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Jared Frank poised to earn big bucks from kick-in-the-head video

Jared Frank, the Regina man who went from hapless tourist to internet sensation over a nine-second YouTube video of a kick to the head, stands to earn a substantial financial windfall from the experience.

Less than a week after Frank posted his video, it has attracted more than 22 million views worldwide. Frank was recently in Peru and tried to take a video of himself alongside a railway track while a train passed behind. As it turned out, however, a person perched on the front of the passing train delivered a boot to the head of Frank. The unusual video has proven to be of considerable interest and has led to Frank being approached by management agencies.

"I got all these different offers ... and they were all legit.," he told CBC News recently, adding it would great to pay for his trip to South America.

On Monday, after confirming he had agreed to work with a California-based representative called Jukin Media, Frank said he was told his video could earn in the range of $2 to $16 per 1,000 views and he would get a 70 per cent share. Precise details will not be known until YouTube releases its regular mid-month report on view tallies.

However, as it stands now, the formula could generate from $30,000 to $250,000 for Frank. There is also a potential for additional revenues from licensing agreements.

Things have happened so quickly that Frank, 22, is admittedly cautious about how things will turn out.

"I'm a little worried, but I have a decent relationship with the licensing company, so I trust them," he said Monday. "I did a lot of research first."

Frank said he will spend his earnings on film school, adding he is hoping to finance a few film ideas he is working on.

The exposure has also added some 6,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel. He has also been approached by other YouTube stars, such as Peter Chao, to generate more content. Chao is a Canadian video blogger and comedian.