Watch: Meet the Kid Behind This Hilarious Spoof Interview That's All Over the 'Gram
Three short years ago, Dominique Barrett had a funny idea that he thought would make for a nice Vine or short internet video. So he took out his camera phone, hit record and then uploaded it. 336 thousand followers later, he has found his way to Internet stardom.
Born in Chicago and raised in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, Barrett knew early on that he always wanted to be a filmmaker. Since the age of 11, he had been making home movies with his cousin. After they finished filming the movies, his cousin would make him sit and watch him edit, so he knew the process from beginning to end.
Now, the 19 year-old student at Anne Arundel Community College has learned that all those years making home movies have turned into a very unique opportunity. He has now posted over 700 videos to Vine and Instagram under his alter ego King Vader. And his latest video has gone viral very quickly.
Barrett and his friends recently posted a video that used the water bottle flipping trend and took it to a whole 'nother level.
The video, captioned, “When you’re at a job interview & they ask if you have any special talents,” shows a very smooth and suave Barrett walking into a job interview after being coached by his posse. He is handed a water bottle and then kicks in the door. The interviewers sitting at the conference table take a look at him and simply ask, “Do you have any special talents?”
Barrett then throws his water bottle up in the air and it flips for a moment that seems to go on forever until it eventually lands perfectly on its base. Then the room goes nuts.
It’s a seemingly simple idea executed perfectly, which is probably the reason it has over 150 thousand likes and 3 thousand comments.
The video has since been shared over and over on Instagram, which Barrett tells us is a “tiny door opening” to his future. Barrett told BET News that he had seen the water bottle trend all over Worldstar Hip Hop and other Instagram pages and wanted to elevate the idea into a funny skit. So he practiced how to pull off the trick, filled a water bottle to the appropriate level and 10 to 11 takes later, he had one of the funniest videos Instagram has seen.
Now that the video has reached a certain level of viral fame, Barrett hopes to be able to make his 2016 resolution of being on television a reality. He hopes that TV shows like Ellen, NBC News or other shows known for promoting viral acts will take notice of his skills.
“I just want to watch TV in my living room and see myself,” Barrett said. “And these videos may be the way to make it happen.”
In the meantime, Barrett continues to make short, funny videos for social media as well as a YouTube web series called CAPTIN COOK’EM, a short series about a boy who discovers he has a superpower to roast people.
No matter what success comes for Barrett in the future, he plans on retaining a strong presence on social media.
“When you get bigger,” Barrett started, “you are making a vow with your followers that you will provide good content and they make a vow that they will always be there for you. I’m never going to leave social media. It’s how it all started.