Going Viral: This Black, Gay British Dancer Isn't Allowing The Pandemic To Curb His Creativity

If you've spent any amount of time on social media in the last 48 hours, then there's a pretty good chance that you've come across a man in drag rolling on the river to the Ike and Tina Turner remake "Proud Mary."

That man is Black London based dancer Austyn Farrell. The strikingly handsome and athletic performer has wow'd his British neighbors and the world with his recent impersonation of Turner in the viral Tik Tok video.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the professional dancer into temporary unemployment, but he is finding an outlet for his creativity through his social media platforms, while providing joy for millions of people in similar situations during the process.

“Being self-employed has been pretty crap during this period but there’s many of us in the exact same boat so we all just have to ride the wave I guess … I’ve tried to stay positive, happy and safe. The best thing we can do is stay home so there is no point worrying and letting my anxiety go mad," wrote Farrell.

His videos contain everything from nods to Disney characters, to "Hairspray" and even a Dolly Parton impersonation that was recognized by the country queen herself. And we're pretty certain that a mention on Oprah Magazine's Instagram feed didn't hurt his viral success either.

Farrell often gets personal on his Instagram. A retelling of his coming out experience specifically moved us.

“I started with my mum one weekend. I waited until she had been out and came home all merry. I sat next to her and started shaking as I said the words ‘mum, I’m gay and I have a boyfriend’. She replied smiling, ‘I know, son’.

“The next day she came and gave me the biggest hug and said what would I like for breakfast like nothing had changed. I then received a call from my dad saying ‘would you like me to be honest, son. I’ve known since you were three years old when you were wearing your nan’s heels and it will never change how proud and how much I love you’.”

We're kinda crushing on this man.

Watch him burn the floor at Millennium Dance Complex in Los Angeles in the clip below.