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What's The 'Smart Guy With Glasses' Meme? Russian Influencer Ян Топлес And His Photo Taking Over TikTok Explained
There's a photo of a "Smart Guy With Glasses" that's going viral as a meme on TikTok. It's confusing to non-Russian users because the man himself is a Russian influencer named "Ян Топлес."
In the photo, the "smart man" has bleach blonde hair and is rocking an earring, a white shirt, a jean jacket and (of course) a pair of glasses. He's everywhere in TikTok photo slideshows, especially on "That One Guy's For You Page," which is full of other brainrot trends from the depths of internet humor.
So, where did the "Smart Guy With Glasses" meme come from? Who is Ян Топлес, and how did this photo gain such a strange digital footprint? Let's explain.
Where Did The Original 'Smart Guy With Glasses' Image Come From?
The original photograph was posted by Russian influencer Ян Топлес in 2018. It was shared to his Instagram account @yan_lapotkov.
He's pictured looking into the camera with a slight smirk. The background is blurry, highlighting his outfit in the foreground, consisting of a white T-shirt, jean jacket, black backpack, black earring and a pair of eyeglasses.
Who Is Russian 'Ян Топлес,' Also Known As 'Jan To'ples?'
Ян Топлес is a Russian YouTuber who shares videos on the channel ТОПЛЕС. His pseudonym translates to "Jan To'ples" in English. His real name is Yan Lapotkov.
According to interviews, Lapotkov got his start online editing and writing for the popular Russian webshow +100500, which resembles Ray William Johnson's =3 series.
Where Did The 'Smart Guy With Glasses' Meme Come From?
A TikToker named @mizzzerrrrr seems to be the originator of this trend, as they shared the earliest meme using the slick photo of Ян Топлес in late June 2025.
The post was simple. It showed a moldy, low-quality version of the Ян Топлес photo, paired with an ambient song called "Realisation Vibe" by SongChilll Guy.
The ambient TikTok sound has since become the leading audio for the budding meme trend. It adds to a growing list of Russian language memes that have originated on TikTok, like "Smurf Cat" from recent memory.
What Does The 'Smart Guy With Glasses' Meme Mean?
The punchline of the "Smart Guy With Glasses" meme is evasive. It's hard to understand where the joke is, even for seasoned meme enjoyers.
As far as we know, from Russian users trying to explain it, the meme's full name is "Smart Man With Glasses Wallpaper Download," which seemingly comes from a comment left on the original TikTok post.
User secretpoland wrote, "умный человек в очках скачать обои," which translates to, "smart man with glasses wallpaper download."
The joke seems to be that the old photo of the beloved YouTuber looks like stock photography or an AI-generated image. But for Russian netizens, they know he's a real guy.
For the American and Western users stumbling upon this meme, the meaning is somewhat lost. But the absurdity of the hyper-polished headshot is not lost on them and is somehow crossing the language barrier in the form of ironic memes.
@toplennii умный чувак в очках скачать обои #янтоплес #топлес #топлесян #ТОПЛЕС ♬ оригинальный звук – BaBax228.exe
What Are Some More 'Smart Guy With Glasses' Memes?
@krutoi.minion
@ivanzolo2004
@umjake smart man with glasses #smartmanwithglasses #CapCut #meme #funny ♬ original sound – UmJake?
@soulfull69
For the full history of Smart Guy With Glasses, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's entry for even more information.
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