South Africa’s Lion Whisperer Does it in Style…

South African “lion whisperer” Kevin Richardson’s videos of him playing, wrestling and hugging lions have become famous throughout the world. But his latest one has a very stylish twist. In this video Kevin plays football with the lions whilst dressed in a very larni suit.

The video, which was created for fashion house Van Gils, has received over 1-million views on YouTube in just ten days!

Van Gils recently signed a three-year contract with the Dutch national football team (KNVB) and will therefore be their official tailor for the forthcoming FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

Faced with the quandry of how to announce this news in the Netherlands whilst every other brand is clamouring for publicity and an association with the World Cup, Van Gils’ ad agency SSSS & Orchestra came up with this campaign with Richardson which shows their support for the lion which is the country’s national symbol and represents courage.

“But the lion is in danger. As a result of barbaric hunting practices and illegal trade, amongst other things, the wild lion population is in sharp decline,” the company says in a statement on their website.

“That is why we have joined up with Kevin Richardson to make a stand for the lion. Kevin Richardson is a true ambassador for Van Gils and just like us Dutch he feels closely connected to the animal. He has been working with wild lions for many years. He calls them, hugs them and even puts on his Van Gils suit to play football with them. But above all he takes care of them.

“He embodies the idea of No Stitch, No Story. His scars and stories prove his courage and confidence. He risks his life to bring the wild lion all the attention and support it needs at the moment.

“Van Gils is helping him and will donate 50 euros from each KNVB suit to the Kevin Richardson Wildlife Sanctuary.”

Video: A World’s First: South Africa’s Kevin Richardson playing football with wild lions 

“Van Gils believes that the right clothing gives men the confidence to get the most out of life, and Kevin doesn’t just do that for himself, but he also does it for the lions”, says Robert Meijer, CEO of Van Gils.

Richardson, an animal behaviourist who enjoys a unique relationship with large predators, aims through his Wildlife Sanctuary to provide a “self-sustaining African carnivore sanctuary for the purposes of wild species preservation through education, awareness and funding, especially pertaining to the rapid decline of large carnivores in Africa due to habitat loss, human-predator conflict, unscrupulous hunting, disease and their illegal trade.”

There were rumours that the video may be fake…due to a mix-up with a fake Facebook page. Kevin Richardson himself announced the video on his Twitter page on 10 May, and on May 18 he retweeted Van Gils’ exciting news that the video had received more than 1-million views so far.

Update, 20 May 2014: SAPeople contacted Richardson through his approved Facebook page about the rumours and here is their message:

“We think there has been a slight misunderstanding regarding a video that is circling around the internet. Last week we presented you with Kevin’s new commercial for Van Gils. Very shortly after that, somebody started using that video, and pictures from it, saying they were Kevin. We have now been successful (I hope) in getting the impostor pages removed, however you should all know that this IS Kevin, and he had a fantastic time playing soccer with his friends!”

More Info

Kevin Richardson’s Website: http://lionwhisperer.co.za/