About POP!

POP! is INQUIRER.net’s premier pop culture channel, delivering the latest news in the realm of pop culture, internet culture, social issues, and everything fun, weird, and wired. It is also home to POP! Sessions and POP! Hangout,
OG online entertainment programs in the
Philippines (streaming since 2015).

As the go-to destination for all things ‘in the now’, POP! features and curates the best relevant content for its young audience. It is also a strong advocate of fairness and truth in storytelling.

POP! is operated by INQUIRER.net’s award-winning native advertising team, BrandRoom.

Contact Us

Email us at [email protected]

Address

MRP Building, Mola Corner Pasong Tirad Streets, Brgy La Paz, Makati City

Girl in a jacket

‘Thanks for your kind words’: GigaChad finally responds to the memes

Yes, he’s a real person. Yes, he’s noticed the “GigaChad” memes and he’s finally opened up about his internet fame

The “GigaChad” meme emerged back in 2017. It was initially coined as an archetype on 4chan, referring to a guy who is considered to be the model of idealized hypermasculinity. The term became popular in a lot of incel (involuntary celibate) communities. The meme emerged from the @sleekntears Instagram page that was linked by an anonymous Redditor in a subreddit about bodybuilding.

GigaChad

The identity of the guy in the “GigaChad” meme has been a mystery for a while. Some people were even debating if the guy was a real person or if he was a CGI model someone made. The guy didn’t really have much internet presence so it was hard to tell if he was real, or whether or not the photos were just Photoshopped. He declined interviews and refused to comment on the memes.

That is, until he finally opened up about the memes around two weeks ago. So, who is this guy, and what does he think of all the “GigaChad” memes that have made him popular? 

“GigaChad” (also known as “Average Enjoyer”) is Russian menswear model and bodybuilder Ernest Khalimov. Aside from the “GigaChad” memes, he isn’t very well-known. Even in the “Sleek’N’Tears” project, he was exclusively known as “1969,” so it’s fair that a lot of people are surprised to hear that he’s a real person.

Khalimov recently posted on his Instagram account berlin.1969 about the “GigaChad” memes. The Russian model and bodybuilder was very flattered and responded very humbly to the comments and the memes. He said on his post, “Thanks for your kind words. Thank you for the positive energy, don’t doubt guys I mentally return it to you.” 

It’s hard to say if Khalimov will continue interacting with the comments and memes, but he ended his post with, “Yours faithfully, Average person.”   

 

 

Other POP! stories you might like:

Classic memes are selling like hot cakes (worth six-figures), thanks to NFTs

This new meme format perfectly captures our mundane experiences

Fans saw her blonde hair coming yet Billie Eilish still broke an IG record

The viral ‘entitled’ fresh grad tweet speaks volumes about the PH job market

Uh oh, looks like NFTs have some issues – big problems, actually

About Author

Lyshiel Aranal

Senior Writer

About Author

Trixie Velasquez

Writer

Related Stories

Popping on POP!