Star of viral ‘Back it up, Terry!’ video launches GoFundMe to help fund wheelchair-accessible van

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - You may remember, “Back it up, Terry!” from the 2017 video showing Memphian Terry Davis trying to get away from fireworks but failing when his wheelchair malfunctioned.

Since the video went viral, Davis has become a social media superstar with requests for him to travel all over the country, especially during the Fourth of July holiday.

In the last five years, Terry has gotten support from all over the country.

His mother, Annette Carter, says, “People always reach out to us.”

Fans were even generous enough to get him a new wheelchair and a wheelchair-accessible van to help his grandmother get him around.

But one thing is starting to hinder Terry and his everyday travel.

“The van that he received a few years is no longer operable,” Carter said.

Davis needs a new wheelchair-accessible van, a high-priority item, to ensure his safety.

His family has started an online fundraiser to get one.

“The van helps out, I would say, 99.9% of the time. Without the van, we can’t go around to doing anything,” Carter said. “So without the wheelchair-accessible van, we can’t get him to his doctors’ appointments, get him to the store for his personal items.”

Although there is no shortage of “Back it up, Terry!” merchandise online, most of the profits don’t go to Davis or his family.

“There’s a lot of Terry shirts that you can... you can look all over the internet and find stuff. And this family doesn’t benefit from that,” said Dustin Miller, community services director for the City of Pampa, Texas.

So, all the way down in Pampa, where Davis is visiting this holiday, supporters have started to sell copyrighted shirts displaying a design with his signature.

“And one hundred percent of those shirt sales go back to this family and go back to their expenses,” Miller said.

Click here to buy a shirt that directly supports Terry Davis.

Or, if you would like to support Davis via GoFundMe, click here.

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