What’s the story behind the viral image of an unconscious guy lying in front of a fish tank?

You may have seen a curious image of a man lying unconscious in front of a giant fish tank all over social media. It’s not immediately obvious what’s happened, who this is or what’s going on, so here’s some answers to clue you in.

First up, here’s the image that’s going viral and how it’s being received:

And so on:

Great composition:

So, who is this mysterious unclothed man and why is he collapsed in front of a giant fish tank?

A cautionary tale

This man is Brian Owens, 42 and the incident took place in a Bass Pro Shop in Leeds, Alabama on Thursday 4 Jan. Immediately before the leap Owens had intentionally crashed his car in the store’s parking lot, before entering, disrobing, and performing a “cannonball leap” into the tank.

Owens reportedly emerged from the tank to argue with responding officers before diving back in, swimming around naked in what appears to be a wilfully exhibitionist manner. But while his entry to the water was relatively graceful, his exit was not.

After climbing over the lip of the tank Owens fell several feet, bouncing off a stone ledge, hit his head and landed with a wet splat on the store floor. From there he was dragged away by cops before someone, mercifully, covered him with a blanket. Owens was handcuffed and went on to resist arrest, damaging the responders’ patrol car in the process.

He has now been charged with public lewdness, resisting arrest, assault, criminal mischief, and reckless endangerment. Owens’ family has apparently confirmed he suffers from mental illness, so let’s just hope he gets the care he needs to recover.

The poor bass inhabiting that tank may also need some counselling.