Biography of the man named WeirDave
It all started with my first girlfriend Janette and my curiosity to be different. At 18, I went to my first club legally, the London Victory Club in Tampa, Florida. The DJ, Stan “The Man” Priest, played the best music and eventually became a friend, often playing songs for me to dance to on the large stage. I danced with Pete and Carrie, who remain friends to this day.
One night, Janette and I saw a guy who was different and cool. He was from London, with pale skin, a long black shirt, a tea-length skirt, Doc Martens, and eyeliner. Inspired, Janette and I went to The Limited Express and bought my first skirt. Since then, I’ve always worn skirts to dance.
My look evolved from a classic 1980s “New Waver” with long hair, brooches from thrift stores, and skinny ties from the 1940s to a more varied style. I did the turtleneck thing, the collar-up thing, and the trench coat thing, eventually saving up for a real London Fog trench coat that I still have today.
Economics and my love of all kinds of music led me to Confetti, a popular Top 40 club in Tampa, where I met my best friend Tim. We’d have dinner at the happy hour buffet and then dance the night away. I wore eyeliner and skirts, often getting asked to step down from the pedestal dance floors initially meant for go-go dancers. Over time, the DJs saw I was creating energy similar to the girls, lip-syncing, and performing mini skits. I even attracted a following, including a school for the deaf that came to watch me dance.
One of those DJs, Seb, nicknamed me “Weird Dave” because I dressed differently in a mainstream club. Before that, I was known as “Dancing Dave.” I modeled for Ford’s talent agency and did hair shows, where makeup artists introduced me to Lancome eyeliner, replacing the cheap stuff I used before.
As time marched forward, I worked in clubs doing lighting and dancing, including three stints at 901 N Franklin Street. I also started a club called “911” next door at 911 N Franklin Street, funded by the corporation I worked for. The slogan, “A Rescue from Reality,” wasn’t my favorite.
With Stan “The Man” Priest, I moved to Orlando, where the MTV story begins. Throughout my journey, I held various jobs, mostly centered around computers. Early on, I was online when the internet was still developing. Due to character limits for email addresses, I transitioned from “Weird Dave” to “WeirDave.”