Who Is 'Lieutenant Dan'? Tampa Man Refused To Leave Boat ...

3 hours ago

Forbes

Topline

Joseph Malinowski, known to TikTok as Lieutenant Dan, survived two straight hurricanes on his small sailboat in Tampa, defying pleas to seek better shelter from police, politicians and thousands of TikTok viewers and propelling him to fame and a possible career in livestreaming.

"Lieutenant Dan" resisted pleas from police to leave his boat before Hurricane Milton hit Tampa. ... [+] (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Getty Images Key Facts

Terrence Concannon, a senior at the University of Tampa who posts on TikTok under the name Tampa Terrence, documented Malinowski’s determination to stay on his boat throughout both Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.

Malinowski’s insistence on staying in his boat sparked concern from local officials, and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said during a Wednesday afternoon press briefing that Tampa police had brought him to a shelter, but he was still in his boat by the time the hurricane hit.

Malinowski told local reporters after Milton hit he didn’t want to evacuate, claiming the “safest place to be is on a boat in a flood,” and that he felt “fine” after the hurricane.

Concannon garnered millions of views posting videos of Malinowski, including one of police urging Malinowski to evacuate, a tour of his boat and interviews with Malinowski about why he refused to leave his boat.

In Concannon’s latest update, posted late Wednesday night, Malinowski joined popular livestreamer Adin Ross on a stream as the hurricane raged, in which Ross said he would buy Malinowski a new boat worth between $50,000 and $100,000 and would give him a deal with the streaming platform Kick, on which Malinowski could livestream his adventures on his boat.

Key Background

Concannon first posted about Malinowski on Sept. 25, just before Hurricane Helene hit, in which Concannon asked Malinowski what he had to say to the storm. “F*ck you, you want me? Come and get me,” Malinowski said from his boat. Concannon posted about Malinowski many times throughout both hurricanes, with his most-viewed video racking up 30 million views on Sept. 26. In that video, Concannon interviewed Malinowski from his boat as sea levels rose asking for an update, in which Malinowski said, “so far, so good.” Concannon said in one video posted before Milton hit that he secured a hotel room for Malinowski and hoped that he would evacuate his boat, but said Malinowski was insistent on staying in the boat. Concannon also started a GoFundMe for Malinowski to purchase a new boat, which has raised more than $37,000 so far. Malinowski told NBC News he has been homeless for the past 10 years and only recently moved to Florida. He had his left leg amputated below the knee after being hit by a car when he was 16 years old. Concannon gave Malinowski the “Lieutenant Dan” nickname after the character from “Forrest Gump,” an amputee whose boat survives a hurricane.

Surprising Fact

Malinowski denied Castor’s claim that police had brought him to a shelter, telling Ross on his livestream that he told police “someone will put me up for tonight, and I only said that to get them the hell away from me, but they went back and told the mayor that they got me to go to a shelter or whatever."

Tangent

“Lieutenant Dan” captivated thousands of TikTok viewers who expressed both concern for his well-being and amusement over his insistence on staying in the boat. “Lieutenant Dan is stressing me out more than Milton at this point,” the top comment on one of Concannon’s TikTok videos says. “If he gets through this he’s gonna be a Tampa legend forever,” another commenter said.