FORT WORTH, Texas — They say clothes make the man, but they don't know Clayton Walker.
For years, Walker has had four shirts hanging in his closet that he never picked for himself but will always keep close to his heart. They belonged to his father.
"He passed away when I was one," Walker said.
He was raised by his mom Julia. And now that he's 21, he knows how hard it was for her.
"What I remember is just my mom playing both roles," Walker said. "She's been my mother, and she's been a father figure my whole life. She's had to play both roles as a parent."
Today, he's working and studying, with dreams to become a history teacher and baseball coach. He has grown enough that when family members see him, they also see his late dad.
Through the years, Walker said he has only grown closer to his mom. They often spend time together, doing date nights together regularly.
This week, he decided to take her to the movies.
"We had been wanting to see 'The Lion King,'" he said. "Great movie by the way."
For the occasion, he decided to reach into his closet and pull out one of his father's shirts to surprise his mom.
With his cellphone camera recording, he stood in front of her in the shirt for the first time. The tears came to her eyes almost instantly.
"It was such a surreal moment when I put it on and I could fit into it," he said. "As soon as she turned, she knew the shirt. And you can just see it in her face how happy she was."
Over a two-day period, Walker's video was watched more than 10 million times on Twitter. He said he was amazed how many people have reached out to him because they have also lost a father or are raising a child without a dad.
"They've been asking for advice on what my mom told me, and how I made it through," Walker said. "It's crazy that all of these people are going through the same thing."
But no one is happier than his proud mom.
Even in your father's shirt, sometimes what really makes a man is a mother's love.
"It's a beautiful thing whenever you become so close," Walker said.