Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In 2014, a 17-year-old in Tampa let his sister style an outfit and take his picture on the sidewalk outside his childhood home. He captioned it "you know I had to do it to em." Two years later, a stranger's repost turned him into the internet's default image of the privileged frat boy, and after that into a Dr. Phil M&M, a Fred Flintstone, a Youtooz figure, a Carnaval costume in Brazil, and the cover of a rapper's debut album. Along the way came a drug arrest, a GoFundMe that raised $245 toward a $7,000 goal, and a stretch of Florida sidewalk that became a real meme pilgrimage site. Ten years later, he went back and took the photo again.
For more information: knowyourmeme.com/memes/you-know-i-had-to-do-it-to-em
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SOURCES You Know I Had to Do It to Em on Know Your Meme: knowyourmeme.com/memes/you-know-i-had-to-do-it-to-em Tampa Bay Times, "10 years later, meme still draws fans to Tampa sidewalk": tampabay.com/news/tampa/2024/12/18/tampa-meme-viral-anniversary-lucky-luciano Lucky Luciano recreates the photo ten years later: knowyourmeme.com/news/lucky-luciano-had-to-recreate-his-iconic-photograph-ten-years-later Daily Dot, Meme History: Lucky Luciano: dailydot.com/meme-history-lucky-luciano Free Lucky Campaign on GoFundMe: gofundme.com/f/free-lucky-campaign The Youtooz figure: youtooz.com/products/you-know-i-had-to-do-it-to-em Dazed on ian's "Valedictorian" cover: dazeddigital.com/music/article/64385/1/why-viral-rapper-ians-embrace-of-white-privilege-is-so-uncomfortable Museu de Memes on the Brazilian version: https://museudememes.com.br/collection/com-licenca-senhor r/tumblr on the Carnaval costumes: reddit.com/r/tumblr/comments/axlq9o/they_know_they_had_to_do_it_to_em 10 Iconic Places Where Famous Memes Were Made: trending.knowyourmeme.com/editorials/collections/10-iconic-places-where-famous-memes-were-made-that-you-can-visit
00:00 Intro
00:53 The Tweet That Started It
01:25 Breaking Down the Photo
03:36 Lucky Embraces the Meme
04:19 The Arrest and the "Free Lucky" GoFundMe
06:28 The "Where's Waldo" Era
07:15 14304 Capitol Drive: A Meme Pilgrimage
08:17 The Meme Goes to Brazil
09:48 Youtooz, American Dad, and "Valedictorian"
10:25 The Tampa Bay Times Interview
12:11 10 Years Later
In 2014, a 17-year-old in Tampa let his sister style an outfit and take his picture on the sidewalk outside his childhood home. He captioned it "you know I had to do it to em." Two years later, a stranger's repost turned him into the internet's default image of the privileged frat boy, and after that into a Dr. Phil M&M, a Fred Flintstone, a Youtooz figure, a Carnaval costume in Brazil, and the cover of a rapper's debut album. Along the way came a drug arrest, a GoFundMe that raised $245 toward a $7,000 goal, and a stretch of Florida sidewalk that became a real meme pilgrimage site. Ten years later, he went back and took the photo again.
For more information: knowyourmeme.com/memes/you-know-i-had-to-do-it-to-em
Hosted by Frankie Fey. Go subscribe to her channel and follow her everywhere else:
▶ FRANKIE FEY
YouTube: youtube.com/@FrankieFey
Instagram: instagram.com/frankie.fey
TikTok: tiktok.com/@frankie.fey
X / Twitter: https://x.com/frankiefey
Subscribe for more internet history, weekly.
SOURCES You Know I Had to Do It to Em on Know Your Meme: knowyourmeme.com/memes/you-know-i-had-to-do-it-to-em Tampa Bay Times, "10 years later, meme still draws fans to Tampa sidewalk": tampabay.com/news/tampa/2024/12/18/tampa-meme-viral-anniversary-lucky-luciano Lucky Luciano recreates the photo ten years later: knowyourmeme.com/news/lucky-luciano-had-to-recreate-his-iconic-photograph-ten-years-later Daily Dot, Meme History: Lucky Luciano: dailydot.com/meme-history-lucky-luciano Free Lucky Campaign on GoFundMe: gofundme.com/f/free-lucky-campaign The Youtooz figure: youtooz.com/products/you-know-i-had-to-do-it-to-em Dazed on ian's "Valedictorian" cover: dazeddigital.com/music/article/64385/1/why-viral-rapper-ians-embrace-of-white-privilege-is-so-uncomfortable Museu de Memes on the Brazilian version: https://museudememes.com.br/collection/com-licenca-senhor r/tumblr on the Carnaval costumes: reddit.com/r/tumblr/comments/axlq9o/they_know_they_had_to_do_it_to_em 10 Iconic Places Where Famous Memes Were Made: trending.knowyourmeme.com/editorials/collections/10-iconic-places-where-famous-memes-were-made-that-you-can-visit
00:00 Intro
00:53 The Tweet That Started It
01:25 Breaking Down the Photo
03:36 Lucky Embraces the Meme
04:19 The Arrest and the "Free Lucky" GoFundMe
06:28 The "Where's Waldo" Era
07:15 14304 Capitol Drive: A Meme Pilgrimage
08:17 The Meme Goes to Brazil
09:48 Youtooz, American Dad, and "Valedictorian"
10:25 The Tampa Bay Times Interview
12:11 10 Years Later
