I hated being an internet meme for 18 years but now I’ve finally decided to cash in
and live on Freeview channel 276
As the unwilling star of a viral meme 'Fish and Rice Cakes Guy', he suffered cyberbullying and embarrassment after starring in a the BBC Three documentary aged 16, called Baby Faced Bodybuilders, where he described his frugal diet and exercise routine.
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Hide AdIn it he says: “At 2 o'clock, I'll have fish. Four o'clock, just before I train, I'll have fish and a rice cake. I'll train, I'll have me fish, and I'll come home, have some more ...”
But now, to reclaim the title - and do something positive with it -he's launching his own rice cake brand. Called Danny's Rice Cakes, they will first be coming out in both white and milk chocolate flavours containing 15g protein per cake.
Danny, who moved from Ulverston to Cottam over a decade ago, runs Danny's Barbershop in Cadley Causeway. The 34-year-old said: I've funded it all by myself, I've put my life savings into it.
"It's going to be the best product on the market- the best taste, the most protein, the macros are amazing, it's unreal”, hge said. "For 18 years I did nothing with the fame, and one guy who uploaded the meme made £66,000. "I hated it, I was subject to cyberbullying, and it's only recently that I've decided to do something positive with it."
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Hide AdHe added: "I've got an 18-year-old brand already, ready to go. You think of Tony the Tiger and it's Frosties, you think of a rooster and it's cornflakes, you think of rice cakes - and you think of me!"
To make his vision a reality, Danny has partnered up with a friend who has also make a financial contribution, and lockdown fitness influencer Stephanie Clark - aka the Protein Queen, who produces her own range of low sugar, protein rich, foods snacks and treats. Danny said he and his business partner would meet up with Stephanie on motorway services for taste tests as they looked to get the product off the ground, and then bought a factory equipment to make the dream a reality.
They've then had to wait a year for the results of testing into the likes of sell by dates and nutritional values.The products will launch at 7pm on June 23 from Danny's website, with the plan to then get them in gyms and then in shops.
Danny said he's even got celebrities onboard to promote the product. He added: "It's time to turn what was a negative into a positive."
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