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How _Deez Nuts_ Ended Up Becoming Homeless · The Mind of a Man

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: From performing on stage with Kendrick Lamar to being passed
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: out in the streets of LA, this is how Welvin
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: the Great lost absolutely everything. His career began on Instagram
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: in 2014, when his next-door neighbor Lefty began filming Welvin's
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: strange look and personality. Throughout the videos, Welvin often talked
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: about getting women, leading professional footballer Alando Scandrick to comment
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: and joke that Welvin didn't get any. Welvin responded with
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: a video of his own. Orlando saw Welvin's response and
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: showed it to his girlfriend model Drea Michelle, who shared
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: the video with her 4 million followers, making Welvin instantly famous.
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: That state we watched his Instagram start at 6 followers
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: and then we just kept refreshing the page. By the
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: end of the night he was at 12,000. When we
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: woke up in the morning it was 43,000. It just
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: kept getting crazier and crazier. Welvin's voice and appearance came
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: from a medical condition.
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: We won't really disclose it but he does have a...
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: A disability.
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: Yet this is what made him memorable and unique. Sadly,
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: it'd also be the thing he was picked on for
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: the most. But Welvin still loved being famous. It makes
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: me feel, like, really good. Like, I love it a lot.
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: I feel happy, and I'm trying to keep doing what
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: I'm doing.
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: And would therefore continue to make his own videos. Just
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: 22 days after No Bitches went viral, Welvin returned with
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: an upload that completely changed his life. What's up, Dad?
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: Something came in the mail today. I don't know. These nuts.
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: Ha!
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: Gotti!
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: Gotti!
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: Ha ha ha! By simply telling his father that Deez
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: Nuts came in the mail, Welvin gained over 58,000 likes.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: Four days later, the entire extended version was uploaded to
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: his YouTube, gaining another 500,000 views in the three weeks
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: that followed. However, it was meme compilations that really sent
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: it viral. The soundbite was pasted over Spider-Man, then shared
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: all over Vine. Wait! Who are you? You know who
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: I am. I do? Deez Nuts!
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: Ha!
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: Gotti! Ha!
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: Gotti!
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: Acting as precedent for hundreds of other memes. Can you
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: tell me your name? Deez Nuts. Even big celebrities began
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: to get involved. Cause something came in the mail today.
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: Deez Nuts.
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: Taking Welvin the Great to a whole new level of fame.
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: Every day we see a new video or a new
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: celebrity posting it.
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: Welvin couldn't keep up with how fast he was growing.
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: What are you up to followers-wise on Instagram right now?
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: Almost like 500. The numbers only kept on getting bigger.
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: Welvin, you're almost at a million followers on the gram,
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: is that correct?
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: 953,000 followers, Welvin. All of which happened in such a
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: short time. From... The meme reached a whole new level
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: when a boy used the name to run for president
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: and wound up achieving a crazy result.
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: Deez Nuts. Yep, you heard me right. He's gaining traction
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: in North Carolina with 9% of voters saying they'd vote
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: for him.
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: He got 9% in North Carolina. That's about 1 million people.
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: Let that sink in. Welvin therefore joked that he'd also
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: run for president as the Deez Nuts campaign had helped
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: out with publicity. 1.2 million followers. Good God. Having no
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: bitches was now a problem of the past. I've seen
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: you surrounded by women. When I was at the open mic, like,
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: I didn't even get a chance to talk to you.
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: You had too many bitches around you. As Welvin began
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: to hang with famous celebrities, he'd meet Birdman, Nipsey Hussle,
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: Dan Bilzerian, and most notably Kendrick Lamar, who introduced himself
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: as Welvin the Great to over a billion people in
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: the Bad Blood music video. Kendrick had said that Welvin
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: was a hero, adding he always had personality, confidence, and
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: self-love making it out the city.
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: You've heard the praise that Kendrick Lamar has been giving
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: you lately?
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: I saw it on Instagram. Welvin therefore joined Kendrick to
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: sing a song beside him, which made Welvin realize he
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: could charge for club appearances. So you're getting booked for
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: walkthroughs now?
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: Can I ask how much it costs to book Welvin
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: for a walkthrough? Right now, he's at about $ 4, 500. $ 4, 500.
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: Concerned fans wrote, I hope he saves his money. Cause
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: this shit gonna come and go so fast. But Welvin
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: had built multiple streams of income. He'd begin to sell
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: phone cases stating his famous catch lines. Before landing a
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: Deez Nuts sock deal. Which sold 330 pairs in the
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: first three hours. Welvin tried to keep things going with
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: other business deals. I got a video game coming out.
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: Even announcing a more ambitious project.
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: We're trying to shop to... See if we can get
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: an actual reality TV show for him.
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: Although this never came about, and the Deez Nuts meme
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: was slowly getting stale. While Van had so many things
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: to manage on the side, he almost completely stopped making
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: original videos. Therefore, he came up with no new catchphrase.
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: You got any new jokes for the folks, man? Uh, yeah. Okay. Yeah,
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: you know. Okay, okay. What's up? Way to check back
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: in with you later. And could only rely on the
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: Deez Nuts meme. The Deez Nuts guy just keeps riding by.
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: The thing is, catch Fred. Oh, shit, he's on his
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: way back.
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: He's on his way back.
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: Deez Nuts got him! Without any fresh new content, people
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: began to state this dude's fame is hella dead. And
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: while Welvin initially loved being famous, this seemed to contribute
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: to him beginning to hate it. That's what comes with fame, right? Yeah,
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: she helping me out and everything. Woven also had to
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: deal with articles like this, stating Nutz was recently arrested
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: on charges of sexual assault after allegedly assaulting several women
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: during a party he hosted in California, which had been
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: fabricated from nothing. I didn't get arrested. He's never been arrested.
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: It was....
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: To deal with the stress, Welvin had an obvious coping strategy, alcohol.
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: For example, three minutes into a podcast appearance, Welvin stopped
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: the host to scull a beer, finishing three entire bottles
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: during the 12-minute clip. On another podcast, Welvin had a
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: beer sculling contest and was almost always drinking when seen
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: by paparazzi. Well, the alcohol often showed Welvin's bad side.
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: He'd happily disrespect the homeless. Here you go, big bro.
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: Damn, well then, give it back.
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: Not just once, but twice.
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: Give it back to the guy.
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: You thought you were getting my drinks? Not tonight, you
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: witch old junk ass. Which was apparently a prank he
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: liked to play often. There you go, girl. When fans
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: sung him happy birthday, Welvin cut them off, making comments
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: like this somewhat unsurprising. Me and my stepbro literally just
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: seen you crossing the intersection by the D, and you
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: just told us back the F up. All we wanted
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: was a pic or video of you saying D's nuts,
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: but you had to be a dick. I get you
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: prob get it all the time, but could've been nice, asshole.
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: Other people spotted Welvin getting publicly arrested, which again makes
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: total sense, given videos began to surface of him fighting
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: in the streets. This hostility continued toward his manager, who
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: despite being a super nice dude, was often rudely cut
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: off by Welvin, who also had no issue with airing
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: private things. This was a problem as his manager controlled
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: his Instagram. Who was therefore blamed by Welvin when he
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: couldn't get into his account. Like, it gotta be him.
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: Welvin was never able to log back in, and would
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: therefore be forced to delete his Insta. This seemed to
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: ruin he and his manager's relationship, as one year later,
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: Welvin seemed to hate him. I need a whole new
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: manager now, the one I have. Without a manager or Instagram,
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: Welvin's drinking only got worse, being spotted downtown drinking full
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: bottles of spirits, and clearly struggling when speaking to fans. Like,
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: I want to do more action, more videos, more spirit.
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: Even more videos surfaced of Welvin getting in fights, although
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: it's hard to tell if this was his fault, given
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: people would always provoke him. Welvin is stalking a female
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: right now.
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: Welvin!
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: Hey, can you quit following me, girl? Hey, bro, get
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: away from me. Are you trying to mess with the kids?
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: I don't do that. Are you raping females? You don't
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: need time to spray you, bro. Welvin struggled to ever
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: catch a break.
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: What's the deal, bro? Which only seemed to worsen his drinking,
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: as Welvin completely blacked.
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: Out on Hollywood Boulevard. Multiple similar videos surfaced, one of
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: which being recorded beside Skid Row, only seemed to worsen
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: his drinking as Welvin completely blacked out on Hollywood Boulevard.
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: Multiple similar videos surfaced, one of which being recorded beside
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: Skid Row, making people believe he was living on the streets.
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: Welvin clarified that this wasn't true. I'm not there. I'm
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: not sleeping on the street. I drink and I pass out.
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: He'd then upload a video titled Stop the Rumors. I'm
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: alive and I'm okay.
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: And I wish that these blogs would stop with all
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: these rumors about Welvin being dead. He is very much
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: alive and well.
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: With his cousin explaining that Welvin was homeless voluntarily.
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: Welvin chooses. To go off for days at a time.
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: He has a home to come to. He comes home,
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: he rests for a couple of days, he goes back
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: out on the street. There's nothing nobody can do about it.
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: There's nothing we can do about it. We don't want
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: that for him. But this is something that he wants
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: to do.
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: To make money, Welvin wears a shirt reading, sponsored by
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: Deez Nuts, Tip Me or Nevermind, stating in recent posts
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: that life is great. However, with videos like this, and
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: other pictures such as this one, people believe he's heading
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: down a dark path. It's sad, he looked like he
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: was hanging around wrong people and they gave him crack.
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: His teeth is brown like he's using. Hopefully Welvin can
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: get some help and get his life back on the
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: straight and narrow.