Mat Master Manuel -- Have His Followers Gone Too Far?

It all started on the Cuban Coast in 1957. Manuel Jose Ramone went for an early morning mat surf, and two of his schoolmates on the beach couldn't contain their enthusiasm...

Eventually, the following started by those two little friends grew to six!

As they matured into adulthood, more serious matters consumed their thoughts. "The Sacred Six," as they were known, began to dress is white robes, as a sign of Manuel's purity of spirit...

The "Cult Of Manuel" spread across the sea and onto the shores of the United States. It stretched as far west as the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills...

(Photo: Jarrett Adult Entertainment)

Hef and his inflatable buddies started to stage "Floating Bunny" swimming races...

World leaders would kiss up to anyone for a chance to touch Manuel!

A-List Hollywood celebs abandoned their own personal cult responsibilities to join in with the Manuel worshipers...

Nasa astronauts, madly in love with Manuel, schemed to smuggle him on board the Space Shuttle in a tiny inflatable biosphere...

Even Tom Wegener's blank supplier abandoned his delivery run up the Gold Coast and joined the Manuel craze! :-)

B.B. King's chauffeur, an affable chap named Eric...

...took to the streets and started tagging his hero's name all across Londontown!

But what of Manuel himself? How did he cope with the surrealistic pressure of becoming a full blown genius/cult hero? Some say he turned to smoke, drink, and public debauchery with friends. This photograph is a point of great controversy. Is it the real Mat Master Manuel, caught in a moment of weakness? Or is it a viscious, photoshopped attack generated by a twin-fanged media devil?

Only time will tell!