CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – “I always describe myself as, ‘I’m the dog guy,’” Clarksville native Darnell White said of his online presence.
White – or Nell as he’s better known – started doing comedy videos and posting them to social media in middle school, but it wasn’t until he started posting videos of his 2-year-old pit bull Bando on TikTok that he started gaining some real traction.
Now, Nell and Bando have 2.2 million followers on the app.
‘The dog guy’
When people ask how his dog factors into his TikTok, he shows them the video that played on ESPN SportsCenter showing Bando up on his hind legs drinking water.
“You can see the physique in his back and in his legs, and I always go to that and they always know what that video is,” White told Clarksville Now.
He’s hoping his videos of Bando help tell a positive story beyond the humor and challenge stereotypes about pit bulls.
“I want him to represent something other than just comedy skits,” White said. “I think because he’s a pit bull, people never really expect him to be as nice and as smart as he actually is until they actually see it on camera and they think I’m the professional behind it.”
Beyond TikTok
White grew up with a parent in the military, and he moved a lot as a young kid. His family returned to Fort Campbell and Clarksville three times before settling down here. He graduated from West Creek High School in 2015, and he recently graduated from Austin Peay State University with a degree in criminal justice.
In addition to TikTok, he streams video games on Twitch and has a local TV mounting business called Darnell In and Out TV Mounts.
“I try to charge the least amount that’s possible so it can help people out and stuff like that. People don’t need to be paying $300 to mount their TV on the wall when I can just come do it,” White said
White said he’s trying to find ways to use his platform and give back to causes close to his heart.
“I want to have mental awareness – mental health awareness – help soldiers with PTSD, you know post traumatic stress disorder and stuff like that,” White told Clarksville Now.
White said his mother, an Army veteran with 32 years of service, has struggled immensely with PTSD in the years since her retirement. He also wants to lend support to animal shelters and help dogs that look like Bando.
With the platform he has now, White feels like the sky is the limit.
“I want to have a clothing line, I want to have my own gaming community, I want to have something with my dog with his face on his own treats or his face with his own doggy food, you know what I’m saying, I just want to brand myself and him (Bando) with bigger ideas to be recognized as more than just the dog guy.”
2.2 million followers
Even though he and his dog have a massive following online, White said it hasn’t changed who he is as a person.
“The power of social media is ridiculous, and people view you different as well. People view you as if you’re some kind of superhuman when you’re just not. You’re just as regular as could be, as you were before you got the followers as you are now,” White said.
And while a lot of good has come out of his following – like sponsorships, brand deals and other recognition – White has faced some backlash for filming his dog.
“I don’t comment to them anymore, because every video — like for instance, he was in this room and there’s a video where he was trapped in the cage and he’s trying to get out,” White said.
In the comments, White said people accused him of animal abuse for crating his dog.
“The video has I want to say over 60,000 comments, and 80% of them were like, ‘Man he’s trapped in a closet, I can’t believe you have this dude in a garage,’ and he’s in this room,” White said. “How are you going to get all that from a 30-second video?
“Nothing ever got to me because at the end of the day, I expect it with comments. I expect the boos, just like one guy said, ‘If you live for the laughs and the praises, you’ll die by the boos,’” White said.