Tattooed TikTok star Dan Soar (UK) has raised over £1,000 for causes close to his heart with a hobby you might not expect him to have.
Known as “The Tattooed Knitter”, Dan took on an epic day-long challenge – broadcast live on TikTok – to set the record for most blankets arm knitted in 24 hours.
He made 19 of his signature chunky knits, all in the name of mental health charity MenWalkTalk, as well as Ashgate Hospice, which provides palliative care to people at the end of their lives, in memory of his late grandmother Margaret, who was a big knitter herself.
He donated all the blankets to his chosen charities afterwards.
Dan first got into knitting after seeing a video of fellow TikToker Jude Moore doing it.
He headed straight to Hobbycraft to pick up some wool and taught himself how to knit that same day by watching a tutorial.
He said: “As I was knitting, I realized it was helping with my anxiety. I feel like a lot of the time I have a knot in my stomach from anxiety, and when I knit it’s like it’s not there, I can just focus on knitting.
“Knitting has given me purpose and given me an amazing community.”
Dan started posting knitting videos on his own TikTok channel in December, starting the day he first learned how to do it.
He now has over 300,000 followers and goes live to his fans every day.
He loves spreading the word on how beneficial knitting can be while challenging misconceptions like how someone who looks like him can have such a hobby.
He said: “Knitting is great for mental health; it’s been so helpful for mine. In our community, we have also been able to get quite open in our lives and break the stigma around talking about it.”
Dan is one of many young people who’ve discovered a love for knitting lately.