Damn Daniel

Damn Daniel is a viral video created by Riverside, California students Joshua Holz and Daniel Lara. Holz stitched together short Snapchat clips of Lara walking around school in different outfits while he repeatedly called out “Damn, Daniel!” and, most famously, “Back at it again with the white Vans.”

Holz posted the compilation to Twitter on February 15, 2016. The original tweet was later deleted after his account was hacked, but contemporary reporting, copies and the pair’s television appearance preserved the video and its date.

Within a week, the clip had moved across Twitter, Vine, YouTube and Facebook. People reused Holz’s exaggerated delivery for compliments, remixes and outfit jokes, while white slip-on Vans became inseparable from the punchline.

Daniel and Josh appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on February 23; Vans gave Daniel a lifetime supply of shoes, some of which he later donated to young hospital patients. Brands joined the joke, musicians sampled it, and Daniel appeared in YouTube Rewind 2016.

The clip feels spontaneous because it is: a friend keeps finding the same ridiculous enthusiasm for an ordinary school outfit. Repetition turns the voice into a hook, and the white Vans give everyone one concrete detail to quote.

People say “Damn, Daniel” as an over-the-top compliment, especially for an outfit or shoes. “Back at it again” also became a reusable way to greet anyone repeating a familiar habit.