If you have opened any type of social media outlet in the past month, you have probably seen the viral video, "Damn, Daniel." Daniel Lara and Joshua Holz are two California teens who have become Internet famous after their video received over 45 million views. If you haven't seen the video yet, you can find it here.
The video spurred countless .gifs, memes, and Snapchat imitations like these:
The video, showing a combination of different Snapchats filmed by Holz, received so much attention that the high school freshman and sophomore were even on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. On the show, the two teens explained that they didn't truly know how much attention the video was getting until Lara started to get recognized in public. They never thought that what started out as Holz just messing around with his friend would blow up like it did. But the recognition was not the only perk of Internet fame the two were receiving. Because their video made "back at again with the white Vans" an overnight catchphrase, Vans decided to repay the boys for all the free publicity by giving Daniel a lifetime supply of Vans.
That is where the story could have easily ended: Two kids having their 15 minutes of fame seems like a social norm nowadays. But instead of wearing a new pair of Vans every day of their lives, because what else would you do with a lifetime supply, Holz and Lara had a different idea. They visited Loma Linda University Children's Hospital in California to donate shoes to patients. Vans, in return, donated an additional 100 pairs of shoes, specifically for the two teens to donate to patients.
Lara told the Los Angeles Daily News "We thought it was important to do some charity work and give back to the local community."
The video might have made you laugh or made you question how easily something can go viral. But, either way, the overall outcome was worth the painful amount of times you have heard, "Damn, Daniel, back at it again with the white vans." I think Vans owes all of us a free pair after that.
























