You might’ve heard about this man, the man that can hear your silence and fix your broken heart. Jokes aside, exactly who is this person that has become a part of countless Memes all over the internet?
In the year 2020, right in the middle of Covid-19, a strange meme rose to fame. A handsome Squidward lookalike was being used to express differences between “Incels” and “Alpha Males“. This came to be known as “Giga-Chad“, The Extremely Masculine Chad.
Chad is not a new term for the meme community, with its first origins going as far back as World War II. It later became better known when the term was used in Chicago to describe White single men living in the city. It was a Derogatory term in nature at that time, but not until Giga-Chad’s first appearance in 2017.
The Origin of Chad Memes:
Chad Memes rose to fame through 4Chan forums. It spread all over Reddit and was soon one of the trending memes. It is still popular today, with many variations of the original Chad meme.
"Yet as its existence proves, there is more than enough generational conflict to go around and provide us with some added reflection."
Millennials Rise Up: Taking A Break In The Generational Meme Wars With 'My Parents At Age 29 vs. Me At Age 29'
By Allyhttps://t.co/I28HALU1xZ pic.twitter.com/WkPHITsPrA
— Meme Insider (@MemeInsider) November 30, 2020
The purpose of all these memes was to mock a particular group of people for their differences and “poor” life choices. The version “Soyjacks Vs. Chad” was also popular and led to the question, who was the girl version of Chad? Which was answered by a Reddit user as “Stacy”. Stacys are Popular and extroverted, contrary to the “Beckys” who are defined as introverted and a “normie”.
With this lore behind the Chad name, it was obvious what the name for this new Hyper-Masculinity representative was going to be. Giga-Chad was first seen on 4chan in 2017. It resurfaced again after 3 years, gaining significant popularity in 2020 and 2021.
Average raisins fan
vs
Average walnut enjoyer pic.twitter.com/Z8me0x9SNY— altrun (@_Kyldrun_) September 16, 2022
The Mystery Behind Giga-Chad:
With so much attention towards it, it was not long before the internet would find out who the face behind this popular meme was. Giga-Chad. Who is that lad? Well, it’s a Russian man named “Ernest Khalimov“. Ernest is a model who works for SLEEK’N’TEARS. He was supposedly born on 1st March 1969. This explains the reason behind his Instagram username “Berlin.1969“.
Ernest has very strong Masculine features such as a Broad Jawline and Action figure-like extreme musculature. A lot of people suspected that Giga-chad was not real as features like those are not realistic. SLEEK’N’TEARS is the only modeling agency he works for, and if that’s not shady enough, He also does not post anywhere else other than his Instagram.
Krista Sudmalis, the Photographer behind the modeling agency, is the one who photographed the iconic Giga-Chad pictures. People suspect that she could have tweaked and edited Ernest’s features to make them more masculine. Sudmalis also often posts pictures of Ernest’s candids which, if observed closely, do feel fake. Assumptions of Ernest having cosmetic surgery or steroids also exist, But no solid proof has been confirmed. Some people have gone as far as assaying that Giga-Chad was never real. That he was a digital creation or someone else who was Extremely edited to create this Persona.
Fake news. Sleek-n-Tears, an art project by Krista Sudmalis (woman pictured). This is the real guy. pic.twitter.com/0l5Fwzen2C
— Stalemateable Čhepulis • • • (@ingleeshh) December 18, 2020
Aside from SLEEK’N’TEARS, he hasn’t modeled for other brands, which is quite strange and raises further suspicions. He also has no proof of his offline presence.
What is Giga-Chad Up to Now?
Real or not, Giga-Chad’s making a lot of money. He has done many shoots for his agency and will probably continue to do so. Ernest is also a fitness trainer. With his memes still being uploaded once in a while, the model now focuses on selling his NFTs. SLEEK’N’TEARS also sells his merch and promotes him on their account. His Instagram account at the moment has 1 million followers.
#NewNFTProfilePic NFT by @cryptorenorg pic.twitter.com/azYWAVUjOH
— GigaChad #2 (@RealGigaChad2) February 1, 2022
The truth behind Giga-Chad’s existence will eventually come out, and we’ll be able to know if he was a real person or just a Digital creation all along. Nonetheless, Giga-Chad will be known in meme history as the most Ultra-Masculine Chad to ever exist.
Also read: What is With Little Miss Memes 2022? Trend Explained
