Deer in the headlights: A conversation with internet meme and deer whisperer Kelvin Peña

When we emailed East Stroudsburg University first-year Kelvin Peña for a comment on the deer that crashed into Woollen Gym, we really did not expect him to respond.

The 18-year-old Peña, better known by his Twitter handle @COLDGAMEKELV, gained internet fame over the summer for his friendship with Money the deer and Money's family. Swerve Assistant Editor Rachel Jones caught up with Peña to talk about his transition to college, charity work and life as a meme. 

The Daily Tar Heel: How do you think college students should interact with deer?

Kelvin Peña: I feel like in order to interact with a deer as a college student, you have to be fearless. You have to go up to the deer with confidence and make sure you have some nice nutritional snacks in hand so they can eat well and live on with their deer life. I feel like also to interact with the deer squad, you have to be unique. You have to make sure that you have good grades and that you work hard. You’ve got to be a trustworthy person to interact with deer — deer don’t just come up to anybody, you know what I mean?

It sounds crazy, but it’s a way to get inspiration to kids and make sure that they got their good grades and everything because if you have good grades, the deer kind of have a sense that you’re a trustworthy person.

DTH: You’re in college now. Do you still get to see Money and the deer squad on the regular?

KP: Of course. I live like 15 minutes away from my school.

DTH: Do you think college has changed the way you interact with Money?

KP: I feel like if I was still at home he would come through more frequently. Now he comes a couple of times a week. But that’s good at the same time because I don’t want to be their only source for food. I don’t want them to get too accustomed and stop searching for food, but I doubt that would happen because they like to eat so much.

DTH: Did you ever expect the videos you posted to blow up?

KP: Never in a million years would I have expected the videos to blow up. It was so random. It happened in like three days that everything went so crazy. It was just going up and up and up. I didn’t really know what to think because I didn’t even think the videos were funny at first. I was like, "Dang, what is it about this?"

But I saw that it just made people happy — there were barely any negative comments — so I was like, "Man, this is a good thing, I do pretty good stuff, I have a good heart so I want to show the world it’s OK to have a good heart and to give back," so I started the charity.

My mission is to have people in need eating as well, and I’m glad I got to turn something small into something big that can impact so many lives.

DTH: How did your charity come about?

KP: I realized that I had this big old fan base, and I was like, “What am I gonna do with this?” It didn’t take too much thinking. I was like “Man, I want to start a charity. I want to help feed people.”

So what I did was I found out how to make a charity, I went and got it done. And it’s going great because I have outlets to people who know people, some famous basketball players and rappers who support my videos. So I was like, “You people should help me out so we can feed families.”

What we’re going to do is try and feed 180 families this Thanksgiving. Our goal was around $55,000. We got around $8,000, but that’s still a lot of money and a lot of families that can get fed. Tomorrow I’m going to go buy materials and supplies for this church that needs it because they’re going to feed some people in the next weeks. It feels great, I can’t believe I’m doing this.

Let's help give back this thanksgiving ANYTHING helps!
: @BenFredette pic.twitter.com/BpnGUPMDeJ

— Kelvin (@COLDGAMEKELV) October 25, 2016

DTH: Have the videos impacted your time in college at all?

KP: My first week there — “Oh my God, are you the deer guy? Oh my God, are you the deer kid?” And then people wanted pictures. I thought it was cool, it was awesome. And now I’m known as the deer guy.

DTH: Is it hard to juggle school and internet fame?

KP: Sometimes I find myself thinking, “This is a little hard.” I’ve got to realize I’m still my own person as well so sometimes I’ve got to have all my priorities first outside of the internet.

It’s a blessing that came out of nowhere, but sometimes it gets hard when I have a whole bunch of assignments. I just get it done. If it wasn’t for school, none of the deer squad stuff would have happened. I wouldn’t have lived over here, so I’ve got to make sure I stick to my roots.

DTH: What’s been your favorite moment to come out of this?

KP: I know my favorite moment is going to be whenever I help feed the people, but my favorite moment was my birthday. I got to visit Complex Magazine, Latina Magazine, Viceland and the Fader magazine and I got to do something with their social media each on those days. It was awesome. It was my 18th birthday and I got to have a press day that I never thought I would have in my life.

CALL 1-800-EBYEATS! @complex @speedymorman #DeerSquad

A video posted by Dee's world (@coldgamekelv) on Aug 12, 2016 at 4:18pm PDT

DTH: Has the media attention slowed up at all?

KP: It had slowed down, but then I made another video of feeding squirrels and it went up again. And it’s been gradually building. People are starting to respect me, not only as a guy that feeds the deer but as a foundation owner and a young philanthropist. So I respect that, because feeding the deer is cool, but the reality is I’m having an impact on people.

It makes them happy. People think it’s funny because I talk to the deer like they’re regular people. It’s all about making a change. Even when stuff was slowing down it’s all right because at least I know I’m changing some lives.

@notracheljones

swerve@dailytarheel.com