The early days of memes were simple. A funny image with some text made us laugh for months, even years! Some iconic textpost memes will live on in the analogs of internet history, including “Success Kid.”
Now, “Success Kid” has become “Success Adut” as he celebrates his 18th birthday.
“Success Kid” Is All Grown Up
The internet celebrated Sam Griner, the child featured in the meme clenching his fist full of sand, as he turned 18 years old.
While many believe that Sam grew up in the limelight due to the meme’s success, which still continues today, his mother, Laney Griner, has gone to great lengths to protect her son’s image and help the funny moment caught on camera become a source of revenue to help Sam as he ventures off into adulthood.
Explaining the “Success Kid” Meme
Originally uploaded to Flick in 2007, the anchor meme captioned “I Hate Sandcastles” gained popularity in 2011. It suggests that the boy had just destroyed another kid’s sandcastle.
Eventually, the interpretation of the image shifted, focusing on the boy’s expression and clenched fist as a gesture of self-congratulation. Since then, the mem has been used online by people seeking to celebrate happy moments, small victories, and good times.
Laney Griner disliked the “I Hate Sandcastles” meme, feeling that it made her son look like a bully, and embraced the “Success Kid” concept.
The meme went on to be used by former President Barack Obama’s administration in a reform campaign, graced T-shirts at Hot Topic and was used in advertising for Coca-Cola and Virgin Mobile UK.
The Meme Saves a Life
The meme also helped Sam’s father, Justin, raise more than $93,000 on a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to pay for medical procedures. The campaign also searched for people who were a good tissue match and were willing to donate a kidney to keep Justin alive.
In an interview with the Daily Dot at the time, Sam’s mother said a transplant was the only way to save her husband’s life. Although she was skeptical about using her son’s internet fame to raise money, she realized it could be a good way to highlight a cause.
“We’re the parents of ‘Success Kid’ for goodness’ sake,” Ms Griner told the news site. “If anyone understands the power, the mass, and goodwill of the internet, it’s those of us lucky to experience it daily.”
