- Dana McLendon is a Tennessee-based lawyer best known for his hilarious “Hot-Crazy Matrix,” a satirical guide to dating that went viral in 2014.
- The self-appointed consigliere of the Camden Mafia and terrorist mouthpiece revealed the exclusive timeline of events leading to the day the viral clip was recorded.
- McLendon shared intricate behind-the-scenes details of the viral video in an intriguing interview with Jay Cutler.
- According to the former Franklin City Alderman, the whole thing was improvised, prompted by his friend and YouTuber James Yeager.
Dana McLendon Explains Hot-Crazy Matrix Origins
The matrix idea first came up at McLendon’s law office, where he was advising a regular client who had been arrested for minor offenses.
According to McLendon, the client was caught in a chaotic relationship with a partner whose behavior frequently pulled him into legal trouble.
In an effort to help the client break the cycle and save on attorney fees, Dana explained his now-famous matrix and eventually sketched it out for him.
The client was clearly blown away by McLendon’s emergency crash course on women. Afterward, McLendon shared his formula with a handful of friends for laughs.
Guys instantly related to it and even suggested common female names that seemed to fit the “Danger Zone, “Fun Zone,” and “No Go Zone” regions of his famous Hot-Crazy female graph.
Dana’s client was apparently involved with a woman fitting what he jokingly called the “danger zone,” a category that included redheads, hairdressers, and strippers.
Among other dramatic traits, these women were described as exhibiting chaotic behavior, sometimes including acts like slashing tires or causing repeated legal trouble for their partners.
Dana McLendon Films the Hot-Crazy Matrix
In an “Uncut with Jay Cutler” episode, Mr. McLendon describes the day he filmed the video as a typical working day.
The viral Tennessee lawyer attended court in Camden, Tennessee, where he was representing a client.
He then met some of his friends after leaving the courthouse. One of them was James Yeager, who is a tactical and firearms instructor from Camden, Tennessee.
“The day we made the video, we had no idea. We did not know we were going to see each other, we had not talked about the hot-crazy matrix, he had never seen it, nothing,” says Dana in the interview.
On their unexpected meetup, the two went down to Yeager’s premises to catch up and drifted into casual conversation.
According to McLendon, their conversation took an unexpected turn, prompting him to sketch out his Hot-Crazy Matrix on the back of a target at Yeager’s shooting range.
“That’s funny, you should do a video of it!” said James, who had a YouTube Channel titled “Tactical Response Crew” at the time.
Moments later, Dana McLendon was ushered into a classroom complete with a whiteboard and tripod-mounted camera to record his female guide for men.
James Yeager introduced him to his 250K YouTube subscribers before handing him the floor to present his now-controversial matrix video.
Yeager can be heard laughing in the background and engaging with McLendon as he delivers his casual pro-bono class.
In just one superb take, Dana successfully recorded the hot-crazy female matrix, setting the stage for a male version, as requested by Yeager.
“This was not one where I could laugh at my own joke. I did it deadpan, and I almost cracked up one time. If you listen carefully, you could hear two women there who had not seen it before. They were snickering, trying to be quiet, and I almost cracked at that point, “ explains Dana.
Hot-Crazy Matrix Goes Viral
The spontaneously recorded clip was an instant hit, attracting millions of views within days of its upload.
Local media in Tennessee described him as a self-styled dating expert, with the witty video becoming his only claim to fame.
According to Dana, the video received mixed reactions, with some viewers relating to and enjoying it, while others were more critical.
The Tennessean, a local publication, reported that Dana had received critical calls urging him to “take sensitivity training.”
His wife, who later discovered the video, told him to take it down just 30 seconds into watching it. She later playfully declared herself a “unicorn,” alluding to the “Unicorn Zone” mentioned in the video.
Dana places the “Unicorn Zone” between 5 and 7 on the crazy scale and above 8 on the hot scale. He notes that women in this category are virtually non-existent and jokingly suggests that men should “safely capture” such individuals for further study.
Another client terminated Dana’s services after discovering he was the person in the video.
Dana had been handling the client’s custody case, but was dismissed after the client’s girlfriend expressed disapproval of the video.
The city of Franklin, where Dana had served as Alderman for years, was forced to dissociate itself from the video, stressing that the viewpoints presented in the video do not reflect the views of the city of Franklin.