This 89-Year-Old Delivery Guy Stole Hearts On TikTok – And Fans Sent Him A Breathtaking Surprise

It only took one video to make Derlin Newey a TikTok darling. He hadn’t made videos of himself to upload to the app, though. Instead, someone filmed him doing his job – and he went about it in such an endearing way that viewers wanted to do something for him in return. They pooled their resources and gave the 89-year-old a gift he would never forget.

Anative of Ogden, Utah, Newey had worn many hats before becoming a pizza delivery driver. For example, he had once enjoyed competitive success as a downhill skier, and he had since retired from a career as a marketing professional, too. But the man who had seen nearly nine decades of life found himself delivering pizzas for a few reasons.

Mainly, though, Newey held the job because he enjoyed it – he liked to bring joy to his customers who wanted a pizza for dinner. A deep love for others brought the man closer and closer to embodying his personal mantra, as he explained to the website of the American Association of Retired People (AARP) in 2020. It was, “Do your best and love everybody without being critical.”

Little did he know it, but that very credo would come to change Newey’s life. It all started when he showed up to a customer’s house in Roy, UT, with a pineapple-covered pizza in hand. The 89-year-old chatted with the people awaiting their pie, and it made an impression – one that would change all of their lives.

The pizza’s recipients that day, the Valdez family, have been on TikTok since 2019 and on YouTube for just as long. On both platforms, they aim to share the ins and outs of their business, and it’s quite an interesting one. They started a bulk candy business, selling sweets to fill vending machines. What’s more, they had gone into the industry without experience.

But the Valdez crew had recruited some help via the same platform to which they uploaded the chronicles of their fledgling business. According to their YouTube bio, “We are learning a lot as we go with the help of other YouTubers.” A year in, the family patriarch, Carlos, shared in a video that their side hustle had paid off.

In the March 2020 clip, Carlos says, “We are about to hit our one-year mark of doing this. We are making money off of this, and it’s something we didn’t know existed until about a year ago.” But the family’s entire online presence doesn’t revolve around their business. On TikTok, they share more about their day-to-day lives

For instance, the Valdez family has a camera set up at their front door. One video with nearly 250,000 likes features a FedEx delivery driver who arrives to pick up a parcel. He tries to lift it, but realizes it’s far too heavy. The camera captures him saying, “I’m not feeling it today,” and he walks off. The humor of the clip obviously struck a chord with other TikTokers.

But the Valdez front-door cam captured another character who really stole TikTok users’ hearts. It all started with a completely genuine interaction – Mrs Valdez opened the front door to collect the family’s pineapple-covered pizza from their Papa John’s delivery driver. But the man on the other side of the door was “the sweetest old man,” Carlos explained to AARP.

As explained, the family had a doorbell camera, so Carlos went through the footage to see just what his wife was talking about. What he saw was an interaction worth sharing with the world at large. So, he edited the video and uploaded it to his TikTok channel on September 14, 2020.

The video starts with what would become the driver’s signature greeting. He says, “Are you looking for some pizza?” He opens the delivery bag so that Mrs. Valdez can grab her pie and bring it inside. But before she does, the two get to chatting – and the man at the door has some considerate and thoughtful things to say.

In the video, the delivery driver explains, “I’ve been by a thousand times ‘cause I go to church over here. I come around this corner. I live over in Riverdale Mobile Estates, and I come this way…. I’ve been coming this way for over 35 years.” He then tells Mrs. Valdez that he has a “black limousine” – something to look out for in the neighborhood, for sure.

The clip concludes with the delivery driver saying, “It’s nice to know you, neighbor,” and “I do appreciate you,” to his customer before walking back to his vehicle. The Valdezes then shared the clip to TikTok, where it racked up nearly 75,000 likes and more than 1,000 comments. Viewers noted how “sweet” the man was and how “happy” he seemed to “deliver to this house.”

Lots of the Valdez clan’s TikTok fans wanted more information about the pizza delivery man, too. Carlos made a follow-up post on September 15 to share some information he had learned about this elderly delivery driver. He says, “I found out that his name is Derlin. […] And I also found out that he works five or six shifts a week, so he is working hard, guys.”

Like many others who had seen the original pizza delivery video, Carlos couldn’t help but wonder why an elderly man was putting in so many shifts. The TikToker admits, “I want to know his story and why he’s working so much.” Soon enough, he and the rest of the world would understand.

The 89-year-old Newey later told AARP that he had sought out his job with the Papa John’s pizza franchise because he wanted to pay off his car. But once he had completed that task, he found he was reluctant to give up his 30-hour-a-week schedule. For one thing, he said, he liked having the extra money to supplement his Social Security checks.

Indeed, Newey discovered that delivering pizzas brought him joy because the task provided the same happiness to others. He explained, “It’s a delightful job. The kids are saying, ‘Oh, we’re having pizza tonight.’ And the mom says, ‘Yes, and I don’t have to cook!’” He failed to mention how much cheer he brought to his internet viewers, too.

When he came by for his next delivery, the Valdez family took their chance to tell Newey just how much the internet adored him. They called in an order and asked Papa John’s to ensure their favorite pizza guy would bring it to them. In the September 18 TikTok clip, the delivery man beams as he calls their request a “real compliment.”

Newey seems to know a bit about his newfound TikTok fame, too. He asks, “All you people on the internet know me from driving pizza?” Mrs Valdez explains, “They saw the interaction from the last time you dropped pizza at my house. We posted it on TikTok, which is the internet, and everybody loved you.”

With that, the family members present Newey with an extra-large tip for his services: $20, which surprises the 89-year-old. In the clip, he exclaims, “Did ya? You put it on here? Wow, phew-ee, boy!” What the TikTokers and their followers did next would be even more shocking to the delivery driver, though.

Actually, immediately after the first Valdez TikTok clip featuring Newey’s sweet delivery had been shared, people had started wondering how they could reward him for his hard work. One commenter suggested a Venmo challenge, meaning people could send cash to the 89-year-old through the aforementioned payment-making app.

Carlos clearly loved the idea, and he took to TikTok on September 15 to share it with his followers. In the video, he says, “It looks like everybody fell in love with this gentleman, our last delivery guy.” He then shares that he has opened a Venmo account specifically to raise a tip for Newey.

With that, Carlos opens up the Venmo to TikTok fans, and asks for “any kind of donations, from a quarter to 50 cents to a dollar, if we could just raise anything I’m sure [Newey will] be grateful.” The Valdez family patriarch continued, “Once we raise a decent amount of money, even if it’s just $20, I’m going to go ahead and track him down and give it to him.”

Within two days, though, it became clear that Carlos’s crowdfunding efforts would garner more than a $20 donation. On September 17, he shared in a TikTok comment that the Venmo account had received $3,000 already. He planned to leave the account open until September 20, and the sum at the end of that day would be Newey’s big tip

Carlos came up with a great way to hand over the cash without ruining the surprise, as illustrated by a TikTok clip posted on September 22. In it, he says that he told Newey that all of his internet fans had clubbed together and made him a T-shirt. And to maintain the ruse, the Valdez family went ahead and made him a custom top with his favorite saying on it: that’s right, “Hello, are you looking for some pizza?”

According to the information revealed in the first September 22 clip, once Newey had the shirt in hand, Carlos planned to whip out a pizza box with an even better surprise inside – a check for the value of the unexpected donations. As per usual, the Valdez clan intended to record the whole thing and share it with their followers. And they planned to meet up with Newey that same day.

Naturally the family filmed proceedings to share the moment with their followers, and they posted the video onto TikTok the next day. The clip begins with Carlos and his wife knocking on Newey’s door. The 89-year-old answers and laughingly remarks, “I went back and went to sleep!”

The clip then cuts to the Valdez couple and Newey inside his house, where he first opens his red-herring gift. He’s clearly delighted with the T-shirt, holding it up to his chest and singing, “La la la la la.” And the garment proves the perfect diversion for the true reason that the TikTokers have come to his home.

Newey then opens the pizza box, which holds the real gift – the check for him, written by all of the TikTokers who donated to the designated Venmo account. The octogenarian doesn’t quite grasp what’s happening to him as he reads the paper, so Carlos jumps in to explain what’s really going on.

Carlos says, “Together as a community, we all were donating 50 cents to a dollar for you.” He then reveals the impressive amount of cash that the group had raised for Newey. He continues, “And collectively, because there were thousands of people that loved you – and love you – we collected over $12,000 for you.”

The news renders Newey silent. Mrs Valdez reiterates, “That’s all yours,” and her husband echoes her, saying, “All yours.” To them, the delivery man responds with a dumbfounded, “No.” Both of the TikTokers respond in tandem with a resounding “Yes,” confirming the money is, indeed, for him.

Newey’s voice is audibly heavy with emotion now, and what he says next is as touching as it is heartbreaking. He asks, “How come? Why would you do such a thing?” Mrs Valdez references the TikTok community in her response, saying, “They love you, so they wanted to give you a present.”

Newey remains incredulous of the amazing, unexpected gift he has received. He mutters, “Oh, my gosh. I don’t belie– I don’t believe this.” Carlos’ wife continues to repeat that the money is “all [his].” And the Valdez family patriarch chimes in to give credit to those who made the $12,000 sum possible.

Carlos humbly explains, “And we, we did nothing, we were just the vessel. It’s everybody here on TikTok, they’re the ones that made this possible and they, they just, they did this for you.” As he stumbles over his words, it’s clear that the reveal has made him emotional, too.

And as his pizza-delivery client wrestles with his emotions, Newey lets his feelings out again. He shakes his head, shifts his gaze to the ground and seems to start tearing up as he says again, “I don’t believe this.” All he and Mr and Mrs Valdez can do is hug one another – they stand up to embrace after the life-changing gift.

And, by the time the Valdez family uploaded their video to TikTok, so many people had become invested in Newey’s story that it had become more than just a viral video – it was a national news story. Speaking to Utah newspaper the Deseret News, Carlos said, “This couldn’t have gone any better. He needed this. I’m just glad we could help him. We just need to treat people with kindness and respect the way he does.”

For his part, Newey wondered how he could “ever say thank you” to the TikTok community and the Valdez family, too. But Carlos and his wife made it clear that he had no reason to thank them – it was his sweet, smiley personality which had motivated so many to donate. The success of the campaign inspired the couple to do more charity work through the app, too, and not just for their favorite pizza guy.

In a video they shared on October 27, 2020, the Valdez clan follow their usual pattern: they talk about their TikTok community and explain that they have come together to help a person in need. Carlos then says, “We got together and here’s $1,000 for you guys. I’m hoping that’s able to help.” Audible gasps erupt across the room – it’s clear that the money will, indeed, help.

Of course, the same could be said for Newey, although he didn’t plan to use the cash to get himself out of working. No, the near-nonagenarian told AARP that he had invested his $12,000 so he could make dividends over the next decade. After all, his dad had lived to be 103, and the pizza delivery driver had a dream to surpass him and become “the longest-living Newey.” And with his indefatigable spirit, that seemed a very achievable goal.