# Hurricane Matthew Meets Slayer > Hurricane Matthew Meets Slayer is a 2016 viral video featuring Jacksonville resident Lane Pittman headbanging shirtless in hurricane-force rain with an American flag to Slayer's "Raining Blood. Hurricane Matthew Meets Slayer is a viral video of Jacksonville, Florida resident Lane Pittman standing shirtless in hurricane-force rain, waving an American flag and headbanging to Slayer's "Raining Blood." First posted to Facebook on October 7, 2016, during Hurricane Matthew, the video racked up 27 million views and turned Pittman into a recurring internet figure who repeated the stunt for multiple hurricanes over the following years. ## Origin On October 7, 2016, Lane Pittman posted the video to his Facebook page during Hurricane Matthew's pass through Jacksonville, Florida[5]. He captioned it: "Had a request for some hair action during the 'cane. I granted it"[1]. Hurricane Matthew brought winds exceeding 40 miles per hour to the area[1]. Pittman, a UNF graduate and substitute teacher, was already no stranger to stunts. The year before, he'd been cited by police and briefly taken into custody for blocking traffic in Neptune Beach while playing the "Star Spangled Banner" on his guitar, a performance that drew a crowd of 200 people[1]. According to Pittman, someone suggested he go outside and "just be free and have a great time" during the storm[4]. His response: "That sounds pretty sweet, but I've got to have a good song with it." He chose "Raining Blood" by Slayer, calling it "the ultimate song for fighting hurricanes"[4]. - **Platform:** Facebook - **Creator:** Lane Pittman (subject / original poster) - **Date:** 2016 ## Overview The video is simple: a barefoot man with long red hair, wearing nothing but a pair of bright blue shorts, stands in a rain-soaked street holding a large American flag while winds whip around him. As Slayer's thrash metal classic "Raining Blood" blasts on the soundtrack, he headbangs aggressively, his ginger locks flying behind him[1]. The whole clip runs about nine seconds in its original form. The combination of stupid bravery, patriotic absurdity, and a pitch-perfect song choice made it an instant hit. ## How It Spread The Facebook video exploded. Within three years, it pulled in over 27 million views, 424,000 shares, 137,000 reactions, and 79,000 comments[5]. Even the Foo Fighters gave Pittman a shoutout for his headbanging performance[3]. Coverage came from the New York Post, HuffPost, Mashable, the Miami Herald, the Daily Dot, and Loudwire, among others[5]. Pittman leaned into the persona, branding himself "Florida Man." He repeated the stunt during Hurricane Irma in 2017, though that video didn't gain the same traction[4]. The real sequel came in September 2018 with Hurricane Florence. Pittman launched a GoFundMe campaign titled "Send Lane to fight Florence" with an initial goal of just $150 for gas and coffee[6]. The campaign raised over $1,136[5]. He drove from Jacksonville Beach to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to meet Florence head-on[2]. On September 14, 2018, he posted the follow-up video with the caption: "YOU ARE WEAK AND SMALL FLORENCE!!!!! FLORIDA MAN IS HERE!!!!!"[3]. "Raining Blood" blasted in the background as his flag whipped in Florence's 85 mph winds[4]. The video pulled in over 352,000 views in less than a year[5]. During Florence, Pittman ended up on live TV. A Fox Business reporter covering the storm's destruction noticed a shirtless man hanging out in the background of her shot. After bringing him over for an interview, she asked what was going through his head being outside in those conditions. "Just being free and American, man," Pittman shrugged[2]. When asked if he was trying to get famous, he denied it, then immediately name-dropped himself: "Look, I've already been viral. Look up hurricane headbanger"[2]. The following year, on September 5, 2019, Pittman posted "Hurricane Dorian vs. Florida Man," which picked up more than 75,000 views in about a week[5]. As he told the UNF Spinnaker: "People find so much joy and so much relief out of a tense situation, and if I can show that kind of joy and love just for people [to be relieved], why not just make something pretty cool and awesome?"[4] ## How to Use This isn't a traditional meme template. It's a viral video that people share directly during hurricane season or use as a reaction to storms, extreme weather, or situations calling for absurd bravery. Common uses include: - Sharing the original video (or one of the sequels) when a hurricane approaches the U.S. coast - Using screenshots or GIFs of Pittman as a "Florida Man" reaction to extreme weather - Referencing the format when someone does something recklessly brave or pointlessly defiant - Pairing "Raining Blood" with footage of storms or chaotic outdoor situations ## Cultural Impact Pittman's videos bridged metal culture, Florida Man humor, and storm-season anxiety in a way that gave people a pressure valve during genuinely scary weather events. Major outlets covered him repeatedly, from the New York Post[1] to the Huffington Post[3] to Loudwire[6], and his GoFundMe success showed how willing people were to fund the joke[4]. He was cautious about others imitating him, warning: "I don't think just anybody should go out and stand in the middle of the hurricane. I took an educated guess on where I could be the safest and still turn up in a hurricane"[4]. Pittman put some of his surplus GoFundMe funds toward fixing up his old Subaru "so I can go fight more hurricanes if they come along the coastline," and paid his videographer with the rest[4]. On the persona itself, Pittman embraced it: "Being 'Florida Man' is sick. It's a life goal right there. It's a good achievement. I feel like 'Florida Man' has so many negative connotations. It's nice to be 'Florida Man' and have kind of a resounding, overall positive thing"[4]. ## Fun Facts - Pittman's GoFundMe asked for $150 for gas and coffee. It raised over seven times that amount[4]. - Before the hurricane videos, Pittman went semi-viral for playing the national anthem on guitar while blocking traffic in Neptune Beach, which got him briefly detained by police[1]. - The Fox Business reporter who interviewed him mid-hurricane described him as "being silly in the street"[2]. - Slayer's "Raining Blood" was released in 1986 on the album *Reign in Blood*. Pittman essentially gave the track a second life as a hurricane anthem thirty years later. - Pittman's original nine-second headbang clip outperformed his longer, better-produced sequel videos by a factor of roughly 75:1 in views[1][5]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Hurricane Matthew Meets Slayer? It's a viral video of Lane Pittman headbanging to Slayer's "Raining Blood" during Hurricane Matthew in October 2016, while holding an American flag in the rain[5]. ### Where did Hurricane Matthew Meets Slayer come from? Lane Pittman posted the original video to Facebook on October 7, 2016, during Hurricane Matthew's pass through Jacksonville, Florida[1]. ### What does Hurricane Matthew Meets Slayer mean? The video is pure absurdist defiance: one man standing in a hurricane armed with nothing but a flag and thrash metal, treating a dangerous natural disaster like a mosh pit[3]. ### How do you use Hurricane Matthew Meets Slayer? People share the video (or its sequels) during hurricane season, or use it as a reaction to extreme weather and recklessly bold behavior[2]. ### Is Hurricane Matthew Meets Slayer still popular? Pittman repeated the stunt for Hurricanes Irma, Florence, and Dorian through 2019[5]. The videos resurface every hurricane season, though the original 2016 clip with 27 million Facebook views is still the most shared[3]. ### Who is the guy in the Hurricane Matthew Slayer video? Lane Pittman, a UNF graduate and substitute teacher from Jacksonville Beach, Florida[4]. ### What song plays in the hurricane headbanger video? "Raining Blood" by Slayer, from their 1986 album *Reign in Blood*[1]. ### Did Lane Pittman do this more than once? Yes. He repeated the stunt for Hurricane Irma (2017), Hurricane Florence (2018), and Hurricane Dorian (2019)[4][5]. ### How much did the GoFundMe raise? The "Send Lane to fight Florence" campaign raised $1,136, far exceeding its original $150 goal[5]. ### Did Slayer or any bands react to the video? The Foo Fighters gave Pittman a shoutout after the original 2016 video went viral[3]. ## References 1. [Florida Man is back with heavy metal and an American Flag to face Hurricane Florence | Mashable]() 2. [Headbanging, Flag-Waving Dude Returns For Hurricane Florence | HuffPost Weird News]() 3. [Shirtless man rocks out to Slayer during hurricane | New York Post]() 4. [Hurricane Matthew Meets Slayer - Know Your Meme]() 5. [List of musician and band name etymologies]() 6. [UNF graduate returns for a second viral hurricane showdown | UNF Spinnaker]() 7. [Slayer Hurricane Guy Does It Again]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/hurricane-matthew-meets-slayer Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library