Cork business owner Kevin Cummins 'bemused' at reaction to viral video

FORMER captain of Cork’s minor hurlers, and one of the founders of Cummins Sports, Kevin Cummins, says he is "totally bemused" by the immense reaction his spoof exercise video has received.

On Monday, the 75-year-old sent the internet into overdrive when he recorded himself replicating stretches outlined in a fitness video by former Irish amateur golf champion Peter O’Keeffe — the husband of Kevin’s niece, Mary-Claire.

The video, posted on the Cummins Sports social media pages, amassed almost 90,000 views on Facebook in less than 24 hours, and now clocked up over 127k views on Facebook alone.

The five-minute video shows Kevin practising some stretches, one involving the handle of a brush, after which he rates each move as green, orange, or red, depending on how difficult he found it.

The spoof video in which Kevin demonstrates "how to get fit and stay fit" was posted in the family WhatsApp as a bit of a joke, but it has now garnered international attention.

"The video was totally off the cuff," Kevin told The Echo. "It was my first time ever filming myself. 

"I’m told it’s gone viral now and that’s totally a foreign concept to me.

"My phone has been hopping the last few days with messages from people in the United States, Canada, The Bahamas — it’s astounding," he said.

Kevin has been a well-known GAA figure in Cork for many years having captained the county’s minor hurling team to All-Ireland success in 1964. He is also a former English teacher in Coláiste Chríost Rí.

While he currently has no intentions of making another video, there’s certainly a demand for more content.

"Yes, there certainly is a fierce demand for more videos, but there are no plans at the moment," he said.

"Maybe if that Peter O’Keeffe fella gets on my goat again, I’ll do another one," he joked.