This is a headgum podcast.

Want to watch this episode? Check it out on our YouTube channel by going to

YouTube.com slash doughboys media.

Back at it again at Krispy Kreme.

So begins one of the most memorable posts of all time on the now-defunct video sharing

app, Vine. The sub six-second clip starts with that direct-to-camera sign on, followed by the

speaker, Interior Donut Shop, Night, executing a spectacular series of back handsprings,

climaxing with the acrobat accidentally kicking a large lit sign off

the store wall. The dizzying sequence ends as the heavy neon donut signboard plummets to the

floor, but notably before impact, which only adds to the video's impact. Back at it again

at Krispy Kreme went viral many times over after its 2014 circulation by gymnastics clip aggregator

fab cheerleader, but its star was unknown for years before a thoroughly researched 2016 New

York Magazine article by Brian Feldman identified him as an Atlanta-based tumbling instructor named

Aaron. Aaron said the impromptu routine led to a visit from the cops, resulting in him deleting

the clip from his own account and distancing himself till the heat died down. But it was additionally

an inadvertent bit of viral marketing for an 87-year-old North Carolina-based donut chain,

which endured economic turmoil from over-expansion in the early 21st century and is now stabilized under private ownership.

In recent years, it's engaged in fruitful brand partnerships, acquiring Crumble competitor insomnia cookies, later flip-for-profit,

launching a successful pilot program to offer its donuts inside McDonald's, and in January 2025, debuting a crossover with

grocery store toaster pastry, Pop Tarts. The signature non-serial offering of Kelanova,

which rebranded from Kellogg in 2023, apparently because it didn't sound enough like a defense

contractor from Robocop, Pop Tarts debuted back in 1964, after a development process

...