My portfolios
This page contains a brief summary of the art, business, and community that I’ve created since October 2014, when I medically retired from the Marines and started taking life (kinda) seriously. I included my portfolios as an entrepreneur, film maker, stand up comedian, published novelist, and music producer.
As an entrepreneur
In my 30s I built two large businesses that exist to serve the American veteran and military community. Prior to this, my business experience consisted of personal training and running security crews for SDSU sorority formals.
I Founded this 501c3 non-profit in 2015 with Ryan Loya
Why? Because our friends killed themselves and we wanted to do something about it.
Mission: We bring veterans together using humor and camaraderie to build community, improve mental health, and prevent veteran suicide.
What do we do? We host events all over the country (and world) that bring veterans and active duty together in groups of 10 to 600 people. The events foster a culture of love, respect, understanding, and laughter that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the veteran community- and is needed to undo the wiring of our military experience. Our flagship event, called the Silkies Hike, is a combination of a parade and a half marathon that stops at parks and restaurants- to provide veterans with a space be themselves, be understood, and accepted. A Silkies Hike is high vibe day full of love and positive social interactions, and I’m proud to say it’s basically a military themed festival that promotes love and respect amongst veterans while walking, hugging, and laughing through American cities.
Founding Leadership - Danny Maher, Ally Mellon, Sam Brown, Cindy McNally, Nate McDonald, Colin Campbell
My Role: I created the first event and a barebones SOP that made it easy for others to replicate the event. Then I built a team of leaders, and together we created a better SOP for our events. Then I guided the culture of the community, the organization, and our leadership. I was the President for the first 2 years then (basically) voluntold Cindy McNally to be President, who brought a team of leaders with her including Nate McDonald and Colin Campbell. I built the Board of Directors, then served as Chairman - working exclusively with Cindy and Nate, who ran operations and with their team, built the organization into what it is today.
Finances - We’ve raised over 2 million since inception and we have a 93% Mission to Admin expense ratio!
I think it’s important to note that this organization was built by thousands of unpaid volunteers who believed in the mission and could see the impact that our events made on veteran suicide. Our full time staff was NOT PAID for the first 7 years of our existence, because our full time leadership agreed to put all the money we raised towards the mission. That was unsustainable, but it’s a testament to how efficient we were with our money, and how much people believed that their efforts through this organization would prevent veteran suicide. Our volunteers were driven by passion and impact, and they built IW into what it is today, which now has lots of paid staff!
IMPACT -
1) We have 85 chapters across the world, and have hosted thousands of events, bringing together 10-600 veterans per event.
2) In total over 120,000 veterans have attended our events.
3) We have THOUSANDS of testimonials from veterans who attribute Irreverent Warriors with directly or indirectly preventing their suicide.
I resigned as Chairman of the Board of Directors in December 2023.
I Founded the TV network “Veteran Entertainment Television” in 2016
Why? Because I didn’t like the way Hollywood told military stories. I wanted to tell OUR stories, OUR way. (Usually with a dark, f*cked up sense of humor)
What is it? It’s a streaming service made FOR veterans, BY veterans. Think of what BET is to the black community- Black film makers, telling black stories, for black people. Merge that with MTv (in the 90s), when it was counter culture, and had a “fuck the man” mentality, and merge that with Comedy Central, who can’t take anything seriously- and you get VET Tv, Veteran Television- in an app that functions exactly like Netflix for $6.99 a month. It’s a full scale production and distribution company that is funded by the AUDIENCE, not sponsors and advertisers, so we can make whatever the F*CK we want. (which is what our audience wants)
Mission: We recreate, satire, and celebrate the military experience for whose who've served, to build community and improve mental health.
Stats:
40+ scripted TV series that are mostly fictional recreations of true military stories, collected from the audience, and told with our sense of humor, which is usually dark and irreverent.
Examples of our shows -
“The Shop” - If “The Office” was about the soldiers who work in the Administration Shop of the 68th Armor Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, aboard Fort Bliss.
“Devil Docs” - If “Scrubs” was about the Navy Corpsmen who work in the Battalion Aid Station (BAS) of the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion on Camp Pendleton.
“Checkpoint Charlie” - “Reno 911” meets “Its Always Sunny,” about the Military Police (MPs) who guard the back gate of Fort Stewart.
“A Grunt’s Life” - The realism of “Full Metal Jacket” with the comedic writing of “South Park,” about a Marine platoon in Afghanistan.
“Kill, Die, Laugh” - The “Chappelle’s Show” of the military. Sketch comedies about serious issues that we can’t take seriously.
and 35 more…..
Each series has between 6-12 episodes that are 12- 30 minutes each. Most were written, directed, and produced in house.
My Role - We did a Kickstarter campaign and raised $300k, then I burnt the ships and used my life savings ($150k) to fund the company (plus $20k from my parents). Then I recruited a team of inexperienced comedic geniuses to make the TV shows and content for social media. I was the CEO for the first 3 years, while my partner John ran the marketing, budgeting, and operations. I eventually made him CEO so I could focus on creating the product. In addition to CEO, I served as the Chief Content Officer and Executive Producer of everything we made, also serving as the Showrunner (head writer) and Director of 6 TV series, and lead actor of two seasons of our #1 show, “A Grunt’s Life.” The rest of the series were made by the team of mostly inexperienced creative geniuses that I recruited and trained. (We trained each other)
Finances - $26 million in revenue and 400,000 total subscribers (over 7 years)
Impact:
1) A historical and cultural record of the American military and veteran experience, made by those who lived it, for those who lived it.
2) Hundreds of jobs created for veteran film makers and artists to do what they love, while serving a greater mission to build community and prevent veteran suicide.
3) Social Media following of over 4 million across all platforms, with 10s of billions of views.
4) Over 15,000, 5 star app reviews stating (basically) "This network and content is amazing, it made me laugh harder than I’ve ever laughed, and helped me feel like I’m not alone, and finally understood. Thank you for creating this for us."
5) Thousands of testimonials from fans who attribute VET Tv with directly or indirectly preventing their suicide.
I sold VET Tv to my partner John Acevedo in April, 2024.
As a film maker
I’m a screen writer, director, actor, and executive producer of TV series, movies, documentaries, and docuseries. As of 2024, all of my work as a film maker is published under the artist name, Donny O’Malley, and can be viewed in its full, uncensored form, on the streaming service, VET Tv.
Some of my work in scripted television took comedy across the boundaries of what’s considered acceptable - which is a nice way of saying “I made whatever I wanted, no matter how dark or terrible, and didn’t give a f*ck if you didn’t like it.”
Some of my comedy was done in an overly offensive, and even distasteful manner (my bad), but despite how crass and offensive some of my work may be, it’s important to recognize that millions of veterans and first responders, of many nations, are die hard fans. If we want to understand veteran mental health, we should study why so many veterans and first responders love my work in the realm of dark comedy.
This short explanation of titles should help you understand exactly what i did as a film maker.
Showrunner - I led a team of writers and was responsible for delivering the final script on time and on budget.
Writer - I was one of several writers, following the lead of the showrunner.
Director - I was the director on set (sometimes with a co-director) responsible for delivering the completed TV show on time and on budget to the company.
Actor - I had at least one role in the show. If it was a sketch comedy show, I usually had multiple roles across different episodes. If I was the lead actor of the show, I annotated it.
Executive Producer - I was responsible for providing the money (which came from the company, that I owned) I hired the Director, writers, and Showrunner, and I guided the writing process to ensure we had collaboration from the military community we were creating for. I also trained my writers and directors to the best of my ability, but really, we learned from each other.
Final Note
I don’t really identify as a film maker anymore because I’m embracing my new identity as a music producer and performer, but I AM a film maker and will always be. I use my experience as a writer/director/actor to market myself and my music, and eventually I’ll make movies again. (I’m done Directing TV series, but I’ll write some series treatments if we got a banger idea)
If you’re interested in collaborating as a film maker, whether that be a writing sesh, Directing a music video or sketch comedy, or if you’d like me to act with/for you, HMU.
Scripted Television
Movies
| Writer | Director | Actor | Executive Producer | Link to YouTube Video | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | A Grunt's Life | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | https://youtu.be/-sg_P_2XuTY?si=g0TitebOqohpt2Zp |
Documentaries and docuseries
| # of Episodes | Writer | Director | Actor | Executive Producer | Link to YouTube Video | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mental Hell and Wellness | 6 | Yes | https://youtu.be/pEELXvq0gyk?si=3Iq6iRI430OWzv2k | |||
| Let's Talk about the War | 6 | Yes | https://youtu.be/UW137D8NDtI?si=3msxFHlhSfkTAb_C | |||
| Hell or High Seas | 1 | Yes | https://youtu.be/WQhlP6hiyoA?si=9Ylwe_g5Oi_s0JuF | |||
| Interpreters Wanted | 1 | Yes | https://youtu.be/ZJteWDc3G90?si=JdvmTsxqxGSRwpeg | |||
| How I started VET Tv | 1 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | https://youtu.be/t5kruyhyEAo?si=-YV5gWpu7c-gGlse |
Web Series
| Writer | Director | Actor | Executive Producer | Link to YouTube Video | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Woman to Graduate IOC, discovered to have penis | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | https://youtu.be/-smiZCXFeps?si=2oCxocnesnRadnBT |
| Valhalla Fairytales: A parody of frustration | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | https://youtu.be/1qRusblRNgQ?si=bnPR3lhNMc4p1O4N |
| Valhalla Fairytales: Life on post | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | https://youtu.be/GWa86mWYObg?si=4IA7OHs1OBYufdIn |
| Vallhalla Fairytales: That First Nut | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLN4erzWm-Z0H3-lNjfSJaEwWpr3ZAJdbf&si=jQg-VayrQvagwKfB |
| OMalley Mic'd Up | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | https://youtu.be/k0lEBLOeBH8?si=8TgXG3WjUtreV7t3 |
Stand Up Comedy
| # of Episodes | Show Runner | Writer | Director | Actor | Executive Producer | Link to YouTube Video | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Embarrassing Confessions TOur | 1 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | https://youtu.be/wCfBqmoqsHU?si=BaHasSjTAHHt4nlt | |
| VET Tv 1st Annual Awards Show | 1 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | https://youtube.com/shorts/EKN42p-Fguk?si=PcK5mz2FPittMzlX | |
| Fire for Effect | 6 | Yes | https://youtube.com/shorts/Et27dRKWy38?si=-e-s2Zn3YnY2r7BD | ||||
| Busted Down | 6 | Yes | https://youtube.com/shorts/hCfFs8-rSzk?si=EtO8PbmeeUSRsppG | ||||
| Uncancelled | 6 | Yes | https://youtu.be/8q4nhMHXSJo?si=XJiT3Q_NowM9iNUm | ||||
| Dont ask, Don't Tell | 6 | Yes | https://youtube.com/shorts/vzIGpel7tQ4?si=dbTv8vtb5IRbcqRk | ||||
| Mandatory FUn | 6 | Yes | https://youtu.be/slgBZCC5EP8?si=QpSiDOnqtRZJzumQ |
Commercials
| # of Episodes | Show Runner | Writer | Director | Actor | Executive Producer | Link to YouTube Video | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Generation Kill vs WW2 generation | 1 | https://youtu.be/H0ACwnd8k9k?si=8j6LNU9Upwhi2rST | |||||
| Why you should watch VET Tv | 1 | https://youtu.be/okHwA_a9rXw?si=82YPdwf7EkY5XvFp |
PRESS
| # of Episodes | ShowRunner | Writer | Director | Actor | Executive Producer | Link to YouTube Video on the Donny O'Malley channel | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Vice Documentary | 1 | Yes | https://youtu.be/yTrNxi3Uclw?si=hNhz52q9Yy15klE6 |
As a Stand Up Comedian
I used to say, “I could never do stand up.” That changed in 2016 when I published 6 viral YouTube videos, and noticed fans in the comments asking me to do stand up in their city. I announced on Facebook that I would do a stand up in which ever city gave me the best response. I did my first show in Pearland, TX, and I was hooked…
The Embarrassing Confessions Tour
In May 2015, with the help of my best friend Christopher Michael, I developed a one hour stand up full of dark and raunchy comedy made specifically for combat veterans to feel understood- and performed it in 10 cities across the country, often in VFW’s and American Legions. The culminating event was filmed at the Balboa Theater in downtown San Diego in October 2016 for a sold out crowd of 250 people.
Click here to watch it on VET Tv
(promo code “donny” for 50% off)
THe Oceanside Silkies Hike - Standup special
In August 2018 I developed a 1 hour set intended to make veterans laugh and preach a message about female empowerment but I rushed the writing process and I didn’t tour it first to work out the kinks, so it wasn’t as good as my first stand up special- especially because I drank too much before the show. I performed it at the Star Theater in downtown Oceanside for a sold out crowd of 400 people. It still made a lot of people laugh and has some awesome moments, but, it’s not my best work.
That was also the last time I got drunk.
Click here to watch the stand up comedy special on VET Tv
(promo code “donny” for 50% off)
Click here to listen to my podcast on why i quit drinking
As a published novelist
Embarrassing Confessions of a Marine Lieutenant
A dark comedy about my last combat operation in Afghanistan
1,216 - 5 star reviews on Amazon!
WARNING! This book is highly offensive, and I recommend sensitive people do NOT READ IT! If you're feeling brave or have a dark sense of humor, carry on...
Synopsis:
A Marine Infantry Officer confesses everything he shouldn't: his bloodlust for killing Taliban, his desire to break his Company Commander's face and frag the battalion staff, his willingness to win a game of "gay chicken" at all costs, his personal mission to smash the female combat reporter who joined his unit, his sexual arousal at the sight of ED (Enemy Death), and his inability to take serious things seriously; while planning and executing the last combat operation of his deployment in Afghanistan; a nighttime helicopter raid named, Operation Branding Iron Part 2.1A. (Continued from National Geographic's "Battlefield Afghanistan")
This is undoubtedly the most honest and raw account of an Officer's thoughts and actions during combat that has ever been written. After publishing this book, Donny O'Malley's job options are now reduced to low level sales and day labor construction. It is still unclear how he ever made it out of the Marines without court martial. Senior officers will slam him, military historians will be shocked, and all civilians will be 100% certain he's psychotic. Fortunately, the book is written for the opposite of those mentioned above- It’s written for Enlisted guys.
My Roomie and Me
A Dark Comedy about domestic abuse in a latin-American family
17 - 5 star reviews on amazon, while hitting #1 in Latino Memoirs!
Synopsis:
While she laid on what she thought was her deathbed, my hilarious, Colombian-American Grandma finally shared the tragedy of her life. I learned that her dad abandoned her at birth, her mom sold her to be an indentured servant at 8 years old, her sisters outcasted her, and much to my surprise, I learned that my Grandpa beat the sh$t out of her, cheated on her, and verbally abused her for their entire marriage.
I could understand her dad leaving- her mom was a cunt, I could understand her mom selling her to the rich family - she had a great work ethic and was in the top 10% of the child labor market, but hearing about Grandpa's abuse lit a fire within me that I hadn’t felt since facing off against the Taliban. That night in the hospital, I decided to move in with them to teach Grandpa a long awaited lesson in respect.
This is the story of protecting Grandma from my 88 year old, proud, Colombian Grandpa who I grew up loving. If that's not weird enough, I was 30, a Captain in the Marine Corps recently home from Afghanistan (with a few screws loose), and I was living in their sunroom in a senior citizen community in San Diego. Grandma and I had a blast together, and Grandpa got what was coming to him.
Music Producer
I haven’t published anything yet, but when I do, YOU’LL KNOW.
Follow me on IG - @dannydiaz4u