Southern Storyteller: Danae Hays describes transition from softball to comedy success

Danae Hays wasn’t always a social media star with a massive following. In 2015, she was starting 63 games at shortstop for the Alabama Crimson Tide softball team.

Alabama fans are sure to remember her, and have likely followed her throughout her career change. Although many would be surprised to know she was a one-time commit to in-state rival Auburn. As fate would have it, she became a four-year starter for the Crimson Tide at shortstop.

Hays finished her senior season batting .282 (51-181) with eight doubles, seven home runs and 36 RBIs. Of course, those numbers can’t compare to the ones she’s doing on TikTok nowadays. Churning out original comedic content on a near daily basis while she’s not on her comedy tour, none have surpassed the video that put her on the map during the pandemic in 2021.

“I posted a prank phone call, and that prank phone call got like 25 million views,” Hays explained to Paul Finebaum on Wednesday. “And so I was like, well shoot, I’m just gonna start posting funny videos. I’ve always made funny videos, especially as a kid. So once my TikTok following really grew, I was able to just build a really strong team around me of people that believed in me.

“And then we got our stand-up tour, it kicked off and I just got back from being on the road. I think we did nine shows in 10 days. And we’re getting ready to announce a bunch more. But yeah, it really all started from TikTok — and it’s weird to say that because I had no intentions of going this direction. I was an online fitness coach at the time. So people supporting me on social media has just allowed me to blossom and follow my dreams of going into the entertainment sector. It’s been a wild ride.”

Hays makes content with (and without) her wife, Mandie Kaii. Situational skits, parodies, day-in-the-life style vlogs, music and much more of her humor can be seen by searching her on TikTok. She now has 2.6 million followers on TikTok to go with 79.1 million likes on the platform and hosts her own podcast, The Refined and Rowdy Show.

Not only is she well-versed in the comedy realm, she’s used that tone and applied it to country music. She recently released her second country-comedy single ‘All it Takes,’ which is available to listen to now on YouTube.

While she’s always been in front of an audience in some capacity, throwing players out and hitting home runs and doing live stand-up are two completely different styles of attention. Both come with their own stressors, as Hays revealed that performing in front of a live audience was one of her biggest worries as she began her new career.

“I knew that I could be funny in this setting of making Tik Tok videos and creating an online presence. But how am I going to translate that to the stage?” she asked. “I think the biggest thing that I had to remind myself is that I’m a southern storyteller. You know, I’m not your one-two punch type of comic where I have real short bursts of funny jokes. Mine are just long southern stories that have funny moments from the beginning to the middle to the end.

“I’ve just really leaned into that. … So I said, You know what, I’m just going to be what I am. And I’m going to be a southern storyteller.”

Hays might be finished telling those stories on the diamond, but she’s since found a new voice on the microphone. She recently added three more shows to her April ‘The First Time Tour’ in Tennessee and Virginia in April and July, respectively.