Dan and Phil are often shipped together (people thinking they would look cute together). Their ship name is Phan because Dan+Phil=Phan. Dan and Phil first met in person on October 19, 2009 in Manchester, where Phil lived at the time. Dan originally was a fan of Phil's, because he started in 2006. Dan "stalked" Phil for three years, and they ended up messaging on twitter in 2009. This started their friendship, and they soon met later that year.