WATCH: Popular influencer raises R900k for piano man at the airport
Carlos Whittaker, a popular influencer, heard a man play the piano at the airport and decided to use his influence to fill up his tip jar...
Carlos Whittaker says that when people ask his wife what her husband does, she always finds it hard to answer. So one day she said, "He's a Hope Dealer." His claim into the 'media influencer' role came with a YouTube video that he uploaded of a family moment that he shared with his family, something he didn't think about much, just sharing something fun online.
The video got lots of attention (it is currently is sitting at 7.4-million views) and he became the horrible father. He ended up receiving lots of calls from national outlets asking if he was the 'horrible father' in the video. He is also an author, a speaker, and he calls himself a 'moment maker'.
Check out the video of him and his family that got them started on their journey.
(Courtesy of YouTube):
In true 'moment maker' style, Carlos recently shared a story on his social media about eating a meal at a restaurant located at the Atlanta Airport. It was here that he heard and saw the musical talents and energy of one Tonee the piano man.
Carlos noticed that Tonee brought such passion into his performance, but many people weren't even aware of him. His tip jar was close to empty and so Carlos decided to make this moment special. He called out to his following and together they raised $10,000 to fill up Tonee's tip jar.
After asking Tonee to join him for a chat, Carlos learned that he actually has a kidney disease and goes for dialysis for nine hours every night - and then still comes into work everyday.
What started off as a $10,000 tip turned into $61,000, which is around R900,000! This can make a world of difference to this man's life, a man that doesn't share his pain with the people around him, but instead he shares good music with passion.
Check out the video of him at the restaurant below (courtesy of Instagram):
Image Courtesy of Instagram