Fitness influencer Ashton Hall has taken the internet by storm over the past week thanks to his controversial morning routine.
However, long before the 29-year-old left social media divided over his daily grind, he was chasing the NFL dream. Or so it seems.
In the wake of his morning routine video going viral, social media sleuths unearthed a tweet from the Baltimore Ravens’ official X account dated June 17, 2010.
‘The #Ravens waived 5 young players Thursday: DB Brad Jones, DB Ashton Hall, CB Courtney Smith, DL John Fletcher and G/C Daniel Sanders,’ the post read.
The post, which has since enjoyed a viral moment of her own, left fans stunned as they believed they had made the connection between the internet sensation and the cut defensive back.
‘No wonder he started this,’ one account replied to the post alongside a screenshot from Hall’s video showing him placing his face in a bowl of ice water.
Influencer Ashton Hall went viral over his bizarre morning routine that begins before 4am
Fans unearthed a 15-year-old tweet from the Baltimore Ravens that appeared to reference Hall
‘When you get cut by the Ravens,’ another wrote, sharing the same shot from the viral video.
‘ravens waived WHOOOOO,’ one stunned fan demanded, while another asked: ‘YOU CUT MY GOAT?’
‘His future floated in the air for four minutes until Baltimore dove into cutting him,’ a fifth added, referring to a moment in Hall’s routine video that shows him diving into a pool.
However, others were quick to clarify the situation as they insisted that the fitness influencer wasn’t the same man as the axed NFL player.
An Ashton Hall was indeed signed by the Ravens in 2010 after playing collegiately at Marshall before ultimately being cut following a few offseason workouts.
However, in 2010, ‘online coach’ Hall was still only 15 and not even yet playing college ball.
Hall did in fact have football aspirations of his own. After leaving high school, Hall played running back at Alcorn State University in Mississippi. The Braves compete in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
Across the 2014 and 2015 seasons, Hall appeared in five games. He finished his college career with just eight yards from six rushes.
The 2010 post sparked an internet frenzy as they believed the Ravens cut the online coach
However, they misidentified the player with the Ashton Hall mentioned a different man
Hall did in fact play college football at Alcorn State before transitioning to a personal trainer
With his footballing dream dramatically fizzling out, the Jacksonville native transformed his physique, became ‘addicted’ to fitness and began working as a personal trainer. He now has nearly 9m Instagram followers and his morning routine has flooded social media.
His original Instagram post has more than 6million likes and the video – reposted by ‘Tips for Men’ on X – has amassed more than 722million views in just five days.
‘Day 191 of the morning routine that changed my life. 3:50am to 9:30am,’ Hall wrote alongside the video.
‘Sin lives late at night.. if you’re dealing with a weak mind, bad decisions, or lack of productivity go to sleep early.’
The video shows him waking up at 3:50am – with tape covering his mouth – before going through an exhaustive process of preparing for the day.
It includes push-ups at 4am, wiping his face with banana peel and dunking his head in icy water.
