A picture of assorted nuts covers the back wall of the vehicle, behind the four seats of the rolling legume. The walls, slightly off-white, are fittingly reminiscent of a peanut shell’s inside coating. 

An approximately 30-inch TV, sometimes used for presentations and other times for Netflix, dominates the center of the Planters NUTmobile, directly across from the outward opening door. Drawings on the ceiling show Mr. Peanut’s evolution through 104 years in mainstream American culture — Baby Nut has yet to be displayed. 

This is Danny Higgins’ office — a rolling peanut–shaped van known as the Planters NUTmobile. Known as “Dry Roasted Danny” in the nut community, Higgins said he couldn’t picture himself in a traditional office. So, when he graduated from Syracuse last year, he made the van, one of three in the country, for his workplace starting that June.  

Now, he’s back on SU’s campus to recruit the next wave of “Peanutters” that will serve as one-year brand ambassadors for Planters when he leaves his post this June. Higgins and his two fellow crew members on the NUTmobile, Stephanie Lerner and Maggie Chandler, will host an informational session this Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Hall of Languages for interested students.

Higgins “came out of his shell” between his sophomore and junior years of high school, his mother Kelley Higgins said. He’d been involved in sports before that, but became one of the emcees of his school’s senior showcase and loved it.  

At Syracuse, he was an orientation leader and a tour guide. He also participated in an improv group on campus and joined the film fraternity, Delta Kappa Alpha. His junior year, he studied abroad in Chile, and as a television radio and film major, he lived in Los Angeles his final semester of college. That’s when he started falling in love with traveling and being exposed to new cultures, he said. And now, he’s in a new city every week, living out of a suitcase in a giant nut. 

His parents were caught off guard when he mentioned working on the NUTmobile, but given his personality and activities, it made sense. And given the marketing element of the job, he would be exposed to a new side of communications.

“The way he described it,” Kelley said, “it was just him.”

A typical week for Higgins and his NUTmobile partners starts with a drive — typically four to eight hours — on Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday are for them to explore the city. They’ll ask hotel managers or locals what the best spots are and try to find unique locations. Then on Thursday, they give presentations at local grocers or at local events.  

During their free days, because the NUTmobile is the only vehicle they have, the trio gets flagged down by bystanders that just love nuts. Recently, a man gifted them an old silver peanut dispenser. The NUTmobile crew now incorporates it into their presentation.  

Another time, Higgins remembers getting gas for the NUTmobile when people in bathing suits with inner tubes came up to them. They’d floated down river and would’ve had to make a long trek back to their car. So, Higgins drove them. 

Known as “Dry Roasted Danny” in the nut community, Higgins said he couldn’t picture himself in a traditional office. Corey Henry | Photo Editor

Chandler had a similar story when they were passing a parade on a rainy day. A group approached them soaking wet in German lederhosen, Chandler said, and she gave them a ride back to their apartments.

Through their travel, the trio have also had opportunities in the past to sit in the audience of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and “The Price is Right” in Los Angeles. Lerner said her former trio got a tour of the NBC Tower and the “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” set.   

As the NUTmobile sat parked on Waverly Avenue in front of Newhouse, a man tapped at the side of the shell, trying to get Higgins’ attention. He turned to his partners, who brought Higgins a bag of classic salted peanuts and a Mr. Peanut sticker. Higgins opened the side window, leaned out and handed the man both.   

“What about Baby Nut?” the man asked. The NUTmobile trio found a new Baby Nut sticker to hand him too.   

Being a “Peanutter” never stops. And that’s the way Higgins likes it.  

Published on February 12, 2020 at 12:07 am

Contact Arabdho: armajumd@syr.edu | @aromajumder