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How a fitness influencer's morning routine turned Saratoga into a viral sensation

Fitness influencer Ashton Hall's crack-of-dawn water-dunking ritual turned a bottled water brand into the internet's most unexpected overnight sensation, proving that sometimes, going viral is just a splash away.

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Joe
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While most of the world is deep in slumber, dreaming of peaceful landscapes and cosy beds, Ashton Hall is dunking his head into a bowl of ice-cold Saratoga water, performing push-ups that would make military trainers draft him, and essentially living a life that seems more like a fever dream than a morning routine.

The 29-year-old fitness coach and former college football player from Florida has transformed the mundane act of waking up into a spectacle so bizarre and captivating that it has amassed a staggering 700 million views across social media platforms. What started as a seemingly straightforward morning routine video has become a moment where the internet is both horrified and mesmerised.

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Hall's day begins at an ungodly hour of 3:54 a.m.; by 4:04 a.m., he's already doing push-ups. By 5:47 a.m., he's dunking his head into a bowl of ice water, a practice he repeats later, just in case the first dunk wasn't shocking enough. There's journaling, motivational video watching, treadmill sprinting, and a rooftop pool dive that brazenly ignores a "No Diving" sign. And then, in a twist that has left the internet collectively scratching its head, he rubs a banana peel across his face – supposedly for skincare, though it looks more like a comedy sketch.

The internet's response has been nothing short of explosive. Parodies have sprouted faster than Hall can do push-ups. 

 

But it's not all just laughs. Academics and social commentators have delved deeper, questioning the underlying messages of such content. Makana Chock, a communications professor, highlighted concerns in a media report about the portrayal of masculinity, noting how women in the video appear only to serve Hall, potentially reinforcing toxic masculine stereotypes.

Beyond the memes and parodies, Hall's viral moment has had tangible real-world consequences, particularly for Saratoga Water. A closer examination of Hall's social media accounts reveals that Saratoga isn't just a one-video wonder, but a consistent feature in his content. Intriguingly, none of these appearances are labelled as sponsored, suggesting a potentially genuine affiliation.

Hall seen with cartons of Sartoga water in one of his videos.

The business impact has been nothing short of extraordinary. According to data shared by a Saratoga spokesperson, the viral video and subsequent memes caused the brand's social media followers to spike by nearly 11% in just a week. The trend's social media reach is equally impressive, with a combined total of 1.26 billion impressions.

The viral sensation even briefly influenced the stock market, causing shares of Primo Brands (Saratoga's parent company) to rise by approximately 2% on the Monday morning following the video's release. The company has also embraced this with its artwork and memes, along with other brands that jumped on this as soon as they could.

Hall's social media numbers have reached 4.8 million TikTok followers, nearly 10 million on Instagram, and 2.96 million YouTube subscribers. His catchphrase – "So, looking at it, bro, we've gotta go ahead and get in at least 10,000" – has entered the cultural lexicon, spawning countless memes and imitations.

Hall seems acutely aware of his internet fame. His most recent video shows him scrolling through the memes and parodies about himself. "You've made your first 10,000," he says with a smirk, "Congratulations. We've got to do at least 20, bro."

Is it inspirational? Ridiculous? A marketing genius move? Perhaps it's all of these things. What's certain is that Ashton Hall has transformed the humble morning routine into one of the most viral marketing trends of the week.

mouth taping Ashton Hall Saratoga water