Detroit Urban Survival Training

Submission 12,597

About

Detroit Urban Survival Training, also known as D.U.S.T., refers to an urban self-defense training company located in Detroit, Michigan, owned and operated by U.S. Army veteran Dale Brown. Brown went viral on Instagram and YouTube in 2021 for his educational videos on how to disarm guns from attackers. Many online made memes about him because they thought his tactics were ineffective, gave bad advice and would get one killed. Detroit Urban Survival Training TikToks also became widespread, as well as memes on other platforms like Twitter and iFunny.

History

Dale Brown is a U.S. Army veteran who decided to start an urban self-defense company in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan back in 1993. His company is named the Detroit Threat Management Center and Detroit Urban Survival Training, and the defense method he teaches is called "The ECLECTIKAN Survival System," a mix of Kyokushin, Japanese Karate, Hapkido Korean Karate, Aikido Japanese Martial Art, Japanese Jujutsu, Japanese Judo, JKD and Chinese Qinna/Chin Na. Brown decided to start the Detroit Urban Survival Training Center in 1993 after reportedly witnessing a woman being chased on the Belle Isle Bridge in Detroit, who was later killed in front of her young daughter. He then realized that people needed more help than just education, according to the company's website.^[1]

Although D.U.S.T. went viral in mid-2021 on Instagram, Brown was first active on YouTube, posting content as early as 2009. His first YouTube video was uploaded on October 4th of that year (shown below). It's since received roughly 8,200 views over the course of 12 years.

In 2010, Brown started doing local television broadcasts on Detroit cable where he'd teach people through their TV how to train themselves against urban attackers. He posted a recording of a local TV broadcast to his YouTube on July 25th, 2010 (shown below). Over the course of 12 years, it's received roughly 2,400 views.

Online Presence

Brown continued to post to YouTube throughout the 2010s. However, he received viral attention starting in early 2021. Around this time, he started posting to Instagram, making his first post^[2] on March 12th, 2021, earning roughly 5,200 likes in 10 months (shown below).

On May 7th, 2021, Detroit Urban Survival Training received increased attention for an Instagram^[3] video posted on May 7th, 2021. In the video (shown below) Brown has a fake gun pointed at his head while sitting in the front seat of a car, telling his audience that he's about to show them what to do if abducted by someone in the backseat with a weapon pointed at their skull. The post received roughly 34,600 views and 1,900 likes over the course of eight months.

On July 16th, Brown posted a video to YouTube that received roughly 5.5 million views over the course of six months (shown below, left). This YouTube Short demonstrates what to do if someone's following you in a car, calling it a "Mobile Countermeasure." A month later on August 16th, he posted another YouTube video that received viral attention (shown below, right). In it, Brown demonstrates what to do if being carjacked, sitting in the front seat of a car with a fake gun pointed at his head, disarming it accordingly. Over the course of five months, the video received roughly 2.2 million views.

On September 3rd, 2021, Detroit Urban Survival Training received its highest amount of engagement on a post for a Short posted to their YouTube channel depicting how to prevent a kidnapper (shown below). Over the course of four months, the video received roughly 22 million views.

Presence In Memes

Inspired by the attention that the above video received, TikTok page selfdefensemythbuster started posting Detroit Urban Survival Training TikToks centered on debunking Brown's survival techniques. For example, on September 5th, 2021, the account posted a TikTok^[4] that received roughly 14,900 plays over the course of four months (shown below, left). They posted another TikTok^[5] on September 9th, earning roughly 32,500 plays (shown below, right).

On September 27th, TikToker^[6] billsmafia990 reposted the kidnapper video, receiving roughly 12.7 million plays over the course of four months (shown below, left). TikTokers started reacting to the video, posting stitches that emphasized that grabbing the thumb would simply not work in real life. For instance, TikToker^[7] sunjong0226 posted a video on October 5th that did just this, earning roughly 48,700 plays over three months (shown below, right).

On November 27th, 2021, Twitter^[8] user shannonsharpeee reposted the kidnapper video, captioning it, "Man this ain’t gonna stop a man from abducting a child STOP IT!!!!," earning roughly 69,900 likes over the course of two months (shown below). The video was also reposted to Instagram^[8] account abditv_ the next day, receiving roughly 51,000 likes.

The late November virality of the kidnapper clip inspired TikTokers to start parodying Detroit Urban Survival Training videos going into December 2021. For instance, TikToker^[9] king_probherbs posted a parody on December 7th that received roughly 23,300 plays over one month (shown below, left). TikToker^[10] marzgottachill also posted a video on the 7th, earning roughly 69,300 plays (shown below, right).

On December 16th, notable YouTuber Cr1TiKaL posted a parody Detroit Urban Survival Training video titled, "Actually Trying the Worst Self Defense Advice" (shown below). Over the course of one month, it gained roughly 4.6 million views.

Later that month, on December 27th, 2021, Detroit Urban Survival Training went viral again for a video uploaded to Twitter^[11] by user TheIanMMA. The video showed a man named Kenji going one-on-one with Brown, pointing a fake gun at him in an attempt to shoot him. In the video, it appears Kenji is able to shoot Brown three times before he's able to disarm him, reiterating for some the ineffectiveness of Brown's tactics. The tweet (shown below) received roughly 171,700 likes over the course of three weeks.

Detroit Urban Survival Training memes were posted in the replies to the tweet going into the rest of December. For instance, Twitter^[12] user Lad0n posted a meme that exploited lyrics from rapper 21 Savage, earning roughly 8,800 likes over the course of three weeks (shown below, left). TheIanMMA also posted a meme,^[13] using the Confused Mr. Krabs image and earned over 600 likes (shown below, right).

In response to the viral backlash, Dale Brown posted a green screen video to Instagram,^[14] detailing in it how he was actually effective when disarming Kenji. The video (shown below) was uploaded on December 29th and it gained roughly 379,700 views and 22,700 likes over the course of three weeks.

On January 20th, 2022, Cr1TiKaL finally met up with Dale Brown, posting a tweet^[15] that day including a picture of him pointing a gun at Brown, earning roughly 190,200 likes in less than 24 hours (shown below).

The photo became an exploitable in multiple memes going into the rest of January 2022. For instance, Twitter^[16] user LogariusWheels photoshopped the image to look like a rap album cover, receiving roughly 8,300 likes for their tweet in less than 24 hours (shown below).

Cr1TiKaL wasn't the only celebrity to encounter Dale Brown, however. For instance, Snoop Dogg visited the Detroit Urban Survival Training center on January 16th, being featured in an Instagram^[17] video that received roughly 211,300 views over five days (shown below).

Dale Brown was also parodied by Saturday Night Live cast member Kenan Thompson in mid-December 2021, as well as impersonated in an Odell Beckham Jr. touchdown celebration. This can all be seen in a FOX 2 Detroit YouTube video about Dale Brown and D.U.S.T. posted to the platform on December 17th, receiving roughly 48,800 views over one month (shown below).

Cr1TiKaL's Training Video

On January 23rd, 2021, YouTuber Cr1TiKaL^[18] uploaded a 24-minute training video in which he collaborated with Dale Brown from Detroit Urban Survival Training. The video, in which Cr1TiKaL and two of his friends attempted to attack Brown in various ways, with Dale demonstrating ways of defending against them gained over 1.6 million views in one day (shown below).