RIP Vernon Koekemoer: Remembering ‘The Myth, the Man, the Legend’ of SA

Cassie Booyse, who rose to instant fame as the internet sensation Vernon Koekemoer, passed away at his Benoni home at the age of 67 on Wednesday, 14 August.

Similar to iconic “alpha males” (think US actor Chuck Norris and Kenya’s Makmende), Vernon inspired many a meme, parody films, T-shirts and websites after a photo of the man with the muscles and mullet at an H2O rave party in Boksburg went viral in 2008.

The Vernon Koekemoer craze

Following the sighting at the H2O event, the then 51-year-old Vernon Koekemoer achieved instant cult-like status – without his knowledge.

In April 2008, The Star published an article revealing the identity of Vernon Koekemoer as Cassie Booyse, who had been unaware of his online fame, let alone the existence of Facebook, until his co-worker showed him “more than 400 photoshopped images” of himself. 

• If you want to stroll and scroll down memory lane, take a look at the serious collection of Vernon Koekemoer memes on Know Your Meme.

‘Chuck Norris and David Hasselhoff combined’

He became a popular addition to the Gauteng party scene, even releasing a CD mix of dance music, Vernon Koekemoer: Electro Killers (Putting the Ou back into Electro).

In 2009, “Vernon Koekemoer” was entered into the Urban Dictionary as “one of the newest internet viral celebrities and also an international tough guy”.

“He is the new Chuck Norris and David Hasselhoff combined into one awesome entity,” the inscription reads, followed by:

Vernon Koekemoer’ calendar goes straight from March 31st to April 2nd. No one fools Vernon Koekemoer.

WATCH: Nando’s ad with Vernon Koekemoer and Chuck Norris

In his heyday, Booyse appeared in a Nando’s advert with the legendary Chuck Norris himself making a cameo appearance.

In an interview with FHM, the humble boykie from Benoni confessed that he actually liked the name Vernon Koekemoer and the fact that he is obviously making people happy with his “alter ego”.

Health struggles

Over the last couple of years, several failed hip operations reduced the bulky bodybuilder to a mere shadow of himself.

Vernon’s health struggles began in 2018, according to Good Things Guy, when he began experiencing pain in his right hip due to advanced arthritis.

Without medical aid, he was left with no choice but to undergo hip replacement surgery at Tambo Memorial Hospital in January 2019.

Maroela Media previously reported that his partner of 11 years and fianceé, Linda Coetzee, blamed a doctor at the state hospital who, according to her, admitted that he put in the wrong prosthesis in the first operation.

After his second hip operation, his teeth began falling out, and he complained of severe pain. To her shock and surprise, Coetzee pulled a 30cm string out of Vernon’s wound that was left in after the procedure.

When the drainage of the wound got worse and resulted in additional pain, Vernon demanded a third procedure, which took place in February 2022.

Linda, who was with him in his final moments this week, shared with News24 that the couple never had the opportunity to officially tie the knot due to Vernon’s health issues.

“I stood by him,” she told the publication.

‘He was a wonderful man’

“Since he had all those hip replacements, he never really recovered,” Coetzee added.

According to her, the medicine and painkillers he had been taking after his hip replacement surgeries affected his stomach.

 Coetzee told Good Things Guy that she suspects he had developed stomach cancer as he had been having problems for several months.

However, due to his previous medical ordeal troubles, he sadly refused to go to the hospital.

Coetzee hopes that people can remember him as the legend he was:

He was a wonderful man. He was very generous.

“I loved him very much and I’m going to miss him,” she added

H2O Party pays tribute to Vernon Koekemoer

H2O shared their condolences with the family and honoured “the man, the legend and the myth” that was Vernon Koekemoer on its Facebook page.

“We received word yesterday from his longtime partner, Linda, that he had been very ill the past three months with stomach issues. He refused to go to hospital, due to his traumatic past experiences,” the statement read.

“RIP Cassie – we will always remember you on our dance floor. May you find eternal peace, where no pain or sorrow can reach you.”