Vernon Koekemoer. About Vernon Koekemoer is the nickname given to Cassie Booyse, a South African bodybuilding enthusiast who became an internet celebrity in 2008 after a photograph of him standing alone at a rave party in Boskburg, South Africa began circulating on the web.
Similar to alpha male icons in other cultures like America’s Chuck Norris or Kenya’s Makmende, Vernon Koekemoer went onto inspire a variety of derivatives and tributes, from photoshopped images and parody films to websites and T-shirts. Origin The photograph of the then-51 year old Cassie Booyse was taken on March 8th, 2008, by an unidentified woman who noticed his unusual appearance at the annual H2O rave party in Boskburg, South Africa.
The photographer subsequently forwarded the picture to via e-mail to her friends, among whom was a man named Bryan Theunissen. Spread On March 13th, 2008, South African blog RadioConstruction published a blog post titled “Who the Fuck is Vernon Koekemoer Anyway?” Identity Revealed Notable Examples Images. Epic Beard Man. About Epic Beard Man is the nickname for Oakland resident Thomas Bruso that was coined after a video in which he repeatedly punches a younger black man, identified only as Michael, was spread online in February of 2010.
Origin On February 16th, 2010, Iyanna Washington, a college student from Oakland, CA (YouTube user “iyannaw08”) uploaded a video titled “AC TRANSIT BUS FIGHT I AM A MOTHERFUCKER.” Technoviking. About Technoviking is the nickname given to a musclebound man dancing in a video shot during the annual techno music festival Fuckparade in July 2000.
The footage shows an unruly man shoving a woman before being grabbed by a shirtless man wearing a beard and a Thor’s hammer pendant who pushes him away. Since being uploaded to YouTube in 2006, the video has gained tens of millions of views, as well as spawning hundreds of parodies and remixes. Origin The original clip “Kneecam No. 1” was produced by German visual artist Matthias Fritsch at the annual street techno festival “Fuck Parade” in Berlin, Germany on July 8th, 2000. Spread Throughout September 2007, the video quickly spread across other video-sharing sites and internet humor blogs including Break, eBaumsworld] and Digg] among others. Boxxy. About Boxxy is the online pseudonym of Catie Wayne, a YouTube personality who became known on 4chan in 2009.
She claims ownership of several YouTube accounts including ANewHopeee, bodaciousboxxy, and Boxxybabee, where she uploads videos of herself acting in a rotation of different characters including 3V3 and Svetlana. Origin After joining the anime themed social network GaiaOnline as MoldyLunchbox in 2006, Wayne created a character named Boxxy, a highly energetic and excitable girl with heavy black eyeliner and animated facial expressions. Balloon Boy. Overview Ballon Boy is the nickname given to Falcon Heene, a six year old boy who reportedly climbed into a helium-filled balloon that was meant to hover only 20 feet above the ground and took off into the sky.
Before a captivated world, local news stations tracked the flight of the balloon over 8000 feet above the ground and provided minute-to-minute coverage in real-time. However, the boy was nowhere to be found once the balloon landed after two hours of flight. Jessi Slaughter. Overview Jessi Slaughter (real name: Jessica Leonhardt), formerly known as KerliGirl13 on YouTube, is a Florida teenager who became a target of a massive 4chan raid in July 2010 after launching a public tirade against the image board community in a series of YouTube videos.
The feud quickly led to the creation of hundreds of image macros and remix videos mocking Jessica and her father, who later became involved in the drama, and prompted one of the first public discussions of cyberbullying as a serious issue in the news media. Background On July 10th, 2010, StickyDrama user tdomf_e8e13 posted an accusation that the vocalist of electronica band Blood On The Dance Floor (BOTDF) Dahvie Vanity was pursuing a sexual relationship with the underaged Jessica Leonhardt. “BOTDF lead singer Dahvie Vanity is at it again! On July 12th, Leonhardt posted a response on StickyDrama, denying the claims. “People STFU This Is A Very Private Matter And Im Dealing With It. Notable Developments Feud With 4chan. Isaiah Mustafa: Old Spice. About Isaiah Mustafa Old Spice Commercials are a series of advertisements and YouTube response videos starring former NFL wide receiver Isaiah Mustafa standing in a bathroom.
Several of the videos feature Mustafa answering people’s questions and comments received via Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and other social network channels sponsored by the American grooming products brand. Steven Slater. About Steven Slater is a former flight attendant who became an internet sensation after he was arrested following an altercation with a passenger on his airplane.
The dramatic fashion in which he left as well as his frustrations as a worker resonated with many people, and he was dubbed a “working class hero.” However, his status as a “hero” has been in question since further investigation has been done regarding the altercation. Tabby. About Tabby is an Internet celebrity that rose to fame on 4chan’s /b/ board.
She is currently a YouTube partner, and makes videos on the Tabbs24x7 and Tabbs24x7Official YouTube channels. Origin On September 24th 2009, several months after her “I gotta ferret” video was posted to 4chan. It was originally uploaded to YouTube several months prior by Tabby’s original account “TabithaRidiman”. Brother Sharp (犀利哥) About Brother Sharp (犀利哥) is the nickname given to Chen Guorong, a homeless man from the streets of Ningbo in China’s Zhejiang province.
The man became a national celebrity for his undoubtedly handsome face in February 2010 after a photograph of him wandering the streets was uploaded online. Eventually, the Chinese netizens tracked down and located the man through the means of Human Flesh Search Engine. Origin On the morning of January 30th, 2010, a photographer took his new Sony video camcorder to Tian Yi Square and decided to try out the new lens by shooting street scenes for the photography community forum Fengniao. I'm the Goddamn Batman! About I’m The Goddamn Batman is a catch-phrase (sometimes used as a image macro) used to satire intimation or in Batman related media. The phrase is usually used in images showing a figure who is attempting (usually failing) to look menacing. Origin Panel 1, Page 10 of All Star Batman and Robin The Boy Wonder Issue 2 (Click here for the full page) Robin: Who the hell are you anyway, giving out orders like this?
All Star Batman And Robin The Boy Wonder is a comic book series written by Frank Miller (famous for Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Daredevil: Born Again, 300 and Sin City) and drawn by Jim Lee. Brian Peppers. About Brian Peppers was a sex offender from Ohio whose hard-to-believe photo was widely circulated on the Internet in 2005. While it was initially suspected to be fake, online sleuths Snopes.com were able to confirm the photo’s authenticity with Ohio authorities.
Snopes even managed to dig up some photos of Brian in highschool Snopes also suggests that Peppers’ unusual appearance may be due to “a condition such as Apert’s Syndrome or Crouzon’s Syndrome.” Spread The photo of B-Peps followed a typical memetic path of photoshoppery, “OMG WTF” and “stop being so mean,” culminating in Jimbo Wales banning Brian Peppers from Wikipedia.
Notable links Brian Peppers would set the bar high for sex-offender memes to come (e.g. Crimes. Jean-Luc Picard. About. Chuck Norris Facts. May 12 2004, NBC merged with Vivendi Universal Entertainment. A deal which lead to Conan O’Brien’s popular running gag of the Walker Texas Ranger lever. March 4 2005, the movie “The Pacifier” is released to theatres.