TikTok: it’s a thing now. Just a little thing, nothing more.

Clearly, that’s an understatement. The app has garnered a cult following ever since the beginning of the pandemic, but the truth is, the dancing trends that TikTok has brought forth existed way before it’s creation. The pioneer of what is now known as TikTok dancing is a man named Nathan Barnatt. 

While TikTok provides a diverse array of content, the dancing category may be its most popular. TikTok creators will often choose a song (or some other form of audio) and then match their dance moves to the beat of the song–sometimes with lip syncing and visual overlays added in. 

However, the hype surrounding these videos is a bit confusing. While individual creators have found creative ways to make their videos unique, the reality is that many of the most viral dancing videos are limited to the app’s default functionalities, extremely short, and (or) lack a significant amount of effort… at least compared to Barnatt. 

Barnatt is one of the oldest content creators on YouTube, his earliest videos dating all the way back to 2006. However, some of his best and most popular content is his dancing music videos. In these videos, some music (either original or borrowed) plays in the background while Barnatt dances to the beat. Sound familiar?

Unlike the short bits found on TikTok in recent years, Barnatt’s videos were long, surprisingly sophisticated, well planned, and creatively edited. This is all without even mentioning his iconic dance moves, most of which were original. Many of his videos were done in character. In addition to his expertise in choreography, Barnatt was known for his acting ability. 

Almost all of Barnatt’s videos were done in public. He never used a green screen in his videos, remaining absolutely dedicated to making his videos as authentic as possible. No matter how weird the setting, or how crazy the character he played, Barnatt was committed to making his videos’ environments natural and fresh.

A classic example comes from one of his boldest performances, Keith Apicary’s Victory Dance (Original), where Barnatt dressed up as one of his original characters–Keith Apicary–and publicly danced in only in his underwear!

However, Barnatt’s talent stretched far beyond just dancing and video editing. Some of his dancing and stunt videos have him acting as either pre existing characters–such as Trevor Phillips from GTA V, Dr. Robotnik from Sonic The Hedgehog, and Super Mario–or even real life figures like Barack Obama. However, a good portion of his videos feature his own, original characters.

One of his oldest and longest running characters is Keith Apicary, an awkward, but likable retro video game nerd who usually seemed to find his way into trouble. In fact, Barnatt actually crashed an official panel at Comic Con in 2009 while in character as Apicary. 

Another one of Barnatt’s oldest characters is Trale Lewous, the self-proclaimed spokesperson for Skittles, who ironically can not even pronounce the brand name correctly. This character was very successful, to the point where Skittles actually made Barnatt the spokesperson for the brand in 2011. 

But why haven’t Barnatt’s videos, despite their originality and high quality, received the same level of attention as the viral TikTok trends of today? The answers are both simple and tragic: stolen content and the YouTube algorithm.

In an interview with Inside A Mind, Barnatt described how his music videos attracted a number of “bands, DJs, and music labels [that] would take their own music and put it underneath [his] visuals.” But rather than reach out to him, or even credit his content, the labels would “load it to Facebook where no one could copyright claim [them].”

In a time when very few guidelines existed regarding stolen content, Barnatt would put weeks and sometimes even months of effort into his content, only for it to be stolen by people on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media sites. 

The most significant offender was a highly revered video game organization, Epic Games–the developer of Fortnite. In 2011, a video was uploaded of Barnatt doing a dance he dubbed “The No Bones Dance.” However, Fortnite “ended up taking and using it, calling it the “Boneless” dance,” Barnatt states in the Inside a Mind interview. 

The period of 2014-2017 was what Barnatt described as his lowest point, where he was “struggling to keep [his] channel afloat.” He was posting content regularly, but YouTube’s algorithm was not promoting his videos, instead favoring newer, viral creators. 

At one point in 2017, Barnatt had just “a thousand dollars left,” and his rent “was fifteen hundred dollars.” He had no acting jobs, and his videos weren’t providing sufficient income. If it wasn’t for the unexpected success of his new project–an ARG surrounding a character named “Dad”–Barnatt would have been forced to sell his car and house, and “live in [his] van.”

Luckily, the Dad project ended up being a huge success, ranking in hundreds of thousands of views, and the money necessary for Barnatt to keep his home. Fans were intrigued by the surprisingly intricate lore hidden within the videos. This caught the attention of many other YouTubers, many of whom–including The Film Theorists–would make videos analyzing the story of Dad.

Things would seemingly take another turn for the better in 2021, when Barnatt was invited to show off his dancing ability on America’s Got Talent. However, Barnatt was not going as himself, but rather, one of his characters–none other than Keith Apicary. In fact, his act was so convincing, that many of the audience were completely convinced that Keith was a real person.

But behind the scenes, Barnatt’s struggles continued.

In an interview with H3 Podcast, Barnatt claimed that the producers of the show treated him poorly, stating, “[T]hey really botched my whole act [for the second round] and kept injecting things they wanted me to do which messed up my whole routine. It was just a disaster, and it wasn’t at all what I wanted to do.” 

This interference from the AGT producers cost Barnatt the vote into the semi-finals, and his opportunity to finally hit his big break was taken away. But luckily a new chance was rising. 

In 2022, YouTuber, iDubbbzTv hosted a charity livestream on Twitch known as “Creator Clash” (which has now been posted on YouTube), where 18 well-known content creators–himself included–would each take turns boxing each other. Among the group was Barnatt himself, but in typical fashion, he would show up to the event in character. This time, it was Dad: the same robotic father-figure personality that saved him from losing his house in 2017.

In the months before the competition, Barnatt would train rigorously in order to ensure victory against his opponent, Matt Watson. He brought the news of his upcoming fight to his audience on March 25, 2022, on both the Nathan and Dad channels.

On May 14th, 2022, all of his training paid off at Creator Clash. as Barnatt not only won the fight but ended up having the fastest TKO of the entire event. After years of difficulties, Barnatt would finally prove himself as not only an impressive boxer and competitor but a talented content creator, able to stand up to and rival the modern creators of today’s era.

Only one mystery remains: 17 years of talent, commitment, and creativity, yet Barnatt still trails far behind the 30-second TikTok trends of today in views, followers, and revenue. Ultimately, trends change, algorithms can be brutal and unfair, and sometimes, quality and effort don’t always equate to greater success. 

However, despite being shot down repeatedly throughout his career, Nathan Barnatt has proven himself a fighter–both figuratively and literally–time and again. Both his main channel, and Dad channel are still uploading fairly regularly, and Barnatt has even started two gaming channels starring none other than Keith Apicary.  

Additionally, in a recent update video, Barnatt announced his ambitious plans for the future: a full-length film following the events of his previous short film, “Neutral,” his plan to return as a contestant on the next Creator Clash, and the return of an old character fans have been missing for years, Trale Lewous. 

Barnatt’s story offers an important insight: It’s all too easy to become absorbed into the viral trends that algorithms enable, but digging a little deeper may reveal the hidden and often impressive creators whose originality truly deserves the spotlight.