Meet 'Big Man Tyrone,' the President of Kekistan

Gordon Hurd, 4chan’s longtime unofficial spokesperson, has stepped on to whole new ground in his career as a professional testimonial video maker: the politics of ironic meme culture.

Just yesterday, Hurd donned a military uniform and declared war on the “normies” once again, this time featuring Kekistan flags placed prominently in the background. The video shot up to over 100,000 views in under 24 hours, having been widely circulated on 4chan.

Better known by his online nickname 'Tyrone,' Hurd grew up in Cameroon, Africa before moving with his family to the United Kingdom in 2004, a place he has called home ever since. In 2013, the 51-year-old father of five began offering testimonial videos on the online marketplace Fiverr, where he would read just about anything customers would send him for just $5 a pop.

In December that year, Hurd drew the attention of 4chan users who had begun circulating ridiculous anime-themed testimonials produced in collaboration with Roger Stockburger, a fellow Fiverr vendor from Australia who used to provide a nearly identical service. Hurd was subsequently enlisted by Anonymous as a challenger against Stockburger in a sort of anime testimonial war, during which he earned his famous nickname in a video titled “Tyrone, the Lolicon.”

In March 2014, Hurd launched his own YouTube channel, where he embraced the moniker “Tyrone” as his own personal brand. Later that year, he branched out from Fiverr to create his own custom video platform, offering a wider variety of services to fans.

Testimonial videos like Hurd's made a brief comeback earlier this year, most notably in a highly controversial video by YouTube's most subscribed user, PewDiePie, who found himself in the hot seat after posting a clip of two Fiverr vendors holding a sign reading “Death To All Jews.” The resulting fallout led PewDiePie to immediately apologize, claiming he "didn't think they would actually do it."

Earlier this year in March, Hurd released a video titled “The Meme Jihad,” in which he displays a flag for the faux-ethnic state of shitposters known as “Kekistan“, declares a holy war against normies and proceeds to yell “Reeee!“ into the camera. Needless to say, it was a huge success among 4chan and Reddit users, becoming his 5th most-viewed video ever.

In May, Hurd declared himself the president of Kekistan in a video titled “Tyrone Seizes Power, launches official Kekistan tee,” in which he announces his own line of Kekistani flag t-shirts. One month later, Hurd launched a contest to grant a free testimonial video to 10 customers who sent in a picture of themselves wearing the shirt. To those who might cheat using Photoshop, Hurd provided the stern warning, “I’ll squeeze your balls so hard, you’ll scream.”

Surprisingly enough, the scripts for many of Hurd’s new Kekistan videos were not submitted by fans but written by the man himself. “I’ve been really pleased with the views,” Hurd said in an interview with Know Your Meme, remarking about the success of earlier videos like “The Meme Jihad.” It certainly seems to have paid off.

While Hurd’s future career in the internet meme world remains unknown, his success thus far is an inspiration for anyone trying to make a living off of viral fame. With over 190,000 subscribers on YouTube, a thriving online business and an endless supply of dank memes, things sure look bright for 'Big Man Tyrone.'