, pulling water away from the shoreline.
@terrenceconcannonHe made it♬ original sound – Tampa Terrence
That said, Lieutenant Dan has somewhat of a rough past. He spent about six months in jail for allegedly punching a police officer. Dan was also arrested last year due to allegations that he tried to set a woman on fire with gasoline. In the near future, he will also have to attend a court hearing about whether or not his sailboat is actually his.
People have set up a GoFundMe for Dan. It has raised $46,255 of a $40,000 goal. The GoFundMe says that the money will go to help him buy a new boat. Popular streamer Adin Ross pledged to buy him a new boat and also set him up with a streaming platform.
So, you’ve likely not seen the last of Lieutenant Dan.
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