TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – If you\u2019re on social media, you\u2019ve probably come across videos of Daniel Hughes, the Florida State punter. He dropped out of school at 16, built and ran a successful construction company in Australia, but money doesn\u2019t buy happiness. <\/p>\n
His happy? Punting, and chasing an NFL dream, and Hughes is taking all of us on a behind the scenes tour of his journey from Australia to garnet and gold.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was 24-25. I just made the decision to stop playing football in Australia, to sell my company.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hughes began chasing his dream to play Division I football. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was like this is what I want to do, this is my career path,\u201d he said. \u201cHow does a professional athlete act? That was it. It was done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, at 28 years old, he\u2019s set to punt at Florida State.<\/p>\n
\u201cI get chills just talking about this stuff because the opportunity that these boys have and I have as well, you won\u2019t get this opportunity ever again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
His excitement to be in Tallahassee is well documented for all to see because Hughes has close to 80,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram.<\/p>\n
\u201cFootball and the content for me goes hand in hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
If his story hooked you in, the content, will keep you around. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy favorite one is a video of myself and Carter Jula, and it\u2019s like we have to lock in,\u201d he said, describing the video that starts out in Florida State\u2019s weight room before transitioning to the duo inside a night club. \u201cNo one knows, we went there sober that night. We asked the security guard, hey man, I have to film a video, we were up there for five minutes!\u201d<\/p>\n
Self shot and self taught.<\/p>\n
\u201cI watch my first couple YouTube videos, and I\u2019m like oh they\u2019re a bit dodgy,\u201d he laughed. \u201cAs I\u2019m learning how to use editing programs and camera styles, it\u2019s just getting better and better now.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Hughes, it\u2019s more than just funny videos, as he\u2019s always had a plan to turn his social media success into something bigger down the road.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere will be a part down the track where I\u2019m mentoring people or coaching or doing something to help people\u2019s lives,\u201d he said. \u201cI heard someone say I was on the verge of suicide and because of your video, I\u2019m on the right track now. Stuff like that, I love.\u201d<\/p>\n
Real results, for something that for right now is just a passion project. Despite close to 15 million views a month, because he\u2019s an international student on a student visa, Hughes can\u2019t profit from social media.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of brand deals I\u2019ve had to say no to. I\u2019ve lost a lot of money I can\u2019t take because I don\u2019t want to jeopardize my eligibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
For a guy who\u2019s quite literally living the dream, all the sacrifice it took to now wear the garnet and gold is worth it.<\/p>\n
\u201cJUCO, group of five, ACC,\u201d he said of his journey from City College of San Francisco, to New Mexico, to Florida State. \u201cI\u2019m glad it\u2019s this way. It\u2019s built the story even better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hughes added he is the sole editor of his content, admitting he\u2019s a bit of a control freak. He said seven minutes of video equals ten hours of editing.<\/p>\n
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