BROOK PARK, Ohio — A Brook Park man is now a viral sensation after a visit to a museum in Washington D.C. literally knocked him off his feet.
Gregory Heinzman was visiting the International Spy Museum with his best friend, Casey Peck, on Oct. 22.
In the museum, there is a virtual exhibit that shows what appears to be a giant great white shark in a tank. The exhibit is located in an area dedicated to villain Karl Stromberg. There’s a sign warning visitors:
“What would Stromberg’s world be like? Find out as you experience the residents in our virtual shark tank but be careful — you never know when one might attack!”
Peck said on Facebook that she went into the exhibit room herself first and noticed the huge television with the animation video of the shark.
“I noticed the sign above the screen and it says ‘touch at your own risk’ (that’s where I got the idea from for the title of the video),” she said. “I realized that the video meant to scare people so I brought Gregory to the room. I decide to tape Gregory’s reaction to the video. It was a perfect reaction that caused a viral.”
Heinzman said he had no idea what to expect from the exhibit.
“I didn’t expect that a shark would’ve popped up,” he said. “Somehow my body automatically fell.”
Peck posted the video on both Facebook and YouTube on Oct. 22. So far, the Facebook post has been viewed over 14 million times. On YouTube, it’s gotten over 1.7 million views.
Heinzman said he never expected all the attention he’s gotten over the video.
Peck said in a follow-up Facebook post Oct. 24:
“We just want to say thank you for all of the sharing, making this viral. It is only a 20-second video of Gregory being scared by a shark. However, we hope to use all of this attention for a better purpose in the future such as videos and posts related to current issues in our world.”