Media Maven: In Conversation With Dan James

Comedy, c*m jokes, and queer health advocacy – for Dan James, it’s all part of the job. Dr. Dan (PhD reveal!) is an award-winning writer, editor, content creator, and comedian who knows how to turn even the trickiest conversations into something both unforgettable and unfiltered.

From producing boundary-pushing campaigns to building trust through raw, hilarious conversations on his series THOT Ones, Dan shows how content can educate, entertain, and create safe spaces all at once. 

In this conversation, he dives into why humour is the ultimate hook, how queer communities have always led the way in health education, and what it really takes to make content transformative. Spoiler alert: it’s not playing it safe.

Cleo: You worked with our client, Freddie, a virtual HIV prevention clinic, to create content for their social media platforms. How did this work tie into LGBTQ+ health activism for you?

Dan: Straight people have the luxury of going to the doctor and knowing that, for the most part, that person understands your life. Queer people rarely do. We have to go to the internet and each other to learn about our health. It sucks, but we’re used to it. And that’s where my work with Freddie came in. 

Queer people are at the front of every cultural trend that matters. It’s only logical that we’d use the newest media to help educate each other. We’ve always done this: AIDS activists did it with camcorders and trans activists did it with YouTube. Now we’ve got Reels and TikTok.

Being funny also tricks people into listening. Most of us scroll for fun or distraction instead of education. If you want specific information then your instinct is to Google, not open up TikTok and hope for the best. To educate in these video-first spaces, you need humour as your hook.

Cleo: In healthcare, we know that content isn't always just content – it can be life-saving. In your experience, what makes content not just effective but transformative?

Dan: It boils down to one thing: is it memorable? Health information is only useful if someone actually uses it. You’ve got to make content that’s so good someone will remember it when there’s a naked person in front of them. That’s quite a high bar.

Cleo: What's a project you've worked on that felt especially meaningful or changed the way you think about your work?

Dan: I once made a video about what to do when you get c*m in your eye. When it hit six hundred thousand views I was like, wow… I think I may be the voice of my generation.

Cleo: How do you define success when it comes to content that speaks to underserved or marginalized audiences?

Dan: Honestly, “define success” is a corporate concept that I don’t think is that useful! The marketing approach of numbers and spreadsheets doesn’t always fit when it comes to community work. 

Sure, you can measure engagement, but rage-bait would also be “successful” if you’re only looking at numbers. The real test is who is engaging and how. If you’re trying to speak to a certain group, are they hearing you? Are they responding? Are they learning?

A handful of comments that show you’ve changed someone’s mind or taught them something is, in my opinion, infinitely more valuable than a truckload of likes.

Cleo: In what ways do you think content helps build long-term trust with an audience? You've spoken about how this rings true with THOT Ones, an interview series you created with Freddie. 

Dan: Content helps build a voice. The more content you produce, the more that voice develops. Audiences start to understand it like a person – they know your values, your sense of humour, and so on. Trust comes naturally from that. 

THOT Ones is a great example of this, because we weren’t doing health education per se. We were just talking about sex. But when we show that nothing is off-limits, we show that we won’t judge anyone. That helped build Freddie’s voice.

As an interviewer, it’s my job to quite literally be the voice. I have to show our guests and audience that nothing will phase me. That creates trust, and then before you know it they will say something so outrageous it leaves my jaw on the floor. 

What can I say? I’ve built a safe space for total freaks. 

Cleo: If your career were a Netflix series, what would you call it?

Dan: Bonding was about a gay, redhead stand-up comedian who works in a BDSM dungeon, so… close enough.

Cleo: Lastly, what's your favourite way to take a break from work?

Dan: Nothing I’m willing to put in writing.

You can find Dan on Instagram and TikTok at @danjamescomedy.