An Interview With Bad Luck Brian

He took the entire internet by storm when his yearbook photo was posted on Reddit. His face represents the humorous side of mischance and tragedy. He's provided tonnes of laughs in meme form, and has now shifted his comedy to YouTube. He is the one, the only:

Bad Luck Brian.

In the meme culture which has taken over the internet since the past two years, the Bad Luck Brian meme stands out as one of the most hilarious ones. It involves a yearbook picture of a young, blonde male student - the text accompanying it usually displays sometimes funny, sometimes really mean forms of bad luck that he encounters.

When I first discovered that the guy in the Bad Luck Brian meme was making videos on YouTube, I was elated. I am proud to say that I was one of his earliest subscribers, and it has been a totally awesome experience seeing the memes come to life. I wanted to tell him how much of a huge fan I was, so I shot him a message on his YouTube channel hoping that he would reply - and he did! I had a bunch of questions to ask as well, so I thought it would be great if I could actually make it in an interview format so that I could post it up here on my blog. So, guys, meet Kyle:

He's the guy in the Bad Luck Brian meme! How awesome is that? Kyle was super nice to me and responded to my message promptly. I asked him some questions about himself, his meme and his videos, so you can read all that below!

Here's his YouTube channel trailer so you'll know what sort of videos to expect.

And here is the interview:

How long ago was the photo taken?

It was taken when I was a junior in High School, so about 6 years ago.

When did you realize your photo became famous as a meme, and what was your initial reaction?

One of my best friends was the one who posted it online. He called me in the middle of the night and left a message saying that he made me internet famous. When I got up in the morning I got on Reddit.com and saw that I was on the front page.  I thought it was extremely funny that such a stupid picture was blowing up on the internet. 

Were you okay with your photo being the butt of sometimes mean, sometimes downright cruel jokes? Or was it something you got used to over time?

Oh yeah! I was always okay with it. I think that the cruel ones are some of the most funny ones. 

How did people you know react when the Bad Luck Brian meme took over the internet by storm?

My family thinks that it is all really stupid and they could care less. All of my friends love it and think its hilarious.

Do you like being recognized and revered as an internet meme above everything else?

I rarely every get recognized in public. Since it was 6 years ago I took the picture I really don't look like that anymore. 

What made you decide to create videos and continue playing the character you were given by the internet? 

Well it all started when Laina (Overly Attached Girlfriend) contacted me back in July. She wanted me to be in one of her videos for her YouTube channel. After a few weeks I was on a plane to Los Angeles. We took a few days to shoot for her channel and after she brought up to me that I should start my own. I have always made videos growing up so it was a perfect fit for me. 

Will you ever make other content on YouTube apart from your 'bad luck' series? 

I would love to! Right now I am looking into doing an interview series for another channel where they would send me out to things like spring break or like the Golden Globes.

Apart from making videos, what else do you like doing?

I still work full time at a construction company doing project management so between that and making videos I really do not have that much free time. Since it is winter I do try and get out and snowmobile but that is about it.

What's the favorite version of your meme? And what's your favorite internet meme in general?

My favorite meme of Bad Luck Brian is "Parents gets divorce, no one fights for custody". 

My favorite meme out there now is Grumpy Cat, who doesn't like Grumpy Cat?

It's evident that you're one of the good guys of the internet who take their fans' suggestions and opinions into consideration and interact with them regularly. Is there anything special you would like to tell your fans - of the meme and of your videos?

I really appreciate everything that all my fans have done for me. What makes the Bad Luck Brian meme so funny is all of the fans who write them. I would have never thought that becoming a meme would have lead to so many different opportunities.

x

I would sincerely like to thank Kyle for taking out time from his busy schedule to answer these questions. I'm still a little starstruck that I got to communicate with an internet celebrity (the best kind of celebrity, in my opinion) - it's sort of like a dream come true, and a perfect end to 2013! Kyle is a wonderful person, and I wish him all the (good) luck in the world! Here's a little drawing I made of us:

For more of Kyle, you can like his Facebook page and follow him on Twitter. Make sure you check out and subscribe to his awesome YouTube channel, where he posts ultra hilarious videos and showcases the Bad Luck Brian meme coming to life.

Happy New Year, guys!