Sometimes an apparent failure gets the ball rolling. Such was the case with Shayden Walker of Amarillo, Texas. The boy’s urgent search for playmates has become known through a TikTok clip of his neighbor Brennan Ray.

Much clicked video

Brennan recorded the boy’s visit with his door camera and later posted it to his TikTok channel. We see Shayden in a “Jaws” shirt excitedly asking his question about 11 or 12 year old kids “because I need some friends really badly”. When referring to a house down the street, it turns out that Shayden knows the two boys there – but they are not suitable as playmates because they bullied him and are therefore no longer his friends.

Brennan took it to heart

“I could hear the innocence and vulnerability in his voice,” Brennan told the DailyMail. When asked about a child of his own, he told the boy that their little daughter was only two years old. Shayden beamed and shared how much he loved playing with his sister when she was little. A little dejected, he said goodbye afterwards.

Brennan and his wife, Angell, couldn’t let go of the story — and to do anything at all, they started a GoFundMe donation page for Shayden.

Emotional text for the clip

Brennan wrote of his clip: “It only takes two seconds to make someone’s day. You never know what people go through until you’ve spoken to them. This young lad is well mannered, kind and brave. So TikToker, can we help Shayden make friends?”

He had hit exactly the right note, as the comments prove. Everyone is amazed by the boy’s courage to take his fate into his own hands.

Shayden’s life has changed

Shayden’s mother has turned down the money raised from the donations, and the family has no financial problems. But just like the boy’s stepfather, she is overjoyed at the many encouragements. Her son had become “a completely different child” and much happier than before the visit.

A recent clip of Brennan shows him visiting the Walkers with his wife and child and all enjoying a few hours of fun.