Who is Davis Clarke, Boston’s ‘locked in’ motivational influencer? 

Spouting chronic positivity like a motivational LinkedIn post come to life, Davis Clarke has been likened to everything from a golden retriever to Boston’s answer to wholesome influencer Tony P. 

And fans on Instagram and TikTok can’t get enough.

Skyrocketing in popularity over the last several months, the Winchester native now has hundreds of thousands of followers tuning in for his snapshots of daily life as a “locked in” go-getter in Boston’s Financial District. They’ve turned Clarke, 27, into an unlikely social media star and the subject of more than a few viral memes. 

Because in Boston, a city that once cracked the top five rudest locales in America, Clarke is something of an oddity. He greets passersby on the street, spouts motivational quotes on the regular, and actually enjoys his morning MBTA commute. (“The Lowell Line is extremely consistent,” Clarke says by way of explanation. “And they’re also very friendly when we get on the train, too. So shout out to the Lowell Line!”) 

To some, Clarke’s steadfast positivity seems improbable, his inspirational quotes trite. But others see in him a refreshing authenticity amid an era of internet cynicism. His core values are straightforward: Build people up, and find the joy in everyday life. 

“Overall, I just want to try to do good things,” Clarke said. “Maybe at some points I do get too excited, too energetic, or I’m talking too much. But really, it’s all well-intentioned at the end of the day, and I never mean to hurt anyone.”

Who is Davis Clarke?

Clarke credits his upbringing in Winchester as one of several positive influences in his life.

“It’s filled with great people who have strong values and just do the right thing,” he said of the suburb located about 8 miles north of Boston. Following stints at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Fidelity National Information Services, Inc., Clarke landed a job at Citizens last fall. 

And if you thought a career in finance and a side hustle as a social media influencer weren’t enough, he also dabbles in endurance races like triathlons and marathons. 

“Still definitely finding my way in my career, still trying to figure out what life is all about,” Clarke said of his lifestyle. “Just going through the process and trying to have fun every step of the way.”

He started making videos around the start of the pandemic in 2020, prompted by one of his brothers. 

“We started doing these workouts with our friends just down at the Winchester track, lots of really good people we’d grown up with,” Clarke explained. “And we just said, ‘Hey, we want to just inspire America.’”

So they filmed their workouts, and Clarke, who didn’t really use social media at that point, posted them to an old account left over from a college assignment. For years afterward, his online footprint was mostly limited to workout videos, with the occasional podcast thrown into the mix. 

Flash forward to September, when Clarke posted a video from his morning commute, showing him and a friend hyping each other up before his second day at Citizens. That one racked up about 50,000 or 60,000 views. 

“We thought that that was really big at the time. Now, I mean, some of the videos get millions of views, so it sounds small. But then I realized, OK, maybe there’s something here,” Clarke said. “So over the next couple of months, every now and then we put up a video on the train, kind of around the office, in the buildings.”

In January, after one of his videos drew millions of views, Clarke went from posting once or twice a week to every day.

“I have this saying, ‘Hey, we’ll run the ball until they stop us,’” he said. “It’s a football saying, but anyway, until the momentum stops, we’ll just keep producing at least one a day, trying to give the people what they want. And once they don’t want it, then I’ll just stop again.” 

Chirping back

As his videos show, Clarke can find a way of hyping up even the most blissfully mundane moments of a young professional’s life: Grocery shopping for oatmeal and raisins. Sneaking in an early morning workout. Preparing for monthly meetings at the office. The internet went wild for his use of the phrase “locked in” to describe his daily tasks, akin to a pro athlete putting themselves in the zone for a big game. 

“In one sentence, I’d say ‘locked in’ is just 100% focused on the task that you’re doing,” he explained. “And whether you’re locked in for one minute or 10 hours, in my view it all counts.”

On the flip side, Clarke’s zest for everyday life has also made him a target for online vitriol, though most of his comments these days skew playful. 

“I genuinely can’t tell if this is a bit or not,” someone wrote under one of Clarke’s posts.

“This guy reports his birthday money to the [IRS],” one person joked.

“I want to make fun of him, but somehow I’m inspired…?” another commented.

But Clarke tries not to let the comments get to him. 

“I have a lot of great friends who will reach out and say, ‘Hey, how are you feeling? Are these negative comments getting to you?’ Because the people truly will make fun of me for how I look, how I act, what I’m doing that day — pretty much anything, they’ll come up with some type of chirp or comment,” he said. “But I also realize that’s probably the number one reason the account started getting more traction, is people would put up negative comments and in some way it boosted the algorithm.”

He also pointed out that his comments have grown increasingly positive in recent weeks. 

“That’s really what it’s all about: Just showing in the end, hopefully, the good in people can win out,” Clarke said. “And I feel like that also captures Boston, where a lot of people do like to talk trash, make fun, have jokes, but at the same time they’re all really good people.”

Behind the scenes

While his follower count continues to grow by the thousands, Clarke hasn’t seen much of a change to his day-to-day life. 

“I still get up, commute in, and see all the same great people. We try to do good work. And really, for me, life has been mostly the same,” he said. “Every now and then people will come up to me on the streets and say they really liked the positive messages, to keep it going. But for the most part, it’s mostly normal.”

Clarke films his videos on the spot — usually in selfie mode — and tries to keep each clip to around 15 or 30 seconds at most; he knows his viewers are busy with their own daily hustle. And while he might share a good joke he’s heard recently or an inspirational quote he’s read, Clarke also aims to be honest when he’s stressed, sick, or experiencing life’s ups and downs.  

“I try to share that as well, just to keep it true to who I am, that everyone has challenges at certain points, no matter how much you try to stay with a good outlook,” he explained. 

Perhaps most surprisingly: Clarke spends, by his own estimate, around half an hour or less on Instagram most days. 

As his platform has grown, he’s also been asked about monetizing his content, though he says money isn’t his ultimate goal. For now, the focus is on helping others.

“I’m trying to do as much as I can, just as much time as I have, because I also don’t know — it could easily end a day, a week, a month from now, and then it’s just back to just as it was before,” he said. “But as long as I have a chance, I’m gonna make the most for everyone. When opportunity knocks, I’ll answer.”

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