Decatur business owner Zach Blenkinsopp became an internet star earlier this month after his “Buy a roof, get a gun” promotional video became a viral sensation.

Bare-chested and sporting tight shorts and a patriotic cowboy hat, the video features Blenkinsopp guzzling a beer and drinking bourbon from a bottle. The short video also features a prominent display of his muscular “guns” and the AR-15 rifle to be given to new customers.

Blenkinsopp on Friday said the video wasn’t meant as a grand political statement, though — as a Navy veteran — he is a Second Amendment supporter. Instead, he and his business partner Chris McGuire wanted to create something that would create interest in their company, Digital Roofing Innovations.

“There was a huge hailstorm on March 1, and we wanted to grab everyone’s attention,” Blenkinsopp said. “We wanted to talk about the hailstorm, but that was boring.”

Blenkinsopp, who has immediate family in Limestone County, explained his roofing company began in Texas and he had seen gun giveaway promotions there. He and McGuire believed they could take the idea to the next level.

“We went to the extreme on the big and bold thing, and it paid off,” he said.

The video was viewed, lauded and hated by conservatives and liberals alike. It also landed Blenkinsopp an appearance on the Sunday, July 9, episode of “Fox and Friends” and Fox News Channel.

And while some loved the patriotic sentiments and references to President Donald Trump, Blenkinsopp said there was also backlash over the mixing of booze and bullets.

“We knew the drinking would turn some people off,” he said, adding the brown water in the bottle of Jim Beam was real bourbon.

Loved or hated, however, the attention has been good for Digital Roofing Innovations. He estimated the cost of the video — filmed in Killen on a cellphone — to be about $200. The return on investment has been substantial.

“We hooked up with a property manager in Birmingham that owns 500 houses and we’ll be his exclusive roofing company and a big country club in Birmingham,” Blenkinsopp said. “In just the Lauderdale and Limestone county area, we’ve sold about 50 roofs.”

He and McGuire had been looking for a way to break into the Birmingham market, but figured the goal was about two-to-three years away. The video accelerated the timeline substantially.

It also helped the company grow quickly in a short amount of time. Before the video, Digital Roofing Innovations had four employees. It now has 10, including a new head of sales and another employee who will serve as a project manager.

When asked if he was as over-the-top in real life as he is in the video, Blenkinsopp said the video would come as no surprise to his friends. In his business dealings, however, he considers himself much more refined.

“There is a difference,” he said with a laugh.

Despite the positive and negative attention the video has garnered, Blenkinsopp wants people to know his roofing company is legitimate and he’d like to have your business. He added 90 percent of his business comes from storm damage restoration.

“The important takeaway is there was a massive hailstorm in March and the clock is ticking on when we can get these roofs replaced,” he said.

For more information, visit digitalroofingcompany.com or find Digital Roofing Innovations on Facebook.