THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN KYLE

     Can you imagine waking up one day and not knowing who you were? What you did for a living? Who your family was? And then still never recouping that memory even ten years later? That's what happened to this guy, Benjamin Kyle. He's been living his life in an information void. He doesn't know his last name, his hometown, or his occupation. He can't name a single friend or family member. 

     The mystery behind this guy who calls himself Benjamin started when police found him naked and unconscious near Savannah, Georgia. On August 31, 2004, Burger King workers called Richmond Hill Police when they found a naked man sleeping near their dumpster just off of I-95. According to a police report from 6:30 that morning, the man was semi-conscious, but couldn't respond to officers. EMS arrived minutes later. Their report says stated that no trauma was noted, but redness to the shoulders, face and head with total body covered in sores and rash. Paramedic thought the man may have received blows to the head from a blunt object. They transported him to St. Joseph's Hospital.

     The man recovered, but never recovered his memory. He decided to take his initials from the restaurant where he was found: "B.K." for Burger King and now calls himself, Benjamin Kyle. It's been more than 10 years, and Benjamin's story has been told in a documentary on the Dr. Phil and by numerous news organizations. Despite the exposure, no one has come forward to say they even recognize him. I have to admit, however, if you take a little off of the sides of his mustache, the guy looks like Adolf Hitler. Can it be? He traveled to the future? The guy is way too young to be Hitler, but come on; doesn't he look like him?

     When he appeared on the Dr. Phil show in 2008, he said, "Even though I don't know who I am, there are some things that seem right. Benjamin. That popped right up; I just knew that was my name. I'm 10 years older than Michael Jackson, to the day. And he was born on August 29, 1958. So that makes me August 29, 1948." How the hell does he remember that, but nothing else? Despite these vague memories, none of these leads have led to an answer as to who Benjamin Kyle really is. So, the mystery remains: Who is the man who calls himself Benjamin Kyle? If you think you might know this man, call the GBI tip line at 1-800-597-TIPS.  

JABBA THE HUT CRIES FOR HELP ON YOUTUBE!

I know that I just made fun of this guy in my title, but to be honest, after watching his YouTube video, I felt really sorry for him. I can't stop thinking to myself, though, how does one let themselves get that big? Is there some sort of disease that won't let you control your eating habits? I guess I just don't understand since I, personally, have a super fast metabolism and can pretty much eat large amounts of anything without putting on any weight. Then again, that could be an Asian thing.

Anyway, Robert Gibbs, who recently turned 23, felt hopeless with nowhere else left to turn, so the 600-plus pounds man pleaded for help using YouTube, and his prayers might have been answered! Gibbs, who also suffers from diabetes and cannot stand for more than just a few minutes at a time because his body is covered in sores. He currently lives in Livemore, California with his mom, sister, nephew, and niece.

In his YouTube video, Gibbs explained that he's fought repeatedly to lose the weight without any success. My guess is that the 30 soft tacos from Taco Bell and washing them down with Diet Pepsi wasn't working. Sorry, I had to! Anyway, in his video, Gibbs stated that he's tried to lose weight on his own, trying everything possible from diets, being hospitalized, and claims that he'd always done what needed to be done at the time, but he'd gain the weight right back. Creating a YouTube video was his last ditch effort to find help, as he stated, "I'm making this video to try and get it to go viral."

His clever gimmick may have worked! In just one day, the video racked up 200,000 views, and got the attention of the "Dr. Phil Show", who's already reached out to Gibbs and offered to connect him to weight loss guru and transformation specialist, Chris Powell. When Gibbs was told this news, he said, "I would love his help, he works miracles! I'm getting the exposure I needed. I better start getting ready for the tornado that's about to become my life. I guess it is a good birthday for me!" Well, ask and you shall receive, buddy!

Since the video went live a few days ago, it's scored nearly a million views and 20,000 likes. The positive response to his video has given Gibbs a renewed desire to get healthy for his family and his future. I think this is an amazing story! Not to mention, it's a Social Media Marketer's wettest dream to see something go viral like this. It is absolutely insane how Social Media can really get your results as long as you hit upon a topic that people will talk about. I'm happy that Robert Gibbs is getting the help he needs and I hope he posts video of his progress because I, personally, would love to see the end result! By the way, if Robert Gibbs reads this, sorry for the Jabba The Hut name in my title. There's nothing, but tough love here!

WATCH ROBERT'S YOUTUBE VIDEO HERE