When did Nautica Malone die? Crowd assembles to remember the 'goonicide' guy

Recently, a crowd assembled to remember the Arizona man called Nautica Malone. He started trending after exposing himself in a drive-thru coffee shop. After the news went viral, Malone committed suicide on January 11.

Following that, netizens started referring to his passing as the first "goonicide" of 2025. The word "goonicide" is a combination of the colloquial terms "gooner" and "suicide" where "gooner" describes a man who engages in self-pleasure-related behaviors over prolonged periods of time. Additionally, the term "gooning" describes the act of doing the same.

Trigger Warning: This article contains references to suicide.

Later, user @scubaryan_ uploaded a video on X on January 25, where people could be seen gathering around in Arizona for his "gooneral," a combination of the words "gooner" and "funeral." It lasted 20 minutes before the police allegedly shut it down.

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Nautica Malone got famous as the ‘goonicide’ guy

Nautica Malone, an Arizona man, started a social media trend called 'Goonicide,' which is a combination of "gooning" and "suicide." This happened after Nautica Malone was allegedly gooning when he went to the Bikini Bean Barista drive-thru without his trousers on.

The incident was captured on camera and shared on social media. However, rumors that Nautica Malone had apparently taken his own life started to circulate a day after that video was posted online.

As per TMZ’s January 15 report, according to the cops, an employee stopped Nautica Malone as he was driving through and saw that he was not wearing pants when accepting his order.

They added that while Malone was still completely n*de from the waist down, the worker informed her manager as she rolled up to the drive-thru window. According to the same report, the manager pulled out her cell phone and took a video of Malone enjoying himself.

As seen in the viral footage, the first thing the staff said to him was, "Hi, how are you?" before asking if he had visited the store before. Nautica Malone then said, "Yes." On the other hand, it was clear from his expression that he was aware that he was being filmed.

Then, stating that whatever he was doing was inappropriate, the staff requested him to leave. Then she asked someone to dial 911. The Maricopa County Medical Examiner reported that following the event, Malone, 27, went to Goodyear, Arizona, and committed suicide on January 11, 2025.

After that, the video was posted on social media, where it immediately gained millions of views. Millions of people commented on it, accusing Malone of touching himself improperly in front of the manager.

Tempe Police later told TMZ that on the night of Malone's suicide, January 11, members of his family arrived at the coffee shop and became "aggressive" with the employees. They further alleged that "Malone had killed himself over the incident."

Furthermore, as per Tribune’s report from the same day, some argued that Nautica Malone might have been overwhelmed by the public exposure. In contrast, others thought the possible legal repercussions of his actions, such as indecent exposure charges, were not serious enough to justify such a tragic outcome.

On the other hand, as per the same TMZ report, Ben Lyles, the owner of Bikini Beans Coffee responded to Malone's death and expressed their condolences. He also told TMZ that they are still dedicated to the security of their workers. The statement read:

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the individual involved during this difficult time. This was an unfortunate and tragic situation. As a company, the safety our employees is always our top priority."

It continued:

"In this case, an individual chose to commit a crime at one of our locations. We take incidents like this very seriously and remain committed to protecting our team and maintaining a safe and respectful environment.”