“Lieutenant Dan” survives Hurricane Milton in a sailboat in Tampa

TAMPA, Fla. – 54-year-old Joseph Malinowski, who goes by “Lieutenant Dan” on social media, survived record-breaking Hurricane Milton on his 20-foot sailboat.

Malinowski, who drew national interest and concern over his highly publicized decision to ride out Hurricanes Helene and Milton on his ship, chose to remain here in the boat despite multiple attempts by officials to evacuate him safely. Supporters offered Malinowski shelter – both in nearby hotels and in their own homes – which he refused.

Malinowski skyrocketed into the national consciousness after TikTok creator Terrence Concannon posted a series of videos about his experiences during Hurricane Helene.

As Hurricane Milton approached Tampa, Malinowski posted on his social media account to calm the concerns of his newfound audience, even as his boat rocked and shook in the face of increasing wind and rain. Around 8 a.m. Thursday, Malinowski gave NBC News a clear answer when asked if he was OK after the storm.

“Yes,” he said in a text message.

Even though the storm hit some parts of the state – with at least 11 confirmed fatalities so far – Malinowski remained nonchalant in correspondence with NBC and his followers on social media.

“I'm doing great!” He told NBC News around 7 p.m. Wednesday, about two hours before the storm was expected to make landfall.

With storm surge forecast and winds reaching life-threatening levels, officials urged residents in evacuation zones to leave the area or face death.

“If he chose to remain on a boat during a hurricane, our office strongly advised against it,” a Tampa police representative told NBC News Wednesday afternoon.

Malinowski, who was mooring his boat at the dock in Tampa Bay Harbor, said the wind was coming from a different direction than expected, but noted he was still fine

“So far so good, I bounced the bow off the dock a few times,” he told NBC News around 8:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday night. “The wind is picking up quite strongly at the moment. I’m not worried.”

“It's not that it's scary, it's not that it's harmful – it's just strange,” he added on social media.

Throughout the night, “Lieutenant Dan” posted several more updates on his TikTok, telling concerned followers that he was OK and insisting that he would remain safe even as the storm progressed.

“I didn’t even spill my coffee,” he said in a TikTok story on Wednesday night around 10:30 p.m.

“Everything will be fine,” he added.

Malinowski, named after the character Forrest Gump who survived a massive hurricane in his fishing boat, updated his TikTok followers around 3 a.m. Thursday morning with the comment, “I'm alive woowoo… God is good.”

Social media audiences worried about Malinowski's safety not only during the storm, but afterward as well. A Go Fund Me page originally created to get “Lieutenant Dan” a new boat has reached over $39,000 – about $17,000 of which has come in as of Wednesday afternoon.

Concannon, the University of Tampa graduate who first shared Malinowski's story online and launched the fundraiser, also posted on social media Wednesday evening to announce a sponsorship from controversial online streamer Adin Ross.

In addition to donating up to $100,000 toward Malinowski's new boat, Ross offered Malinowski a kick-streaming deal that would allow “entire trips and all adventures to be streamed.”

“Thank you,” Malinowski replied. “This is my dream.”

Malinowski later said in another video that Ross withdrew the offer because of his criminal record.

“If there is any money left over after replacing Dan’s boat, the money will be used to cover Dan’s daily living expenses and general living expenses; Things like groceries, furniture for the boat and maybe even a gym membership (something he has wanted for a long time),” Concannon added to the GoFundMe page on Wednesday.

Malinowski said he's looking forward to using his newfound platform to document his normal life after the hurricane passes.

“I'm going to get back to my normal thing, which I think is pretty inspiring,” he told NBC News. “I want to be a content creator. (I want to) help people, give them a reason to keep going and just let everyone know that … we're all in this together.”

Matt Lavietes reported from Tampa and Sophia Pargas reported from New York City.