Big Man Tyrone, President Of Kekistan, Tests Positive For COVID-19

Yesterday, YouTuber and entrepreneur Big Man Tyrone, whose real name is Gordon Hurd, announced on his YouTube channel that he recently tested positive for the coronavirus. In a somber, uncharacteristic video, Hurd explained to his fans that he contracted the virus in late November and has been struggling with recovery over the last week.

Over the course of the six-minute clip, Hurd described what his experience with the illness has been like, reiterating the severity of COVID-19 and its horrible symptoms. "How do I feel? I feel terrible," he said. "I've never felt like this in my whole life. This is different guys. This is like 10 different illnesses coming at you at the same time."

"It's coughing, burning sensation, your temperature rises and drops suddenly, you wake up in the night, there's no appetite, lips are chapped, you have a severe headache. It's so debilitating you can't even speak. Just talking to you guys now is a lot of effort."

Even acknowledging it himself at one point, Hurd added that the video was abnormal for him, as his channel and online presence is best known for its humorous content that's been shared on sites from 4chan to Reddit and many more since his debut to the internet way back in 2013.

In his announcement video, Hurd pleaded to his followers to take the coronavirus seriously, urging them to stay safe and protect not only themselves but others as well.

"Let me just seize this opportunity, guys, to plead with you and tell those of you that believe that there's no coronavirus — there is coronavirus, and it kills," he said. "People have died from it and I can see why people died. It's a 50-50 chance of survival for people in my age bracket. So do everything you can to protect yourself at all times. Don't go out without your mask, protect yourself. Take government guidelines seriously and do something about keeping yourself and others safe."

Hurd said he's received an outpouring of support from fans across a number of channels and social media, but added that he and his family have been facing debilitating conditions related to the virus. "I'm so grateful to you guys for all your support. Some of you have asked me if there's something you can do to support me, yes, I really need support at this time," he said. "Any kind of support that you can give at this time would be much appreciated because I now have to be in bed all the time, and the rest of the family, so we will need help to cover things like shopping and the logistics of getting people to come around and help us with those tasks."

Included in the video is a link for anyone who'd like to donate to Big Man Tyrone and assist his family during the recovery process while they're out of work and in quarantine. For anyone interested, you can check out the link here or find it in the video's description. "There's a link where you can help Big Man Tyrone and my family to overcome this really, really devastating situation we find ourselves in."

Hurd said he hopes to make a speedy recovery, get back to normal and resume making content for his fans in the near future. We're hoping for the President of Kekistan to make a swift and speedy recovery.