A ScotRail worker from Dundee has revealed his obsession with Irn-Bru and the origins behind his superhero alter-ego.
Stephen Reilly – better known to his 155,000 online followers as Irn-Bru Man – has more than 2.7 million likes on TikTok.
Stephen dresses up as a character inspired by his favourite orange drink, whose mission is to “protect” Scotland from rival beverages Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
Speaking to Original 106, the 39-year-old offered a tongue-in-cheek explanation for how he came to create his fizzy drink-inspired hero.
He said: “I think when I was in my mum’s womb she drank a radioactive Irn-Bru, and that’s how Irn-Bru Man was born.”
Stephen claims his “wife would murder me” if she found out how much he spends on Irn-Bru but it is thought he downs dozens of cans every month.
He says all his social media stunts – including showcasing an arsenal of weapons made from empty cans – are to make as many people laugh as possible.
He has even released three songs about his love of the drink to date.
He said: “All my songs are about Irn-Bru but the best one is Pop into the Shop – which is a wee jingle about what to do if you run out of Irn-Bru.”
‘They talk about me at board meetings’
Despite his efforts to keep Coca-Cola and Pepsi out of Scotland, Stephen has not yet been contacted by AG Barr, the company behind the famous drink.
However, he joked that the firm is trying to work out if it can send him a cease and desist letter.
He added: “When I started as Irn-Bru Man and got to 25,000 followers, I did an Irn-Bru bath for TikTok wearing Irn-Bru pants.
“The logo wore off because, being a man, I didn’t know how a washing machine works and I did them on a 90°C wash.
“So I sent a heartfelt e-mail to them (AG Barr) to see if I could get another pair and they had one pair spare they sent back.
“Apart from that, they don’t follow me or anything like that.
“I have been told that they speak about me and board meetings and that’s really about it.”
Reliving his Irn-Bru bath, Stephen recalled turning “a wee bit orange” and not realising how cold 50 bottles of Irn-Bru would be.
He also teased the release of a fourth song in the coming weeks.
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