Meme Man

{{Short description|Surreal meme character}}

{{Redirect|Stonks meme|stocks popularized by Internet memes|Meme stock}}

{{Infobox character

| name = Meme Man

| image = Meme Man on transparent background.webp

| aliases = Stonks Man

| gender = Male

}}

Meme Man, sometimes also referred to as Mr. Succ or the Stonks guy, is a character often featured in internet memes. He is depicted as a 3D render of a smooth, bald, and often disembodied blue-eyed male head.{{Cite book|last=Granata|first=Yvette|title=Post Memes.|date=2019|publisher=punctum books|isbn=978-1-950192-43-4|location=Brooklyn, NY|chapter=Meme Dankness: Floating Glittery Trash for an Economic Heresy|oclc=1135847279}} He was popularized in the mid-2010s by the artist "Special meme fresh", and became a common character in many surreal memes, a genre of internet humor inspired by surrealism.{{Cite web|title=Surreal Memes Are the Last Escape the Internet Has|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/surreal-memes-are-the-last-escape-the-internet-has/|access-date=2021-07-30|website=Vice|date=July 2017 |archive-date=2021-07-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210730184938/https://www.vice.com/amp/en/article/xwz833/surreal-memes-are-the-last-escape-the-internet-has|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Weissmann|first=Jordan|date=2021-01-28|title=What We Talk About When We Talk About Stonks|url=https://slate.com/business/2021/01/stonks-not-stocks-got-it.html|access-date=2021-07-30|website=Slate |language=en|archive-date=2021-02-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201223015/https://slate.com/business/2021/01/stonks-not-stocks-got-it.html|url-status=live}} During the 2021 GameStop short squeeze, Meme Man was popularized by users of the subreddit r/wallstreetbets as the face of the "stonks" meme.{{Cite web|last=Haasch|first=Palmer|title=What are 'stonks'? History of GameStop-linked meme explained|url=https://www.insider.com/stonks-meme-origin-stocks-dogecoin-gamestop-hold-line-memes-game-2021-1|date=2021-01-29|access-date=2021-07-30|website=Insider|language=en-US|archive-date=2022-02-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205055320/https://www.insider.com/stonks-meme-origin-stocks-dogecoin-gamestop-hold-line-memes-game-2021-1|url-status=live}}

The first usage of him as a recurring character was on the Facebook page of the artist "Special meme fresh" starting in 2014, and soon spread to become "one of the only consistent stylistic elements" of the surreal memes aesthetic. On June 5, 2017, the artist uploaded an image of Meme Man overlaid on top of a stock photo of a man in a business suit with arms crossed and a chart pointing upwards behind him, and the caption "Stonks", a deliberate misspelling of the word "stocks".{{Cite web|title=Why Are People Referring To "Stocks" As "Stonks"?|url=https://www.dictionary.com/e/memes/stonks/|access-date=2021-07-30|website=Dictionary.com|date=2 February 2021 |language=en-US|archive-date=2021-06-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608032051/https://www.dictionary.com/e/memes/stonks/|url-status=live}} The meme went viral and became a common reaction image on Reddit and Twitter.{{Cite web|date=2019-06-17|title=The bizarre 'Stonks' meme has returned|url=https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/stonks-meme/|access-date=2021-07-30|website=The Daily Dot|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-05-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507021942/https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/stonks-meme/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Reynolds|first=Kelly|date=2019-06-14|title=Stonks Memes|url=https://stayhipp.com/internet/memes/what-are-stonks-up-with-meme-man-memes/|access-date=2021-07-30|website=StayHipp|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-07-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210730194822/https://stayhipp.com/internet/memes/what-are-stonks-up-with-meme-man-memes/|url-status=live}}

On February 1, 2019, Elon Musk bought the domain name "stankmemes.com" according to his tweet.{{cite tweet |last=Musk |first=Elon |author-link=Elon Musk |user=elonmusk |number=1091480239891345408 |date=February 1, 2019 |title=Just bought https://t.co/LJJCD7BAgX oh yeah |language=en |access-date=March 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614065700/https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1091480239891345408 |archive-date=June 14, 2021 |url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Stankmemes.com owner runs Tesla, Space X|url=https://mashable.com/article/elon-musk-buys-stankmemes|date=February 1, 2019|access-date=September 10, 2021|publisher=Mashable|archive-date=September 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910043351/https://mashable.com/article/elon-musk-buys-stankmemes|url-status=live}} In June 2020, when Tesla Inc. shares soared he tweeted "stonks" and the website featured this meme.{{cite tweet |last=Musk |first=Elon |author-link=Elon Musk |user=elonmusk |number=1271019765138518016 |date=June 11, 2020 |title=@engineers_feed Stonks |language=en |access-date=March 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224063755/https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1271019765138518016 |archive-date=February 24, 2022 |url-status=live}}{{cite tweet |last=Musk |first=Elon |author-link=Elon Musk |user=elonmusk |number=1270045026907648004 |date=June 8, 2020 |title=Stankonia at https://t.co/LJJCD7BAgX |language=pl |access-date=March 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212065824/https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1270045026907648004 |archive-date=December 12, 2021 |url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Elon Musk weighs in on Tesla's stock again with a 'lol' and a meme|url=https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/-1.1448940?%3F|publisher=BNNbloomberg|date=June 11, 2020|access-date=September 11, 2021|archive-date=September 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911023551/https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/-1.1448940?%3F|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title= Elon Musk weighs in on Tesla's stock again, this time with 'Lol' and a meme|url=https://auto.hindustantimes.com/auto/news/elon-musk-weighs-in-on-tesla-s-stock-again-this-time-with-lol-and-a-meme/amp-41591883186126.html|date=June 11, 2020|publisher=HT Auto|access-date=September 11, 2021|archive-date=September 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911023553/https://auto.hindustantimes.com/auto/news/elon-musk-weighs-in-on-tesla-s-stock-again-this-time-with-lol-and-a-meme/amp-41591883186126.html|url-status=live}}

On August 27, 2020, a tweet comparing Meme Man to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos went viral, accumulating over 400,000 likes as of July 30, 2021.{{Cite web|title=Jeff Bezos and His Uncanny Resemblance With 'Meme Man' Could Explain Amazon's Rising 'Stonks'|url=https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/jeff-bezos-and-his-uncanny-resemblance-with-meme-man-could-explain-amazons-rising-stonks-2826927.html|access-date=2021-07-30|website=News18|date=28 August 2020|language=en|archive-date=2021-07-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210730193756/https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/jeff-bezos-and-his-uncanny-resemblance-with-meme-man-could-explain-amazons-rising-stonks-2826927.html|url-status=live}}{{cite tweet |last=Andrew |first=Trent |user=trentandrewrld |number=1299057870772658176 |date=August 27, 2020 |title=They're literally the same https://t.co/G2xzIUeilY |language=en |access-date=March 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220220172513/https://twitter.com/trentandrewrld/status/1299057870772658176 |archive-date=February 20, 2022 |url-status=live}}

Elon Musk has used both Meme Man and the "stonks" meme as a reaction on Twitter,{{cite tweet |last=Musk |first=Elon |author-link=Elon Musk |user=elonmusk |number=1141781922500239361 |date=June 20, 2019 |title=Stonk tip of the day https://t.co/tvPodcAtkK |language=en |access-date=March 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306062048/https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1141781922500239361 |archive-date=March 6, 2022 |url-status=live}} and on January 26, 2021, he tweeted the word "Gamestonk!!"{{cite tweet |last=Musk |first=Elon |author-link=Elon Musk |user=elonmusk |number=1354174279894642703 |date=January 26, 2021 |title=Gamestonk!! https://t.co/RZtkDzAewJ |language=en |access-date=March 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318133307/https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1354174279894642703 |archive-date=March 18, 2022 |url-status=live}} with an attached link to r/wallstreetbets. Immediately afterwards, shares in GameStop rose 157 percent in extended-hours trading, which some linked with Musk's tweet.{{Cite web|last=GmbH|first=finanzen net|title=GameStop explodes another 157% higher after Elon Musk's 'Gamestonk' tweet extends Reddit-driven short squeeze|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/gamestop-stock-price-elon-musk-gamestonk-tweet-extends-trading-rally-2021-1|access-date=2021-08-01|website=Business Insider|language=en|archive-date=2022-02-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205055332/https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/gamestop-stock-price-elon-musk-gamestonk-tweet-extends-trading-rally-2021-1-1030009065|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Shead|first=Sam|date=2021-01-29|title=Elon Musk's tweets are moving markets — and some investors are worried|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/29/elon-musks-tweets-are-moving-markets.html|access-date=2021-08-01|work=CNBC|language=en|archive-date=2021-08-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210801035108/https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/29/elon-musks-tweets-are-moving-markets.html|url-status=live}}

In 2021, the multiplayer video game Fortnite released a "Diamond Hanz" skin, based on the design of Meme Man, as a joke for April Fools Day.{{Cite web |date=April 2021 |title=Fortnite now has the Stonks guy |url=https://www.polygon.com/22362424/fortnite-meme-skins-stonks-diamond-hanz-v-bucks-price |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210730172656/https://www.polygon.com/22362424/fortnite-meme-skins-stonks-diamond-hanz-v-bucks-price |archive-date=2021-07-30 |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=Polygon |language=en}}