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This is a question we may often ask ourselves going through life. That journey to FIND who we are is a very important one; it dictates much of what our future holds. But first, we need to KNOW who we are to better understand our path.

I graduated from Platt Tech Regional Vocational Technical School in 1995. My goal to become a plumber was before me, it was my trade in high school and so my first day on the job fresh out of school was a complete FAIL. I recall working with my friend’s father on a job, who was and still is a licensed plumber. He was ready to show me what it means to understand not only the customers, but also both residential and commercial plumbing.

My first job was to help remove an old cast iron piping system from a customer’s basement. Cast Iron was decent many years ago and could be found in many homes abroad. But as the years passed, many quickly learned how cast iron would simply deteriorate and was expensive to repair due to how heavy the piping is and of course because cast iron is not cheap. Folks started moving over to plastic piping, which in my opinion is a world easier to work with, lighter and more cost effective.

I am following the plumber into a crawl space that is meant for short people, and just to catch you up to speed, fresh out of high school I stood at six foot four and weighed roughly 180 pounds. So here I am on my stomach, trying to worm my way through this crawl space and not bump my head every two seconds. As we are working at breaking away the cast iron I hear a crack and not long after the cast iron pipe drops rather close to my face. A few inches over and that would have been on my head. At that moment, I was sure this was probably NOT the life for me and so I started looking for an easier job.

Over the years I moved up the ladder in retail, for it seemed to be a great fit for me. I was able to talk to people all day and help them with their needs in Home Depot Plumbing (1996—2001) and working as an Assistant Manager for Lowe’s Home Improvement (2005—2010). It wasn’t until I started working as an Assistant Manager for Walmart that I decided to change from my regular posts on a website called YouTube, where I would post short skits and life vlogs, to reviewing food on my lunch breaks in 2009.

The reception on YouTube for these food reviews was more than I expected, with random people asking me to go to different fast food locations and review the latest and greatest thing on the menu. What attracts people to my channel is my honesty. If I do not like something, there is no changing, and I always say exactly what I feel with little regard to how any establishment feels about my thoughts. My reality is not what you see in a TV Commercial where everything is made to look amazing, and definitely not what you get once you arrive at the establishment. In my videos you get to see EXACTLY how the food is served up.

It wasn’t until 2012 when I reviewed a double bacon cheeseburger at Five Guys that my life would change and go in a very different direction. Around this time, I noticed that more and more people were starting to do fast food reviews in their vehicles as well, though when I started out it was just me. I felt as if I was on to something great. Now, a community of food critics was being built. That Five Guys review drove my channel in a very different direction. It went viral with the help of a user “Zidar25” and a young man on my Facebook Friends list who contacted me and told me he put my Five Guys review on Reddit (a site that I knew nothing about back then and later found out is the front page of the Internet that will literally take you from the unknown to the known in a short matter of time). Reddit attention is what boosted my Five Guys review from a few thousand views to literally a few hundred thousand within two days of receiving that Facebook message.

The news on YouTube caught wind of my rapidly growing video and the Gregory Brothers, known for Auto-Tune, reached out letting me know their thoughts and told me to check out how they turned my regular food review into a song called, “Oh My Dayum!” Instantly I fell in love with the song. From that moment, I entered my first major YouTube contract and they helped me shape my career on the platform, getting me linked with Maker Studios and events that I was part of.

The YouTube news of my video spread fast. Every news outlet jumped on the story and I started making a few TV appearances. In 2012, I signed a limited series contract with the Travel Channel for my own TV Show, Best Daym Takeout (which aired July 31, 2013). In the show I would travel to sample foods from three well known spots within each city, rate which of the three had the best bites, and award that location at the end of the show.

This attention placed me on episodes of Dr. Oz. Jimmy Fallon had me give him two exclusive food reviews that he did some amazing pieces on. That is how Rachael Ray found me, scooped me up quickly, and signed me to be the Food Correspondent on her show, which I have been for the past two seasons.

So, I tell people to put themselves out there when it comes to YouTube, you never know where this life will take you, but you have to be ready for what may come. There is no guide to success and fame, you will have to learn what works for you along the way. But YouTube has changed many lives over the years and made kids millionaires, when years ago you needed multiple degrees, wise investments, to be born into it, and/or hit the lotto just to see your first million. Kid stars are born every day with the way social media is set up.

So again, who am I? My name is Daymon Patterson, the “YouTube Food Titan” and welcome to Eating Across America: A Foodie’s Guide to Food Trucks, Street Food and Cheap Eats.