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Buff Guys Help Out Nerdy Kid

Buff Guys Help Out Nerdy Kid

Part of a series on Buff Guys Typing on Laptops / Why Yes, How Could You Tell?. [View Related Entries]

Updated Dec 08, 2021 at 01:04PM EST by Adam.

Added Nov 07, 2019 at 06:46PM EST by Philipp.

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About

Buff Guys Help Out Nerdy Kid refers to a three- and four-panel meme formats in which several bodybuilders, usually Flex Lewis, Mike O'Hearn and another unidentified muscular man, advise a male teenager sitting in front of a laptop on various subjects. A variation of Buff Guys Typing on Laptops, the spin-off format gained spread on Twitter and other social media in the second half of October 2019.

Origin

On October 16th, 2019, Twitter[2] user @MiyaTheQueen posted the earliest meme which featured the addition of an additional panel to the Buff Guys Typing on Laptops format. The panel introduced a bespectacled male teenager sitting in front of the laptop, which circulated online at least since 2007[3] and has been previously used in Wow, This Is Literally Me meme format and other memes (shown below). The tweet received over 6,400 retweets and 25,500 likes in three weeks.


miya @MiyaTheQueen "Shinji is a complex and great character" " agree, wish he got help in the show and not further abused" "Shinji needs to feel happy, I feel depressed every time he is shown to be sad within Evangelion" "Shinji is a p---- Imao hahahaha" 1:41 PM - 16 Oct 2019

Precursor

On February 21st, 2019, Twitter user @BitchAssBowie made the first viral meme based on an image of an unidentified bodybuilder using a laptop, with the meme imagining him as a person who would set an image of an anime girl as a profile picture (shown below, left).[1] In the following months, more users posted memes which imagining muscular men expressing thoughts and ideas which are either wholesome or/and can be attributed to anime fans, gamers, avid readers, furries or members of other communities rarely associated with bodybuilding (examples shown below, center and right). Some examples of the format imagined two or more bodybuilders discussing various topics; for example, anime series.


"cute anime girl, i'll set her as my avi." "yeah i'm a bottom uwu" II Hey, what is your favorite anime/ manga? Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, and yours? Nice, Jojo's cool. Mine is Berserk. Oh great, I like Berserk too! @donovan_the sexy_beast

Spread

Starting on October 16th, more Twitter users posted memes where the teenager offered poorly expressed arguments in contrast to well-expressed opinions offered by the bodybuilders (examples shown below).[4][5]


Daniel Fournier @tirentu "im having a great time brewing in the new pioneer format" "king i must agree, the addition of theros and thoughtseize to the old frontier format brings a lot of midrange potential to an already exciting deckbuilding opportunity" "WHY PATH TO EXILE GP PROMO" shutterstock.com 474431236 11:30 AM 24 Oct 2019 Prax @LewdPrax "Check out this fan art of an anime girl with big tiddies!" "Whoa, she has thicc thighs too." "I love lewd fan art of my waifus." "WHERE ARE HER ORGANS?!" Traduire le Tweet 8:28 PM-16 oct. 2019 Twitter for Android 850 Retweets 3 k J'aime

Wholesome Versions

On October 18th, 2019, Twitter user @JasTheLass posted the version of the meme in which the teenager asked for guidance at the gym, with the bodybuilders being willing to help. The post received over 12,800 retweets and 51,300 likes in three weeks (shown below).[6]


Jas @ Nasuvember @JasTheLass "Hey guys, this is my first time at the gym, would you mind helping me get adjusted?" "Yeah that's fine dude, I'm free to help" "Yeah me too" "Make that a third" 8:23 AM -18 Oct 2019

In the following days, wholesome versions of the meme in which bodybuilders provided guidance and advice to the teenager gained large popularity online on Twitter, Instagram, iFunny and other social networks (examples shown below).[7][8] In many examples of the meme, slang compliment King is used.


cottonwings Follow @cottonwings "Hey guys I need advice on this workout program. Is this too difficult for a beginner like me?" "I'm glad that you asked Kageyama Remember you can always count on us for anything!" "Working out should be a fun experience at your own pace." #MP100 10:39 AM - 21 Oct 2019 12,390 Retweets 27,630 Likes t12K 129 28K Hey guys, I've been seeing these memes where muscular men at laptops explain elementary concepts in some topic or other to a nerdy-looking, curious kid. They really make me laugh, but I can't quite put my finger on why. It's not like there's any real jokes in there or anything First of all, I think this format makes excellent use of a comedic technique called incongruity whereby viewers' preconceived notions are upended by unexpected juxtapositions. In this case, many people don't think of musclebound, traditionally masculine men as kind, intelligent and eager to advise. While not a joke in any conventional sense, this produces a humorous effect. King, I want to echo what you're saying and also suggest that there's an even broader employment of incongruity here. Viewers expect earnest requests for basic information to be met with vitriol due to a sense that discourse on web forums is generally noxious. The conviviality of the buff men's responses runs totally counter to viewer's expectations. It's not just muscular men that we presume to be hotheaded and condescending this kind of unacceptable behavior is endemic to the medium as a whole, and viewers are tickled to see that dynamic inverted. I really think Chief hit on something with that last response, and I want to add that part of the appeal of the format lies in its warmth those of us who spend a lot of time online find ourselves bathing in a sea of toxic discourse but, for a cohort so frequently described as overwhelmingly self-absorbed, I think that the millennials making and consuming these genuinely value humility a lack of ego and self-importance and empathy the ability to understand others. The men in these memes display these in spades and, through the experience of incogruity, viewers are given theopportunity to deepen their own humility and extend their sense of empathy.

Additionally, the meme, along with the parent Buff Guys on Laptops format, has been gained popularity in Redraws.

Peter Godofsky Discovery

On December 4th, 2021, Twitter user @PeterGodofsky discovered that the "nerdy kid" in the meme is most likely a 2004 picture of him at Lego League.



Various Examples


nakanoart @nakanodrawing "Hey everyone, I've been having trouble catching that mouse. Do you guys have any tips?" "Be patient and don't pounce too soon. You've got this!" "Mice are very sneaky but so are you. Use all of your senses" "Stay positive and keep your focus! Self-doubt is your worst enemy" Traducir Tweet "Hello bros! King in training here, can anyone help me design a mecha out of Lego? I got into Battletech and got inspired Welcome, and good timing, King! I had literally JUST completed my guide on designing joints for your lego mecha! <click to download attachment> Don't be afraid to mix Bionicle and technic with System bricks, I struggled with this myself, but once got past it I've surprised myself on all my future builds Send me your PayPal, King, there's a few sets I feel you should get to help you with this goal Good luck, I am excited to see where your creativity goes! Hey guys my dank edgy memes are always getting reported. what should I do? that's really unfortunate brother. But, why not switch your meme style? you can try posting dank memes that are not that edgy oimaghost well said, friend. Try giving a shot for more wholesome or relatable memes that insult nobody. they're always appreciated and make others feel better! Spot on! The point of memes is to make others' happy, if for even a second. I'm sure you can do it; I believe in you

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External References

[1] Twitter – @bitchassbowie's Tweet

[2] Twitter – @MiyaTheQueen's Tweet

[3] Multiplayer.it – tropical11's Post

[4] Twitter – @LewdPrax' Tweet

[5] Twitter – @tirentu's Tweet

[6] Twitter – @JasTheLass' Tweet

[7] Twitter – @cottonwings' Tweet

[8] Instagram – oimaghost's Post

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