Dehonta Hayes

Dehonta Hayes is a lot more than your average TikToker; he has sights set on a career in professional sports! After finishing his collegiate football career at Eastern Washington University, the influencer was training for the NFL before the pandemic hit. However, this time has brought upon a new venture; a social media career where he boasts over 300k social media followers. His content has remained consistently entertaining. A combination of comedy sketches and sports-related content has earned him over 4 million likes on the app, a number that he remains very grateful and optimistic about. We recently spoke to Dehonta about his TikTok journey, what he does in his spare time, and more!

Tell us a little about yourself. How did you get started on the app?

Hi, my name is Dehonta Hayes. I play football full-time and just finished playing my collegiate career at Eastern Washington University in Washington state. As I was training for the NFL, COVID had made it to where training was shut down and everything in my state was shut down as well. So during the shutdown, I decided to post some comical content on social media which eventually went viral, allowing me to gain a large amount of followers.

Two verified social media accounts and a following of over 300k. What has been the best part of this journey?

Yes having two verified accounts and over 300K followers is awesome, however it’s amazing how fast you can blow up and create all these different connections with people all over the world. The best part of this journey is that I never expected I’d be in this position because I was never a really big social media person. I never really posted a lot, or thought I would ever become viral on it.

Which one of your recent videos was your favorite to record and why?

This question is hard to answer because I always post videos or content that is relatable in some way, or just something I have experienced throughout my life, so it’s a little hard for me to pick a specific video. However, I’d have to say maybe my first video I ever posted on TikTok which was a little skit of me imitating a little boy rapping in the bathroom. For it to be my first video that went viral, I would say it was most influential to where I am now.

What is something that you would tell your younger self?

Something I would have told my younger self is to get involved in social media at an earlier age. I think if I was able to start social media when I was maybe in high school that I would have a large amount of followers and I’d be on a completely different platform than where I am now. I am satisfied with where I am now, but if I would’ve been able to do this when I was younger, I could also have opened up a lot more opportunities that “future me” could use to help start a career.

What can we catch you doing on your day off?

During my off days, I am usually working out a lot. I stay in the gym and try to get my body as healthy as possible. I’m constantly pushing myself to make sure I eat good foods. I love to cook. I love just to hang out and play video games. I’m always trying to do things that are active to keep me involved and not feeling too overwhelmed, while also taking the time off to allow my body to rest so I can come up with new content.

Share a secret talent that you have.

A secret talent that I have is that I’m an artist. I love to draw. I’m truly a cartoonist and can create really good cartoons. I’ve honestly drawn most of my tattoos that I have my body. It’s an amazing talent and something that I’ve always been able to do for a very long time.

Has the pandemic affected your ability to make content?

The pandemic has not affected my way of making content, but it has affected the amount of people I am able to make content with. I feel as if without the pandemic, I wouldn’t be on this platform within social media. However with where I am now, without the pandemic I would be able to collaborate and work with the lot other of other influencers.

Who have been some of your favorite creators to collaborate with?

Some of my favorite people to collab with happen to be Brooklyn Queen, @ke_drummerboy, @vibin.wit.tay, and Devron Harris. I enjoyed collabing with everyone I have in the past, these are just a few names off the top of my head. Each of these people produced good energy and vibes while we were collabing, making it fun and entertaining throughout.

Who do you owe your biggest thanks to?

I owe my biggest thanks to all my supporters and fans and everyone who’s been along this journey with me from when I had 100 TikTok followers and 2000 Instagram followers to where I’m at now. I appreciate you all, you’ve really done so much for me, and pushed me in so many different ways. I just ask that you continue to support my content and enjoy the content I put out. Thank you so much.

What's next for Dehonta Hayes?

What’s next for me is I’m getting ready for my professional career to start in February. I’m going continue to post a lot of content on all platforms and I’m focused on personal growth in many different ways. Not only as a social media influencer, but also as a person. I want to open up more opportunities for me and my career so I can become an actor, model, and so many other things that will generate much more income for me. That’s what I have in store and I am constantly working towards that. I can’t wait to see what’s in the future!