Man behind viral blinking guy meme unrecognizable 8 years later and using his fame for a good cause

A meme of a man blinking repeatedly in disbelief went viral in 2017.Now 39 years old, here’s what he looks like now.Drew Scanlon, from San Francisco, went viral in 2017 for a GIF of him shaking his head, raising his eyebrows, and blinking as if saying, ‘Oh … Wow … okay then’.You’ve probably seen it online.

In fact, you’ve likely even used the meme to react to something that left you stunned.But despite being thrust into the public eye, Scanlon never sought to capitalize on being one of the most recognizable faces on the internet – until now.Eight years on, he’s decided to do good with his fame.Scanlon took to X over the weekend to encourage people to donate to the National MS Society, and his post went viral, racking up 21 million views, 408,000 likes, and 38,000 retweets.“Hi internet! I’m Drew and THIS IS MY FACE,” he wrote alongside the iconic clip that cemented him in internet culture forever.“If this GIF has ever brought you joy in the past, I humbly ask you to consider making a donation to the National MS Society.It would mean a lot to me and to those I know affected by the disease!”“I’ve been resistant (to cash in on the meme) because it feels like I don’t own it,” he told Sky News.

“It was created by the internet, and I didn’t have anything to do with it.It would feel to me like the band wearing the band’s T-shirt – it’s just not cool”.But he finally decided to “toot his own meme horn” and out himself as the face behind the meme because he wanted to raise money for a good cause.He used the meme for the first time ever in that tweet and has since become a top fundraiser, raising over $66K, exceeding his initial goal of over $9K.“I don’t know if the stars will align in quite the same way again, so I treat this as an opportunity,” he said.“If I can use it to get some funding for medical research, then I should try it.”Commenters were shockedWhile many praised him for using his platform in this way...

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Publisher: New York Post

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