Growing up, Donte Colley was often bullied as a teenager for his dancing.
But the now 22 year old from Scarborough, Ont. kept to his passion -- dancing at home and learning new moves through YouTube clips-- and turned it into a phenomenon.
Today, Colley to his nearly 780,000 loyal followers, including actress Jennifer Garner, actor Will Smith and comedian Leslie Jones. He even collaborated with Ariana Grande for her
His videos are unique in the way he uses emojis and graphics, combined with his dancing, to spread positive messages. His posts frequently contain messages like 鈥淵ou are a star,鈥� 鈥淜eep pushing,鈥� 鈥淵ou got this鈥� and 鈥淐elebrate how far you鈥檝e come.鈥�
鈥淭he messages that I share are, they鈥檙e personal messages鈥essages from my heart,鈥� he told CTV News. 鈥淚 am not the only one feeling this way, so let鈥檚 try and make each other feel better.鈥�
Recent studies suggest a connection between depression and social media use. Just three weeks ago, a study out of the University of Montreal found as social media use increases throughout a child鈥檚 adolescent years, so too do their symptoms of depression.
Colley said his videos are meant to brighten someone鈥檚 spirits and they appear to be working. He regularly receives messages of support and also from people who say they were on the verge of harming themselves until one of his videos came across their Instagram feed and brought them some joy in a dark time.
鈥淗earing what I am doing is saving people, is something that impacts me a lot鈥� Colley said. 鈥淚f it does catch you and impact you in a certain way that makes our day better, I think that鈥檚 amazing and for me I鈥檓 excited that it would make you feel that way.鈥�
Colley knows all too well how social media can affect the well-being of its users, having deleted his accounts for a year at age 17, because of how the platform was making him feel.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e constantly comparing yourself to people and their unrealistic realities,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 wanted to find joy in what I did, versus things that made me feel bad about myself.鈥�
Colley鈥檚 mother Leeanne is proud of her son鈥檚 newfound fame online and the way he offers an antidote to the negativity often prominent on social media.
鈥淒onte is spreading kindness and happiness,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 created a really great happiness platform where people actually go to his page if they are having a bad day. I have clients that go there if they feel like their week isn鈥檛 starting off right. They鈥檒l go to Donte鈥檚 page and watch a couple of his videos.鈥�
Colley鈥檚 videos have led him to create his own clothing line and landed him contracts with Starbucks and McDonald鈥檚. with hearts and stars based on his videos.
鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely a cool way of bringing awareness to mental health, but also understanding that we鈥檙e all going through our own things and that鈥檚 OK,鈥� he said.
He hopes to one day expand his creative ventures, beyond the popular Instagram videos.
鈥淚 love acting, I love dancing and I love creating,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hatever that entails over the next few years, I hope that it will make other people happy but also make me happy too.鈥�
