In November 2024, many memes with a smiling dog in jeans, red sneakers and a blue sweatshirt appeared on the Internet. As a rule, they all simply portray a character enjoying life while chaos and trouble take place. But where did the hero come from and why did he become so popular?
The origin of the meme
The author of Chill Guy is artist Phillip Bankss. He shared the drawing in October 2023 and conveyed the entire meaning of the character in one sentence: “My new character. His whole point is that he’s a quiet guy who doesn’t care.” The drawing quickly became a meme, but remained fairly niche until its potential was revealed in the fall of 2024.
Have you seen the “chill guy” memes?
How did the meme go viral?
It all started with videos of a chill guy, accompanied by relaxing music. Users of The peak of the meme’s popularity occurred during a rather alarming period in the world, so many people liked it. Many began to compare themselves with a laid-back man who simply enjoys life even in the most absurd situations, while everyone around is busy and worried.
Peak popularity of chill guy
The chill guy also became famous in RuNet, albeit a little later. In short, he plays out uncomfortable situations in which something is expected of the hero, but he continues to behave as if nothing happened:
Other articles about memes
From this moment on, the character took on a new life. Everyone and everywhere started posting it – even the official accounts of various brands, games and services began to actively use the meme for promotion:
The wave of popularity was also picked up by the famous master of “budget cosplay” Lowcostcosplay, who immediately parodied the meme:
The rapid popularity led to the fact that a new “coin” CHILLGUY even appeared on the cryptocurrency market, the capitalization of which jumped thanks to the meme. However, the character’s original author, Phillip Banks, has nothing to do with her. The artist said he would not support cryptocurrency and even threatened to take legal action against companies trying to profit from his intellectual property.
Meanwhile, the postmodern era has already reached the chill guy. Someone came up with the idea of a chill girl by simply adding accessories like hairpins and pink clothes to the character, sending the internet into yet another wave of typically feminine ‘chill girl’ jokes. And some even turned the character into a motivator for viewers – now he tells about his secret to a calm life and advises not to sweat the small things.
What do you think of the new meme?
Do you want to be this “chill” in every situation?
Source: VG Times
Christina Moncayo is a contributing writer for “Social Bites”. Her focus is on the gaming industry and she provides in-depth coverage of the latest news and trends in the world of gaming.