A group of middle-aged dads who formed a dance crew to embarrass their kids have become unlikely social media stars with over 300k followers - and even Hugh Jackman is a fan. The Outta Puff Daddys first came together in 2012 in Brighton, Sussex, for a surprise performance at their children's annual dance show.
Now their home-made viral TikToks and Instagram Reels of their synchronised boogies have built them a six-figure online following - and their kids are not embarrassed in the slightest. The dads - who had never danced professionally before and range in age from 42 to 60 - were taught by their kids’ street dancing teacher for the surprise performance and received such a good reception they decided to carry on permanently.
Paul Jukes, 48, the group’s leader and artistic director, says dancing together has helped the members through bereavement, unemployment and depression. Paul, a branding consultant and personal trainer by day who goes by the crew name jukebox, said: “The irony is that even though I’m the leader, artistic director and choreographer of the group, I’m not normally the most confident dancer.
“Most of the crew are the same as me. If we’re in a party situation we’re off at the side but when we’re together those inhibitions are lost, and we just embrace life to the max. For a bit of fun, back in 2012 the word was put out that for our kids’ next annual showcase it would be good to put together a dads’ crew as a surprise performance.
“We got together and rehearsed in secret. Our partners knew but the children didn’t. My kids knew I was going dancing but didn’t know why. The response was incredible. We performed at the Brighton Dome which seats 2,000 people so for your first live dance performance it was quite something. We literally took the roof off."
After their debut performance, the group decided to continue dancing. Paul said: “The noise was phenomenal and of course the kids in the audience were like, ‘hang on a second, that’s your dad’.
"And because of that reaction we thought ‘this is too good to be a one-off, we have to carry on’. A key part of the story is that in those initial rehearsals at the point where we were still getting to know each other, one of the founding members tragically passed away very suddenly and that was a real draw for us to get closer together very quickly.
“Looking back, it was definitely the first trigger for me to realise that we had something very special as a bond between men. Most people would assume our kids are going to be embarrassed by us but none of us in the crew have that. All our families and kids are really supportive and really love it.
“And of course, it has been deemed cool by them to have the following we have with over 300,000 followers on Instagram and videos that get over one million views. We all have crew names and one of our members is called Wolverine, and recently received a comment from Hugh Jackman giving him a massive thumbs up.
“He’s a huge Marvel fan so for him to have Hugh Jackman personally contact him was just phenomenal.”
The group - which performs around the country at festivals - has been led by Paul since 2020. The dad-of-two experienced a period of depression in 2017 and he credits the group for playing a key role in his recovery. He said: “When I was in that challenging moment of my life, I felt immediately comfortable sharing how I was feeling with the crew.
“I talked openly with them, sharing my emotions and they were amazing. They were non-judgmental and empathetic. I believe everyone should be constantly underpinning and supporting their mental health - as we all do with our physical health - so that when those moments arise, we immediately have strategies in place.
“So, when I have a bad day now, not only do I verbalise it and let people know - which is incredibly cathartic - I also implement strategies that I know work for me. One of those is making sure I absolutely attend our weekly dance sessions because they are so integral to my mental health.
"My own experience now plays a key role in the strategies and content we create. The dance videos provide an incredible opportunity to not just share joy and positivity, but to also promote my mission to change society's approach to mental health.”
The group is having to adapt to its members’ changing bodies as they get older, but that has not stopped them continuing to dream big. Paul said: “We’re adapting all the time.
"There are a few arthritic knees in the crew, so we nurture and support each other to make sure what we do is achievable. One of our crew members is 60 years old now and he’s just incredible. We love sharing our message and doing that via live performances, so we just want to keep performing around the world.
“We joke about it as a crew but hey, let’s go to Vegas and Hollywood. An Outta Puff Daddys residency – why not?”
