TikTok page<\/a> (@Dpeezy209 ) has grown to 1.7 million followers. On YouTube, he\u2019s rapidly approaching a million subscribers. His earnings were modest at first, but in January 2022, once he was given the opportunity to monetize his videos on YouTube, Facebook and elsewhere, it gave him the financial freedom to provide for his family just by making content full time.<\/p>\n\u201cI try to stay humble, you know, I’m not gonna go out and buy a big old chain or stuff like that,\u201d Phaitaisong said of his rapid success. \u201cI’m just trying to be able to take care of my family, take care of myself, do positive things and keep working on this future right here.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was a winding road to get Daniel to this place in his life, with a number of pitfalls along the way. Born at a US Naval hospital in Okinawa, Japan, he moved to Houston as a baby. His father was a Marine, and lived in New Jersey during Daniel\u2019s childhood, leaving him without a father figure nearby.<\/p>\n
\u201cI grew up without my father around physically,\u201d Phaitaisong explained. \u201cHe would call me on birthdays, but it was just on special occasions. It wasn\u2019t having someone there telling me what not to do or teaching me life lessons \u2026 So the friends that I started hanging out with, they pretty much raised me in the streets. My mom and grandma were there to wake me up for school and give me food to eat, but as far as fatherhood, it was through the streets.\u201d<\/p>\n
That led to Phaitaisong getting into trouble, and eventually catching a felony charge. His family offered to bail him out, but only if he agreed to move to California and get away from the trouble he\u2019d found in Texas.<\/p>\n
Phaitaisong arrived in Long Beach in 2011, and was able to start a new life for himself. His son was born in 2013, and he was able to maintain a job as a dispatcher while keeping his nose clean and out of trouble.<\/p>\n
Eventually, he was involved in an accident that left him with severe back pain. Phaitaisong said he was prescribed painkillers by his doctor, and eventually became addicted to the medication.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was on the Xanax and the painkillers, I was working, but I was so tired of having to depend on it,\u201d Phaitaisong recalled. \u201cI’d wake up in pain unless I had my medication. I knew I needed to withdraw and get off the stuff, but I couldn’t just take a couple of weeks off work to get off it. It seemed like the only way was if I got locked up and didn’t have any responsibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was then that Daniel had a lapse in judgment\u2014one that would change the trajectory of his life forever.<\/p>\n
During the height of the pandemic in 2020, Phaitaisong says he borrowed a gun from a military friend in order to protect his home. However, given his felony history, he was not legally allowed to possess a firearm and would ultimately be sent back to jail. What may have looked like a major setback in his life ended up being the best possible outcome.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Getting locked up) was like a blessing,\u201d he said. \u201cI got clean from everything and I wasn\u2019t dependent on it anymore. I found myself again, found my real personality. It was a curse, but it was a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n
While he was locked up, all he could think about was being reunited with his son so they could play video games together again. Based on Daniel\u2019s experience growing up in Houston, he\u2019d always hoped to be a more consistent presence in his son\u2019s life.<\/p>\n
\u201cEver since I was young, I would say to myself \u2018When I have a kid, I’m gonna be the best father I can for him,\u2019’ remembered Phaitaisong. \u201cWhile I was in jail, I couldn’t wait to talk to my son. And getting out, I felt so bad. I didn’t want to leave his side anymore. We’re so close, man, we’re like best friends. He’s my motivation; to show him that even though life can be rough sometimes and bring you down, you just gotta stay strong and keep going and not give up.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when Phaitaisong turned his experiences of being incarcerated into an opportunity. He began making videos that showcased authentic jailhouse recipes, using whatever ingredients and supplies that were available to him and his bunk mates. His first recipe was one of his go-to meals in the jail cell: a wet burrito. The video took off instantly, racking up hundreds of thousands of views overnight.<\/p>\n
That original video has been viewed over 4.3 million times (and counting) and it inspired Phaitaisong to keep posting content from an inmate’s perspective, humanizing the experience of being in jail while showing off his resourcefulness and creativity. He made sure to keep his videos real and authentic, with his bunk mates literally throwing down whatever ingredients they had onto the concrete floor.<\/p>\n
Phaitaisong would then use whatever materials he had access to in order to whip up recipes resembling the comfort foods you could only get on the outside.<\/p>\n
As his following grew, he received tons of messages from former inmates who\u2019d drawn inspiration from his videos. It was never Daniel\u2019s plan to go viral or make a living with his jailhouse recipes, but he said it\u2019s been an inspirational journey over the past 20 months.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been turning a negative into a positive of what I went through,\u201d he explained. \u201cI have a lot of people that reach out to me like, \u2018Bro, you\u2019re such an inspiration with what you\u2019re doing, keep doing it.\u2019 People will tell me they\u2019ve been in trouble themselves, and watching me they know they shouldn\u2019t give up on life and stuff. So it\u2019s actually a much bigger picture than what I thought. It feels fantastic to be able to help people in a similar situation as me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now that he\u2019s out of the halfway house, the @Dpeezy2099 page has evolved to include additional content, like food reviews at local restaurants, where Daniel will tell his viewers whether something is \u201cBussin\u2019 or Disgustin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s also documented what life is like on probation, and how he\u2019s doing the right things to stay on track and out of jail.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s also made efforts to support those in need, particularly in the homeless community. Daniel said his mom moved out to California, where she\u2019s homeless. That\u2019s given him a connection to those enduring that challenge, and he\u2019s found ways to give back in his own way. He recently purchased 100 meals at a local McDonald\u2019s and handed out the food to people in the area.<\/p>\n
Phaitaisong said he hopes to continue that work on a larger scale, while also giving his time to young people in the community in order to keep them out of trouble.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to try and stop people from going through the revolving door of jail, if that’s the cycle that they\u2019re in,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I want to be able to do stuff here in Long Beach where I’m helping the kids. I just really want to do stuff out in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phaitaisong has been out of the halfway house since August, and is currently living in North Long Beach. He\u2019ll sometimes get recognized on the streets, and he\u2019s more than happy to spend time with his fans, knowing just how different his life could be right now.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see them, and I tell them how much I appreciate them and ask if they want to take pictures with me,\u201d Daniel said. \u201cI\u2019ll never forget where I came from, man.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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