What ‘wide neck guy’ looks like now eight years after viral mugshot
A man who went viral eight years ago for the size of his neck is now back in the news, for all the wrong reasons.
His name is Charles Dion McDowell, but you'll probably remember him as 'wide neck guy' and he was one of many who benefited from internet fame in the 2010s.
The photo which did the rounds was a mugshot, as McDowell, now 38, was initially booked into Escambia County Jail in Florida on charges of drug possession and fleeing from police in 2018.
Off the back of this, he made a video with 'Daddy Long Neck' - a rapper with an extraordinarily long neck - the following year.
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Their rap song 'Neckst Big Thing' together has six million views on YouTube.
Speaking to LADbible in 2019, he was asked if his unusually wide neck was the result of a medical condition.
He said: "It ain't not medical condition. It was just my neck. I can't figure it out.
"I ain't gone to the doctor's or nothing for it. I honestly don't know."
He said his neck wasn't that large as a kid, but he 'grew into it', adding: "My granddad's got a wide neck but his neck ain't like mine."
Despite arrests for drug offences and evading police officers, McDowell still enjoys over 860k followers on Instagram.
His bio on Instagram reads 'I ain't ever going back to that life', but a string of arrests in recent years tell a different story.
In 2018, McDowell was allegedly involved in a police chase, and was arrested on suspicion of fleeing/eluding police, possession of meth, possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug equipment.
After paying a $57,000 bond and being released from jail, he allegedly found himself in a high-speed chase with police in Alabama two days later, Fox 26 reports.
He was hit with further charges: eluding police, second-degree marijuana possession, driving with a revoked license, reckless driving, and improper lane usage.
Then in August 2022, police issued a warrant for his arrest after he allegedly showed up at a woman's house and sent her threatening messages.
And in 2025, he was facing several felonies, which included furnishing obscene material to a minor.
TMZ reported last year that McDowell has been accused of sending sexually explicit videos of a woman to her 13-year-old son, 16-year-old daughter, mother, and another unnamed person.
The publication reported that he allegedly used a phone and laptop to send videos on multiple occasions to the victims.
According to jail records, McDowell is charged with numerous things, which include five counts of electronic transmission/post of video or photo of nudity without consent, four counts of electronically furnishing obscene materials to a minor, and harassing phone calls.
It was reported last year that the former internet star was being held in Cherokee County Jail without bond.
Topics: Viral, Social Media, US News
Joshua Nair