The rise of the Chill Guy memes has been nothing short of a sensation. From an artwork shared in X, it first became viral and now has hit the crypto market as a meme coin and surged over 538% in a couple of days. Now, the man behind the image of the 'Chill Guy,' also known as the 'My Character' meme, artist Phillip Banks, is enforcing copyright on the image.
Phillip, who first posted the image of the Chill Guy – a dog dressed as a human, is a North Carolina, US-based artist who regularly posts his work on multiple social media platforms. He was born on April 8, as per his X profile. He has over 20,000 followers on Instagram and over 60,000 on X.
On Thursday, Banks announced that he will be enforcing copyright protection on the image of the 'Chill Guy.' "Just putting it out there, the chill guy has been copyrighted. like, legally. i'll be issuing takedowns on for-profit related things over the next few days" Banks wrote on X on November 21.
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In an Instagram Question and Answer session in October 2023, Banks explained that the idea of the Chill Guy came from a character "who you could tell was chill guy but I also wanted people to know that he lowkey didn't give a fu**."
The “chill guy” meme, known for its smirk and relaxed pose, offers relatable advice about reducing stress and embracing simplicity in animated form. The character gained traction on platforms like X and TikTok, inspiring numerous memes and videos. Recently, El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele also featured the “chill guy” on his official X account.