In his neat Auckland kitchen, wearing a singlet and apron, Daniel Rankin boogies to 'Bamboleo' by the Gipsy Kings as he makes a cheesecake. Beside him, perched high on a stool is his faithful pug, Fraser, wearing a sombrero and tiny rainbow poncho.
This was the start of the 29-year-old Samoan's online fame. Since then, he's danced in the shower with a raspberry and lemon bundt (with white choc ganache), eaten the same cake while looking wistfully out the window, done handstands in neon lycra and washed the car - all - he says, to get men in the kitchen.
The Samoa-born, Auckland-based gym owner says there was stigma about getting blokes cooking back when he was a kid growing up in Vaoala, Samoa.
Photo: RNZ/Calvin Samuel
"I started cooking when I was about 10. I started just because I was a big kid. I ate a lot, and my parents weren't around as often, so I kind of just needed to learn to cook."
Rankin felt there was a suggestion than men didn't really know how to cook, despite the fact a lot of men in Samoa do cook.
"They're out there Sunday morning, doing the umu and helping do the cooking in the evenings. I think culturally it is quite normal for Samoan men to grow up cooking."
Photo: RNZ/Calvin Samuel
As a fitness coach who has competed locally and internationally in CrossFit competitions, Rankin is practiced at helping people achieve their exercise goals as well as encouraging them to get busy in the kitchen. His new project, The Fittest Cook, mixes the two together, offering healthy recipes and workout routines.
He's accumulated more than 330,000 followers on his @mancancooknz TikTok account, and has had similar success on Instagram. Most of his followers are based in the US, then the UK. New Zealand and Australian followers come in next.
Photo: RNZ/Calvin Samuel
As well as the cooking clips, he occasionally treats followers to bloopers and out-takes in which he practices dance moves, accidentally sends cupcakes flying and realises that pouring red wine down his front might not look as great as he intended. Fraser, who he calls his "best friend" looks on impassively throughout.
Because of the nature of the internet, Rankin cops his fair share of backlash, the harshest about his beloved pug.
"I guess the worst message I've got was, 'what are you going to do when your dog dies?'
"I found that pretty harsh. Attack me if you want, but just leave Fraser out of it."
Photo: RNZ/Calvin Samuel
But, since launching a decade ago on YouTube, he's built up a thick skin.
"I believe in this industry, you have to have thick skin because you do get a lot of exposure out there, and not everything is going to be positive," he says.
"I kind of just dealt with it, focused on what I could control. And I have always found that just being kind to the negativity helps me take it."
Photo: RNZ/Calvin Samuel
