A young boy was shown on television eating a whole watermelon
He had been in the crowd at a big bash match in Melbourne on Saturday
He became an instant hit with fans, quickly being dubbed 'watermelon boy'
By about 8pm on Saturday, #watermelonboy was trending on Twitter
Fans seemed more interested in him finishing the whole fruit than the result of the match
It has been revealed he is the son of radio host Tony Schibeci
If you want to get famous in 2016, you could try going down one of the traditional routes - say, work very hard, exploit your natural talents and hope to win public recognition for your achievements.
10-year-old Australian boy who ate a whole watermelon, including its skin, at a cricket game in Melbourne, Australia has achieved cult status after his stunt was rated as the 'First Viral Hit of 2016'.
His bizarre technique of chewing right through the rind with apparent relish caught the eyes of many and he was quickly elevated to stardom
Mitchell Schibeci was captured on live television enthusiastically munching on the fruit as he watched the Melbourne Stars-Melbourne Renegades clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday. Commentators at the MCG were shocked to see him chomping into the fruit, skin and all
Soon, the hashtag #watermelonboy began trending on Twitter.
"Cricket has a new hero. Splendid work on demolishing an entire watermelon young man. Well played," one user said.
"#Watermelonboy you are an absolute inspiration mate," another wrote.
As the cameras kept returning to Mitchell, viewers started tweeting about him, making #watermelonboy the number one trending topic in Australia, and number five worldwide.
The People magazine said, kid eating an entire watermelon at a cricket game is the 'First Internet Hero of 2016'. Mitchell, now dubbed as the "watermelon boy", told the BBC that he devised the stunt to get his face on the game's big screen. He said that eating the whole watermelon was tougher than expected.
"I saw people do crazy things, like that mullet boy who got on television, so I thought I might try it too," he told Channel Seven News.
"Halfway through it I felt sick, but at the end I felt good.
However, in an interview with the BBC he claimed that he's a longstanding whole-melon-eater, saying: "I've been doing it for a long time - I just like the taste of it."
He was also keen to stress he hasn't let all the attention go to his head: "I'm not really a hero, I'm just a normal average kid."
