From the Derg to the Dogg

A PRANK carried out by a Castlederg man has received the public backing of non other than rap mega-star, Snoop Dogg.

David Young, a retired dentist from the town posted a video in September of himself feigning a collision with a van being driven by his friend Andy Crawford. However, when the video hit social media it exploded in popularity.

So much was its popularity in fact, David was even contacted by media outlets in the States about using it on prime time TV. Last week though, that popularity went up a notch when the ‘Doggfather’ shared the video through Instagram.

The practical joke, which was captured on a local shop’s CCTV, showed David walking down the street in Castlederg and , when a van emerges from a side entry, David reacts by play-acting as if he’d been hit.

“I saw, thanks to the windows across the street, that Andy was about to come out of the alley beside his shop in the van and given my jokey sense of humour, I thought it would be funny to roll across the bonnet as he came out,” David explained.

“I never suspected the footage would make it onto social media, but it actually went on Facebook and Tik Tok and, after a while, it settled down.

“Around quarter to twelve on June 6, my phone began frantically buzzing, with people telling me I had to check out Instagram. Snoop Dogg had shared the video!

“At sixty-five years old, I had no idea who Snoop Dogg even was until then. I didn’t even remember I had Instagram to be honest, but my daughter assures me there is one. I had someone check it out for me and, sure enough, the video of me draped over Andy’s van bonnet was there. I couldn’t believe it!”

So far, the viral comet of a video has amassed over 10 million views and over 20,000 comments.

When asked how he feels about being known internationally thanks to the clip, David quipped, “Sure, I’ve been on the telly with Joe Mahon, I’m already internationally known!”

The Chronicle also approached Mr Dogg for comment. However at the time of going to press, he was unavailable.