A final pickup for one Uber driver turned into a viral story and a meeting with someone he never thought he’d see again. After all, more than 20 years had passed.

So, when Uber driver Danny Blanton, 51, picked up his last passenger from a Dallas medical center, he was focused on the trip and his day being almost over. But his dashcam caught an entirely different ending for the two men.

After John Johnson, 60, climbed into the back of Blanton’s uber, neither men had too much to say. Simple small talk was made to pass the time. Blanton greeted Johnson, as he does all his passengers. “How’s it going, John?” To which Johnson replied, “Yes sir, how are you doing?”

John Johnson was Uber driver Danny Blanton’s passenger during a ride in January 2024. The two long-lost friends, who hadn’t seen each other in over 20 years, didn’t recognize each other at first until several seconds into the trip.

“Man, I’m great how about yourself?” Blanton asked. “I’m good man just trying to keep it warm,” Johnson said as he settl4ed into his seat. As the drive begins, it’s clear Johnson thinks he knows the driver. As he puzzles it out, he chats with Blanton.

“Been busy this morning?” Johnson asked. “Yes sir, always on Friday,” Blanton said.  “All over the place,” he said. “So, what’s your name, man?” Johnson asked him. “My name’s Danny,” Blanton told him. And then it clicks.

Man, I know you,” Johnson said, smiling.

Blanton takes a moment, and stares at his passenger. And then you see the moment he realizes who his passenger is: a friend he hadn’t seen in more than 20 years! Throwing his hand back toward the man, he excitedly begins chatting to Johnson. “Man! John! What the f—!” Danny shouts excitedly, as Johnson laughs.

“I think I thought about you a while ago,” Johnson said. He even recalled the nickname Blanton had given him when the pair had worked together: DJ Shoes. The men’s friendship began in the 90s while they worked at a nightclub called Phenomenon. The place had been know for the celebrities and athletes that would stop in for drinks. Johnson was the head of security and Blanton was a bartender.

“(John) was just nice, laid back, chill, and just probably one of the best people that I’ve ever met,” Blanton said. “Danny was always cool with me,” Johnson added. “We always enjoyed each other’s company and got along.” But the friends lost track of each other. “I don’t know who stopped working at the club first, me or Danny,” says Johnson. “It was probably me. After that. I pretty much didn’t see Danny anymore.”

Danny Blanton and John Johnson.

The men were determined to keep in touch this time. Blanton even posted about their reunion on TikTok, which shocked both men by going viral almost instantly. “It was crazy because in two hours it got 2,000 views,” Blanton said. “Four hours, it was like 4,000 to 6,000. And then after six hours, it was like 4.1 million.

Johnson said he and Blanton have met up for drinks, and they “laughed and talked like normally do.” “We got to talking [and] getting to know each other,” Blanton said. “We’re like, ‘Man, your life is interesting.’ ”

As for what they hope people walk away with after seeing their reunion, Blanton says it’s that “genuine love and admiration…never goes away.” “[We’re] just two little old guys from Mesquite and Dallas that went viral on the internet,” he added. “That’s it.”

Sources: People | Distractify