Wie die bliksem is Vernon Koekemoer?

April 3, 2008 - 19:44 — FranklyWrankles

FranklyWrankles meets the H-2-Ou who out norrissed Chuck Norris, hassled the Hoff and made Riaan Cruywagen passé.

Once upon a time the man now known as Vernon Koekemoer was a normal bloke from Benoni. On an ordinary day he pulled on his tight black acrylic shorts, tied a firm knot in the figure-hugging blouse that showed his spectacular muscles off to their best advantage, and blow dried his mullet before heading of to Wild Waters. He was standing on the verge of Boksburg’s famed water park, absent mindedly flexing his biceps when click! His photo was taken and a legend was born.

Within days the man who put the moer back in koek was a hero. His photo was emailed around the country and he became a viral sensation quicker than you can say boertjie. Now you can't open your mail box, go to FaceBook, read the news or Google without Vernon popping up somewhere.

But who the hell is this WildWater Rambo? Apparently he's a hell of a friendly but incredibly shy. Despite the fact that he can kick Chuck Norris' arse stukkend, out Els Ernie, save Zimbabwe, and kill the grendle Beowulf couldn't, Vern is not lapping up celebrity and has been dodging the media for weeks.

Vernon Koekemoer's mystique growing

The legendary status of the man known as Vernon Koekemoer has continued to grow, with the newly invented character attracting thousands of followers.

Images of Vern, a well-built man in rugby shorts, a checked blouse knotted at his navel and chunky rave boots sporting a mullet haircut, have been manipulated to show him waiting on the moon as Neil Armstrong arrived, embracing Kate Winslet in the famous Titanic scene, being acknowledged with a "V for Vernon" salute by George Bush and in countless other historic situations.

By Tuesday, more than 360 digital images and numerous Internet blogs, online discussions, two groups on social network site Facebook and even a cellphone ringtone had been dedicated to a man who has maintained a low profile since a photograph of him taken at the H2O rave in Boksburg on March 8 began circulating the globe.

Meanwhile, the real-life Vernon, who has not yet come forward to literally claim his fame, is contemplating several requests from the media for an interview and thinking over his options.

'I've seen him in quite a few raves. He usually wears just a T-shirt

Last week The Star attracted a great deal of feedback by publishing an appeal for information about Vernon Koekemoer.

Several muscle-bound readers called in to say they recognised him as a regular at the Benoni Virgin Active gym.

One e-mail claimed he was a security guard for a company and wished to keep a low profile, while another said he was a pit boss at the Emperors Palace casino.

"I've seen him at quite a few raves. He doesn't usually wear that strange waistcoat thing, just a T-shirt, which he then knots in the front, so he still looks the same," said one female caller.

A group on Facebook, called "Make Vernon Koekemoer Famous", had more than 3 200 members on Tuesday and was growing by the hour, according to creator Damian Armstrong.

The character Vernon Koekoemoer - as he was originally named - was created by Bryan Theunissen, who is in the advertising and marketing industry.

He received a photograph taken by "a friend of a friend" at the H2O party in Boksburg, named the man in the picture and circulated the original image as an experiment in so-called viral marketing.

The Star has discovered the true identity of Vernon Koekemoer, and has been in touch with his agent.

"The Koek has just come back from Richards Bay and is back at work today. I'm meeting with him on Saturday and then we'll let you know what he plans to do," he said.

This article was originally published on page 10 of The Star on March 26, 2008

Vernon Koekemoer having his 15MB of Fame

The saying used to be “15 minutes of fame”. Now, thanks to the online world, it’s 15MB of fame. Well, maybe even 15GB of fame thanks to broadband connections.

Everybody knows Chuck Norris, but if you’re South African and you’ve been online recently (or you’ve seen the latest Vodacom ad), then you might have heard of Vernon Koekemoer!

Who is Vernon Koekemoer?

His real name is Cassie Booyse, but that’s obviously not how South Africa knows him.

To rest of us, he’s Rambo Guy from H2O!

Why is he famous!

Because he is VERNON KOEKEMOER!!!

posted by james on geniosity musings

Move Over Chuck, We've Got Vernon Koekemoer

Die Vernon Koekemoer Legend

Die Vernon Koekemoer Legend

Vernon Koekemoer is not his real name. It was an email that went around with the first pic on this thread, saying "Rambo spotted at H2O" just mocking such a wierd looking person. Then someone named him Vernon Koekemoer and started a FB group called Help make Vernon Koekemoer famous, and from there everyone started photoshopping.