ORLANDO, Fla. – “David After Dentist” went viral before “going viral” was even a thing. The year was 2009 and David DeVore’s dad just posted a video of him to YouTube after leaving the dentist, clearly still impacted by the medication used during surgery.
During the video David stated, “I feel funny,” asked “Is this real life?” and let his dad know, “I have two fingers.”
Little did the family know, that moment in the car would go mega-viral and nearly 15 years later would have collected 142 million views, let alone that people would still be recognizing that little boy in the back seat more than a decade later.
David is now 22 years old. He told Florida’s Fourth Estate hosts Ginger Gadsden and Matt Austin, “Every once in a while someone will have this weird sense that I was ‘David After Dentist.’ The craziest one was, I was at a restaurant and the chef was in the kitchen and he looked through the double doors and he saw me and it was bizarre.”
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In addition to being noticed, he is also being financially rewarded for his viral success.
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He said the money from the video put him and his brother through private school and that he continues to receive ad revenue from the video.
The payoff doesn’t stop there. David says he continues to make money through what he calls random experiences. For example, he said one of his famous quotes from the viral video will be featured in “The Audio Game,” which requires players to match an audio clip to a card in the game.
Through it all, David said, “It didn’t take over who I was,” and he has remained grounded. He calls the experience a great addition to his life, adding it has given him the opportunity to have some experiences he may not have otherwise had and provided a great way for him to bond with his dad.
Right now, David is completing a degree in computer science at the University of Florida.
To learn more about “David After Dentist” and some of the challenges that going viral created for his family, check out Florida’s Fourth Estate. You can download the podcast from wherever you listen to podcasts or watch anytime on News 6+.
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