Meet Derek Thornley of Howell

Today we’d like to introduce you to Derek Thornley

Hi Derek, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started making gaming YouTube Videos back in 2015 when I was just 13 years old. The name “ChunkeyMonkey40” has a very funny story behind it. My mom’s friend would always call me Chunky Monkey because I had chubby cheeks. So when my dad got me and my brother an Xbox 360, it should’ve been no surprise that I would choose it as my gamertag. Only someone had already taken ChunkyMonkey as their gamer tag, so I had to add a number. Originally, the 40 was supposed to be 401 (the Titanic’s shipyard number). When I retyped in Chunky, I spelled it wrong by including an E. The 15 character limit was reached and the one was cut off… so ChunkeyMonkey40 stuck. It wasn’t until I had started YouTube and someone pointed it out in the comments that I realized chunky was spelled wrong. But it’s stuck ever since. I don’t plan on correcting it either.

I had done one where I made the General Lee Car from “The Dukes of Hazzard” TV Show in Grand Theft Auto 5, it got a lot of hits as I was amongst the first to do something like that. Then my Dad and I went to the 2017 Detroit Autorama and were front row for the General Lee Jump that took place outside of the Cobo Center. I also got to meet Catherine Bach and Tom Wopat at that event. The following year I met John Schneider at the Autorama, him and I have since become friends. From there I began making more and more Dukes of Hazzard Fan Videos such as going to Covington Georgia to showcase the filming locations, documenting some of the Dukes of Hazzard Fan Events that have taken place around the country, and earlier this year I made a 2-part documentary with John Schneider honoring The Dukes of Hazzard’s 45th Anniversary.

While making Dukes of Hazzard Videos, I also made some videos talking about Kid Rock. I competed in his General Lee Hoodslide Competition at his 4th Annual Fish Fry, and had been a massive fan since I was a little kid. I mean, how could you live in Michigan and not love Kid Rock! In 2021, Kid Rock invited me over to his house in Nashville for the day to hang out. It was such a blast, he gave me a full tour of the property (which has a replica of the White House at the top of his mountain, massive recording studio, a church, and a camouflaged double wide trailer in the back). The full story of that visit is on my website (chunkeymonkey40.com). In 2022, Kid Rock invited me to the VIP Booth at his Nashville Bar, “Kid Rock’s Bigass Honky Tonk” where he introduced me to Tucker Carlson. At the Honky Tonk, he also gave me his watch. It’s silver and iced out, it’s really cool!

Earlier this year, Kid Rock’s people set me up with a media pass for his event “Rock The Country” with Jason Aldean down in Ashland, Kentucky. I was going there to make a vlog showcasing my experience at Rock The Country, and to show people what the event was all about.

At Rock The Country, I linked up with Sadie Bass (who is also a Michigan Native) to do some videography for her. She was opening for Aldean that day. It was really cool getting the opportunity to do some video for her and to be able to go up on stage in front of nearly 40,000 people.

Both Kid Rock and John Schneider have been so great to me, they are amongst the nicest celebrities I have ever met. Genuine, very humble and down to earth folks who enjoy helping others. It’s pretty cool to say that I’m 21 years old and have met and befriended my Childhood Heroes.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has definitely been a roller coaster. Struggles along the way? In 2019 I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. I get an IV infusion every 8 weeks to help me with it, but having that disease really limits my energy levels and also what I can or can’t eat. There’s times when I’ll be working on a big project and I will have a flare up… that makes it very hard for me to do really anything. It brings me down sometimes, but I always get back up and get back at it.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I would say that I’ve become a big part of The Dukes of Hazzard and also Kid Rock fan bases. I personally feel that in media these days, it’s a very under-fed market so it is pretty cool to be able to bring that stuff to light in a way with my platform.

I am most proud of my video editing skills. I feel like my videos stand out from the rest because of the attention to detail that I put into each and every one. My video on the Dukes of Hazzard Filming Locations is probably my greatest video, but I’d say that “My Experience at Rock The Country” shares the number one spot with that video.

A particular project that I take a LOT of pride in though is the “Stand Up General Lee Trilogy” from last year. The Stand Up General Lee is a General Lee Wheelie Car that was built by one of the Warner Brothers Mechanics, Richard Sephton. The car was intended to be used on the Dukes in the very last episode, but it wasn’t ready in time. Upon the car’s completion, Rich had intended for it to be a promo car for Stroh’s Beer and was gonna do Wheelstands in it at drag strips across America. He never got the opportunity to do that with it because he went through a nasty divorce with his ex wife, and the car was illegally sold at a police auction. It was hidden out in Washington up until 2003, when Rich tracked it down and got a Federal Court Order to get the car back. He got it back for less than a year before the people in Washington got a State Court Order and wrongfully took it back from him. Rich passed away in 2007 from diabetes, losing the car hurt him badly. It been unseen by the public until 2022 when the Volo Auto Museum in Volo, Illinois was offered the car. They bought it, and I worked with both them and the Sephton Family to tell the full story of the car in detail. I also videoed the public unveiling of the car at the museum, and all the proceeds from the event were donated to the American Diabetes Association.

It was an honor to be able to tell Rich Sephton’s Story last year, and to get to see his car up close.

I try to make every new video outshine the last one. I try to learn or try something new each video, and I won’t publish it until I know for sure that it is perfect. If I can watch the video all the way through without checking my phone or getting bored, then I know it’s done.

What matters most to you? Why?
Staying true to myself. I say “Stay Rebel” at the end of every video because it means to be yourself, regardless of what anyone thinks of it. Social Media Trolls tend to find my videos every so often and try to tell me that I’m a racist because of my love for The Dukes of Hazzard. Those people, they have clearly never seen that show before. That show is all about love, and teaching young viewers to always do the right thing and stand up for what you believe is the right thing to do. In the Dukes, the right thing was stopping Boss Hogg’s crooked schemes, protecting their farm and Hazzard County. The Dukes were the type of people to stop on the side of the road and change a tire for anybody, regardless of what their religion or skin color was. They never were hateful people, and everybody loved them up until 2015 when the media began painting this ridiculous image of the show having been racist because of the Rebel Flag on the top of the General Lee. That flag represents the south, Dixieland! That’s why it was on the General Lee. Technically, it’s the Confederate Navy Jack flag for the Tennessee Army. It had little significance in the civil war, but since it was a cool flag it stuck around. Growing up, all I saw that flag as was the Dukes of Hazzard Flag. The redneck flag. The Rebel Flag! These days, I still look at it the same way. I love everybody, I get along with practically anyone I talk to. I understand that people have a different interpretation of the flag, but hey that’s your right as an American to believe what you want to… and although I may not stand with your opinion of the flag, I will stand up for your right to say it.

But when I say Stay Rebel, that means to stay true to your beliefs and be who you want to be in life. If that means you wanna be a god fearing man, transgender, or just live life everyday to the fullest like I do… I support it. Doesn’t bother me one bit, I understand that we all are different and diversity is what built this country. This country was founded on disagreement, and I think it’s a good thing to an extent as long as we can talk in a civil manner and find common ground. Don’t Tread on Me, I won’t Tread on You. It’s very simple. We as a country need to learn to coexist with one another, and it starts with hearing each other out and respecting one another’s beliefs. We don’t have to agree on every single thing to be friends, in the end of the day though… we are ALL Americans.

I don’t have a hateful bone in my body, I’m a nice guy. But I don’t respect people who try to tell me what I believe because I know what I believe.

One final thing, Waylon Jennings wrote these lyrics for The Dukes of Hazzard Theme Song, and I feel like it summarizes everything I just said:

Justa good ol’ boys, Never meanin’ no harm
Beats all you never saw been in trouble with the law
Since the day they was born
Straightening the curves, Flattenin’ the hills
Someday the mountain might get ’em, but the law never will
Makin’ their way the only way they know how
That’s just a little bit more than the law will allow
Justa good ol’ boys, wouldn’t change if they could
Fightin’ the system like a true modern day Robin Hood.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://chunkeymonkey40.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chunkeymonkey40/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chunkeymonkey40/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/chunkeymonkey40/
• Other: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiwXbnHdcRbE67z7pyT2_5yWrR7JBoYwf&si=ForoIfx6E7JSOt3S