We know them, we love them...actually we don't know them. We just think we know them. But do we ever really know anyone? I mean how do we know if we're ever really seeing the genuine person? Are we being our true selves? Sorry I temporarily wandered off into an existential crisis. ANYWAY. MEMES. Who are these people captured in a single image that soon come to capture the imagination of the internet? Exactly how accurate is the meme at representing the person in the pic IRL? Here's a look at some of the real people behind some of your favorite memes.
Success Kid
Seriously? Who doesn't love Success Kid? I wanna BE Success Kid! He's like the opposite of Bad Luck Brian. Everything good happens to him and even the most minor of victories are treated as a major SUCCESS. I'm physically incapable of congratulating myself even if I have a smidge of success. Maybe I need to go to therapy. I need to unleash my inner badass. I mean if an eleven month old can do it...so can I. Can I? Who is this little booger making me feel all bad about myself?
He's Sam Griner and he's now five years old. Memes grow up so fast, don't they? His photographer mom, Laney, took the infamous pic and posted it to Flickr, where it was quickly picked up and captioned with 'I Hate Sandcastles' before morphing into Success Kid. Sammy is currently kicking ass and taking names in Kindergarten. His most recent successes include eating paste without getting a tummy ache and leaving circle time before the weird kid sitting next to him peed.
Ridiculously Photogenic Guy
Back in March, Will King took some pics of runners in South Carolina. After his friend pointed out the ridiculously photogenic guy in one of the photos, King submitted it to Reddit. Within hours it had 40,000 up votes. By the next day it was pretty much a verified meme. So who is this ridiculously fast meme inspiration?
He's 25 year-old New Yorker Zeddie Little. And not only is he ridiculously photogenic but he's also taken. Sorry, Ladies! He is currently using his internet fame to promote his charitable runs. I guess he's also 'ridiculously good person who makes me feel like a lazy selfish loser' guy. Maybe I'd be a more generous person if I didn't look like a sweaty piglet after running 20 feet. We'll never know...
Hipster Barista
The Hipster Barista first appeared on Quickmeme back in 2011. Surprisingly there had been no Hipster Barista meme yet, despite the internet's love of hipster bashing and hipster barista's love of bashing all of us and our ignorance in the art of coffee. Yes, I want whipped cream on my cappuccino, I don't care if it's no longer a cappuccino. But who is this hipster dude judging us all? Is he really as humorless as he seems?
Yes. Yes he is. His name is Dustin Mattson and he is a, I kid you not, Coffee Boss at an Atlanta coffee joint. He finds it, and I'm paraphrasing here, not only discouraging but also disappointing that we live in a world where those who are committed to the fine art of coffee making garner no respect. So basically he's one of the few people who is completely well-represented by the meme he inspired. Congratulations humorless d*ck. Now make a cute heart in my latte foam.
Sheltered Suburban Mom
The Sheltering Suburban Mom Meme is the mom we're all grateful we don't have. She's overprotective, hypocritical and sometimes a little bit racist/homophobic. Plus she kind of has unfortunate mom hair and wears a velour sweatsuit. I mean the only thing more embarrassing than having a MILF for a mom must be having a MNoOneWantsToF. A MNOWTF....yeah totally not catchy. But who is this MNOWTF IRL? WTF acronym overload.
She's best-selling romance novelist Carly Phillips! It turns out the original photo is an author photo. No one knows how it came to represent the Sheltering Suburban Mom, but I'm guessing the mom hair and the velour sweat suit that I previously mocked had something to do with it. (SORRY CARLY!) But I mean she is friggin' mom looking as hell. Carly is actually cool with being a meme, although she admits to being bothered by the more prejudicial stuff the meme sometimes is captioned with. IRL she claims to be the cool mom, which I'm hoping doesn't mean she's a MNOWTF trying to be a MILF.
The College Freshman
Oh Uber-Frosh! When you're not doing or saying something stupid, you're doing something stupid that leads to your untimely death. I've no doubt that you will soon die from alcohol poisoning after participating in the frat boy trend du jour---butt chugging. I kid you not. Can't wait to see the warnings that will soon be appearing on the boxed wine I buy. But who is the man behind the meme?
His name is Griffin Kiritsy and he was a freshman at the University of New Hampshire when the pic was taken for a Reader's Digest feature. Then as most things do, it was picked up by Reddit and quickly entered the Meme Hall of Fame. Griffin is totally into his internet meme fame and in a recent Reddit chat he said "I plan on being the College Freshman...until I die." A death that will no doubt have to do with a boxed wine spout attached to his anus. JK! But I think I have to throw out my Target wine cube now. Boxed wine just got even less appealing for me.
What meme star are you curious about? Let me know @desijedeikin or in the comments below!
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