Chuck Norris, move over, make way for the Boksburg version - Vernon Koekemoer. Vernon is the anonymous Boksburg man who became an Internet celebrity in two days. The latest South African icon was created via the social-networking site Facebook. The now famous photo, showing him dressed in shorts and a sleeveless shirt tied in the front at an H2O party in Boksburg, was widely circulated via e-mail.
Bryan Theunissen, who works in the advertising and marketing industry, is to blame for Vernon's success. After receiving the e-mailed photo, he decided to use it as an experiment in viral marketing and named the man Vernon Koekemoer. Damian Armstrong created a profile for Vernon on Facebook and a group, Make Vernon Koekemoer Famous. Damian asked that people help Vernon travel, interact with foreign cultures and experience the wonders of the world - "cut Vernon out of Boksburg and put him anywhere in the world." Soon Vernon Koekemoer was "spotted" at the summit of Mount Everest, on the moon, in Afghanistan, at the battle of Iwo Jima, at rugby and soccer matches. He became the star of a number of movies and featured in hit television shows. Vernon replaced The Hoff in Knight Rider, joined the A-Team. Chuck Norris got Vernon's picture tattooed on his arm. Vernon made the cover of Playgirl. Griffin created a Web site for all the photos. A blogger nominated Vernon for President under the banner "Vernon Koekemoer! Unarmed and Uncorruptable… No need for a machine gun." A girlfriend, K-Lo from Kempton Park, was created for Vernon.
The real man in the photo is J.C. (Cassie) Booyse, a regular at the Virgin Active Gym in Benoni. He's 51 and writes technical manuals for an armoured car company. He grew up and lives in Brakpan. His father was a gravestone maker, and his mother passed away last December. Cassie has three older sisters. A younger brother died in a motorcycle accident a few years ago. The divorced man has a 19-year-old daughter in university. He has a girlfriend.
