54-year-old Joseph Malinowski, who has been dubbed “Lieutenant Dan” on social media, has survived record-breaking Hurricane Milton on his 20-foot sailboat.
Malinowski, who drew nationwide interest and concern over his highly publicized decision to ride out Hurricanes Helene and Milton on his vessel, chose to remain in the boat here despite several attempts from officials to safely evacuate him. Followers offered Malinowski shelter — both in nearby hotels and in their own homes — which he turned down.
Malinowski skyrocketed to national consciousness after TikTok creator Terrence Concannon posted a series of videos about his experience riding out Hurricane Helene.
As Hurricane Milton was bearing down on Tampa, Malinowski posted to his social media account to soothe his newfound audience’s worries, even as his boat rocked and shaked against increasing wind and rain. At around 8 a.m. Thursday, Malinowski gave NBC News a straightforward response when asked if he was OK following the storm.
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“Yeah,” he said in a text message.
Though the storm ripped through some parts of the state — with at least 11 fatalities confirmed so far — Malinowski remained nonchalant in correspondences with NBC and his followers on social media.
“I’m doing great!” he told NBC News on Wednesday around 7 p.m., approximately two hours before the storm was set to make landfall.
With projected storm surge and winds reaching life-threatening levels, officials urged residents in evacuation zones to leave the area or face potential death.
“If he chose to stay on a boat during a hurricane, our office has heavily, heavily advised against that,” a representative of the Tampa Police Department told NBC News Wednesday afternoon.
Malinowski, who tied his boat to the dock at Tampa Bay Harbor, explained the wind was coming from a different direction than he expected, but noted he was still okay.
“So far so good, bounced the bow off the dock a few time[s],” he told NBC News at around 8:30 p.m. ET Wednesday evening. “Right now the wind is picking up pretty heavy. I’m not concerned.”
“It’s not that it’s scary, it’s not that it’s damaging — it’s just weird,” he added on social media.
Throughout the night, “Lieutenant Dan” posted several more updates to his TikTok, telling concerned followers he was OK and insisting he would be safe even as the storm progressed.
“I haven’t even spilled my coffee yet,” he said on a TikTok story at around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday evening.
“Everything’s going to be fine,” he added.
Malinowski, nicknamed after the Forrest Gump character who survived a massive hurricane in his fishing boat, updated his TikTok followers at around 3 a.m. Thursday morning, commenting: “I’m alive, woowoo … God is good.”
Social media audiences weren’t just worried about Malinowski’s safety during the storm, but after, too. A Go-Fund-Me page originally created to get “Lieutenant Dan” a new boat has reached over $39,000 — with around $17,000 of that coming in since Wednesday afternoon.
Concannon, the University of Tampa senior who first shared Malinowski’s story online and created the fundraising campaign, also posted to social media Wednesday evening to announce a sponsorship from the controversial online streamer Adin Ross.
In addition to donating up to $100,000 for Malinowski’s new boat, Ross offered Malinowski a Kick streaming deal that could be used to “stream entire voyages and all adventures.”
“Thank you,” Malinowski responded. “That’s my dream.”
Later, in another video, Malinowski said Ross had rescinded the offer over his criminal history.
“If there are any funds left over after replacing Dan’s boat, the money will go towards supporting Dan’s every day living expenses and his general livelihood; things like groceries, furnishings for the boat, and maybe even a gym membership (something he’s wanted for a long time),” Concannon added to the GoFundMe Page Wednesday.
Malinowski said he is looking forward to using his newfound platform after the hurricane has passed to document his normal life.
“I’m going to go back to doing my regular thing, which I think is pretty inspirational,” he told NBC News. “I want to be a content creator. [I want to] help people out, give them a reason to keep going and just let everybody know that … we’re all in it together.”
Matt Lavietes reported from Tampa and Sophia Pargas from New York City.
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