Students may not notice Kyler Simon until a can of Dr. Pepper is suddenly in their hands, before his quick departure and subsequent posting of the interaction on his social media accounts. The fast handoff and his anonymous nature have quickly become a viral campus moment.
Simon, a first-year electrical and computer engineering major, built his social media presence under the Instagram account @wwudoctorpepperman before the account was shut down after this interview. The account was flagged for impersonation and automatically disabled. At its peak, it held 72,700 followers, with one post reaching 800,000 likes only a few weeks after its creation.
Simon started a new account on Instagram as @wwudrpepperman and continues to exist on TikTok as @wwudoctorpepperman. The Front spoke with Simon about how this project began, his process and his hopes for the future.
Q: How do you like to be referred to?
A: Dr. Pepper Man.
Q: What inspired the creation of your account?
A: I saw a similar account and I was like, ‘Huh, I wonder if I could do something like that.’ And I had 12 Dr. Peppers in my fridge, so I asked my roommate if I should be the WWU Dr. Pepper man, and he said yes.
Q: Did you expect people to resonate with the account as they have?
A: I did expect it a little bit, but not this much. I expected maybe 500 followers at most, but it’s gotten a little bit beyond that.
Q: How do students typically respond when you approach them for a video?
A: Usually, they don't really register what's happening until the Dr. Pepper is in their hands. Even if I’m wearing a Dr. Pepper shirt or hat, I’m just another person walking by until I give a Dr. Pepper to them.
Q: How do you decide who gets a soda?
A: Usually, it's whoever is along my path for today. Like today, it was in between my math class and the VU for my breakfast. Usually, I just look for someone that's still or talking to someone. It's best if I can interrupt a conversation.
Q: How many Dr. Peppers are you giving out per day?
A: Maybe two a day. I give out more than I post, so I sometimes will just give them to random people without recording. If it’s something like this, sometimes I'll give them one. I ran out today. I would have brought you one, I’m getting more tonight.
Q: How do you decide which ones get filmed?
A: The ones I film are the ones where people don't know what's going to happen, those are the ones where I just walk up to someone randomly and give it to them. The ones I don't film are if I'm going to be talking to the person for a bit, or if I ask them if they want a Dr. Pepper.
Q: Do you tell those featured in your videos that they have been filmed after you give them a soda?
A: I just give them a Dr. Pepper and walk away.
Q: What’s been the cost of running this account so far?
A: 50 cents a can at Costco, $70-100, especially considering the massive amount of Dr. Peppers I gave out a few weeks ago at the Arb Tower.
Q: What’s a memorable experience you’ve had so far?
A: I hear a lot of reactions when I’m walking away, but I never turn back. I know what a lot of people’s wheezes and laughs sound like.
Q: What’s your favorite soda?
A: I am a Diet Coke fan myself.
Q: Not Dr. Pepper?
A: Not Dr. Pepper. I do like Dr. Pepper, but Diet Coke is like crack.
Q: Without giving away too much, how would you describe yourself outside of this account?
A: Pretty outgoing, which is kind of the basic answer, but the Dr. Pepper account definitely helps with social anxiety. Like, it's helped with my ability to just walk up to someone, but it hasn't helped my ability to talk to people much because I don't spend a lot of time talking.
Q: What do your future plans for the account look like?
A: Just keep giving people Dr. Peppers. I don't know, I don't really plan on stopping. I do have some interesting plans for early next year.
Q: What would you say to students who are hoping to be the next target for one of your videos?
A: Don't lose hope. Stay in one spot. It could be anyone, I have no idea who is going to be next.
Q: I often see people commenting, asking to be next. Is that a viable strategy?
A: A lot of people have told me where they live. You can message me telling me where you live, but I’m probably not going to go. I don’t like doing door calls, because then you’re expecting it. The only advice I would give would be, if you really want one, sit down. I don't usually do it to people that are moving.
Q: How do you hope people respond to these videos?
A: I mean, for me, it's a little daily dopamine hit. So, I guess that's what it is for other people as well. I mean, I'd be pretty happy if someone just gave me a Dr. Pepper. It's a Dr. Pepper.
Willow Jacobson (she/her) is a campus life reporter for The Front this quarter. She is a second-year marketing major and public relations minor. When she's not working on a story she likes to read or watch movies. You can reach her at willow.thefront@gmail.com.
