How one funeral director turned authentic social media content into millions of views, national attention, and real business growth.
What happens when a funeral director decides to stop creating the same content as everyone else and starts showing up as himself?
For Dan Madden, better known online as Dan the Funeral Man, it led to millions of views, a trip to New York Fashion Week, a national campaign with Pringles, and an entirely new level of attention for his funeral home.
And now, he’s bringing his viral FashUrn Show to the DISRUPT Media booth at the 2026 NFDA Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.
I recently sat down with Dan for a Facebook Live conversation about his journey, the success he’s experienced through social media, and what funeral directors can learn from the way he’s built his brand.
There’s a lot more to his story than funny videos and walking down a runway holding an urn.
Dan is the owner of Stark Memorial in Salem, Ohio, and a first-generation funeral home owner.
He’s also become one of the most recognizable personalities in funeral service on social media.
His content doesn’t look like what most funeral homes publish. He uses humor, personality, creativity, and education to get people interested in a profession they typically don’t spend much time thinking about.
One of his biggest successes has been the FashUrn Show.
The concept is simple. Dan takes the presentation of a fashion runway and uses it to showcase urns in a way people have never seen before.
It’s entertaining. It’s different. And it gets people talking.
His FashUrn content has generated millions of views, including a viral success that reached approximately 15 million views.
But the views are only part of the story.
One of the most important things about Dan’s success is that he’s not just an internet personality.
He’s a funeral director who operates a real funeral home.
His social media success has been associated with approximately 30% growth at his funeral home.
That’s the part funeral directors need to pay attention to.
At DISRUPT Media, we talk all the time about the importance of becoming the best-known funeral home in your community.
Best known is better than best.
That doesn’t mean being the loudest or doing outrageous things for attention. It means creating content that makes people familiar with you, comfortable with you, and more likely to remember you when they need your services.
Dan has figured out how to do that by being himself.
He’s not hiding behind stock photos, generic funeral quotes, or the same content that every other funeral home publishes.
He’s showing people who he is.
And people are paying attention.
What started as a creative social media concept eventually took Dan all the way to New York Fashion Week.
After his FashUrn videos gained national attention, Dan was invited to participate in a runway show with designer Haus of Harleen.
Think about that for a second.
A funeral director from Salem, Ohio, created content about urns that generated enough attention to land him at New York Fashion Week.
That’s the power of creative content.
It creates opportunities that traditional funeral home advertising simply doesn’t.
Dan’s success didn’t stop at Fashion Week.
He was also selected to participate in a national Pringles Halloween campaign built around the unusual story of Fredric Baur, the inventor of the Pringles can, who had some of his ashes placed inside one after his death.
The campaign features Dan and brings the conversation around cremation, personalization, and memorialization to an entirely different audience.
It’s another example of how content can open doors that nobody could have predicted.
A funeral director creating videos about urns is now working with one of the most recognizable snack brands in the world.
You can’t plan for something like that.
But you can create the kind of content that makes opportunities possible.
I don’t think the lesson here is that every funeral director needs to start walking a runway with an urn.
That’s not the point.
The lesson is that consumers respond to personality, creativity, authenticity, and content that gives them a reason to pay attention.
Most funeral homes are still publishing content that looks exactly like what every other funeral home is publishing.
And then they wonder why nobody engages with it.
Dan’s story challenges that approach.
You don’t have to copy what he’s doing. In fact, you probably shouldn’t.
But you should be asking yourself what makes your funeral home different, what stories you’re not telling, and what your community would find interesting about the people behind your business.
Social media gives funeral homes the ability to educate consumers, build familiarity, and create relationships long before someone needs to arrange a funeral.
That’s where the opportunity is.
Dan and I recently sat down for a Facebook Live interview covering his journey as a funeral home owner, his social media success, the FashUrn Show, and the opportunities that have come from building his personal brand.
If you’re a funeral director trying to understand how social media can create real business opportunities, this is a conversation worth watching.
We’re bringing the FashUrn Show to the DISRUPT Media booth at the 2026 NFDA International Convention & Expo in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Dan will be walking the runway and showing off FashUrns live at our booth.
FashUrn Show: DISRUPT Media Booth #1641
If you’re attending NFDA, make sure you stop by.
We’re bringing a little creativity, a lot of personality, and something you probably haven’t seen on an NFDA exhibit floor before.
And if you’re not attending, watch our Facebook Live conversation to see what all the excitement is about.
Who is Dan the Funeral Man?
Dan Madden is the owner of Stark Memorial in Salem, Ohio, and a first-generation funeral home owner. He’s known on social media for humorous, educational funeral content, including the viral FashUrn Show.
What is the FashUrn Show?
The FashUrn Show is a runway-style presentation where Dan the Funeral Man showcases urns the way models showcase fashion. His FashUrn videos have generated millions of views, including one that reached about 15 million.
Has social media helped Dan the Funeral Man’s business?
Yes. Dan’s social media success has been associated with approximately 30% growth at Stark Memorial, along with national opportunities like New York Fashion Week and a Pringles Halloween campaign.
Where can I see the FashUrn Show at NFDA 2026?
At DISRUPT Media Booth #1641 in the Charlotte Convention Center on Monday, October 26, and Tuesday, October 27, at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Do funeral homes need to go viral to benefit from social media?
No. The goal is to become the best-known funeral home in your community. Consistent, authentic content that shows the people behind your business builds the familiarity that brings families to you.
DISRUPT Media helps funeral homes, cemeteries, and crematories become impossible to ignore through creative content, social media, and video marketing.
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