Mike Smalls Jr. went viral after he live-streamed himself jumping into a Florida river on Wednesday during Hurricane Milton. His activities, which he shared on Kick, came after another live streamer issued a challenge offering a $70,000 prize to anyone who could “survive” live streaming during the hurricane.
At the time, local authorities had issued an evacuation order for the Tampa area, advising citizens to leave their houses for their own protection.
Still, Smalls Jr., carrying an air mattress and an umbrella, declared that he would leap into a river that was slowly flooding and float on his mattress if he reached 100,000 viewers.
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During a recent interview with the BBC, Smalls Jr. stated that he intended to “get some nice clips and then, if things get too wild, I can just, you know, track my little five, 10-minute walk back home.”
But after hitting his target and plunging into the water, he understood instantly that the act would be riskier than he had initially anticipated.
He recalled how he was forced to grab hold of a nearby tree as his air mattress began floating out of his control. “The wind started picking up, and I don’t know how to swim.”
In his own words, the streamer acknowledged that the video was “controversial” and that he was endangering not just his own life but also the lives of anyone who would attempt to save him.
He expressed, “Don’t save me. If I do another hurricane? All right. You ain’t got to say nothing. I do not want to put your life at risk. No.”
Although someone else has won the $70,000 “hurricane challenge” top prize, Small Jr. indicated that he might be open to trying a similar trick once more “if the price is right.”
Meanwhile, officials have warned influencers about such stunts. The Tampa Police Department told the BBC in a statement, “Ignoring mandatory evacuation orders puts lives at risk. When individuals disregard these warnings, they not only jeopardize their own safety but also create additional challenges for first responders who are working tirelessly to save lives.”
“Intentionally placing oneself in harm’s way could divert critical resources and delay vital rescue operations for others,” the department added.
Millions have evacuated after Hurricane Milton made landfall on Wednesday along Florida’s Gulf Coast. About 16 people have died so far in the storm.
Small Jr.’s hour-long video from Tampa Bay has received over 60,000 views on Kick and millions of views on other social media platforms, including X.
He remarked, “It’s my job just to entertain and think of creative things to entertain my chat. And if people want to, you know if they’re inspired by what I do, I respect it,” noting that content creators should always “do things at your own risk.”
“From a content creator standpoint, people like to see kind of edgy things,” he added.
