Edmonton Elks' Shai Ross pulls off impressive Oreo-dunk backflip

EDMONTON -

An Edmonton Elk has gone viral on Twitter after he dunked an Oreo into a glass of milk while mid-air.

Wide receiver Shai Ross woke up Friday to a video circulating the internet of him doing a round-off back-tuck while dunking an Oreo before landing the trick. The video, shared by USA Today, has gained attention from news outlets across North America.

“I honestly haven’t even had a minute to digest this. I really just woke up this morning and the phone was going crazy,” said Ross. “It looks like some big company ended up posting it on their Twitter and it kind of just took off this morning.”

 

 

 

 

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The CFL player who’s family has a gymnastics background said he grew up learning flips and now incorporates the tricks into his daily life. With three aunts who are high-level gymnastic coaches, Ross said almost every kid in his family can land “some sort of flip.”

The gymnastic background proved useful when Ross began coming up with unique stunts and posting the videos to social media. With the help of a videographer, the Oreo-dunk video took approximately 15 attempts.

“I went to the Walmart, bought some Oreos and some milk and within an hour we had shot this video,” he said. “These things just come to me at random.”

The video was take on April 10 in Winnipeg, but did not go viral until months later due to a company buying rights to the video.

While Ross enjoys incorporating tricks into his life, he will be taking a break from gymnastics to focus on the upcoming season.

“I’m in training mode. We’re coming down to the tail end of the longest off-season in history and I’m just putting the finishing touches on getting ready for the season,” he said. “I’ve been itching to get back out there. I feel like I haven’t played a game in almost two years – and I really haven’t."

• Edmonton Elks announce 2021 schedule, open new season at home on Aug. 7