Tyson Medina, named after Iron Mike, is a Bengal cat with a large Instagram following. Photo: @tysonmedina_
Before writing for The Inertia, I worked at an online celebrity gossip publication. The type of place that regularly publishes content on Kim Kardashian’s butt or Gwyneth Paltrow’s love life. Shallow, trivial stuff. Basic, if you will. An unholy establishment that makes the Western world look bad to the rest of the planet, but also rakes in more unique viewers than any other English language publication (read: a sure sign of the apocalypse).
One of the more popular stories I penned – through grating teeth of resentment and forcefully reassuring myself that I was only there for the paycheck – was about Rihanna’s dog. It was like a double-whammy of clickbait. Rihanna, check. Fluffy little dog, double check. Heaps of clicks. And here I am, far removed from that world of vapid celebrity worship, but something drew me back.
The other day, I saw that Gabriel Medina had made an Instagram account for his new pet cat. A seemingly harmless act that many people, famous or otherwise, do when they have literally nothing better to do. But because of Gabs’ star power, particularly in Brazil, this cat is quickly becoming Insta-Famous. In just under a day, the four-legged pussy had the equivalent of a small town watching its every move, meow, and purr.
Meet Tyson Medina:
The cat even has its own email address for some reason?
The Bengal cat doesn’t have quite as many fans (yet) as Grumpy Cat, but it is certainly more popular than (probably) you and (definitely) me.
Point being that Gabriel Medina is a surf celebrity. People love celebrities. They follow them wholeheartedly and blindly. And if said celebrity decrees that their furry friend is worth paying attention to – something us Average Joe’s do, too – then followers will flock.
Proud parents.
