You need to know
When Avery Wagner agreed to film a video with a friend more than a decade ago, she didn’t know that she would become part of the history of the internet.
Wagner, 32, attended the University of Arizona when another student named Jimmy Tatro wanted to film the video on campus.
At the time, Tatro, 33, recently began posting YouTube videos, contributing to the channel Total Frat Move. He frequently filmed and wrote skits with Christian A. Pierce, who was friends with Wagner.
At one point, Wagner, a minor in the film, expressed interest in participating in some of the skit productions. One day, Pierce informed her that she was filming a video containing a “party scene.”
lifeaccordingtojimmy/youtube
“I don’t know how I feel about being on camera. This is ironic. This has turned into something that I thought ‘I don’t know about this’ to be something that will last me for the rest of my life,” Wagner shares only people.
In the video, someone delivers a punchline and an extra, including Wagner, is filmed in response. It was the first time the group had heard of a punchline, so Wagner says her reaction is “relatively authentic.”
It went viral after the video was released in 2012. When Wagner saw it, she went to the comments section and was “scattered” by a barrage of comments that specifically targeted her about her appearance.
“I had a long time had bad anxiety about the whole situation. That wasn’t very good for my confidence. What was probably going to be like a year and a half or two years later, hasn’t turned into a meme,” Wagner shares.
After a while, Wagner shares her initial feelings about the clip as “overcoming.”
“For a long time I thought ‘It was the worst photo I’ve ever had. This is so embarrassing.’ Now I’m far from it, far away from it, to the place I find it interesting. ”
One thing about the Internet is that it lasts forever. Wagner then leaned over the meme and recently posted a video of Tiktok about the situation.
Avery Wagner
“Every year, I think this always dies and leaves and people are going to forget about it,” she shares. “Once a year, it resurfaces in a massive, viral way.”
“At this point, if you have a computer and have used the internet in the last 12 years, you’ve probably seen my face. This is so weird.”
Even Wagner hasn’t spoken for years after recognizing her from the photos. But to this day, she has never been recognized on the street for being in memes.
Avery Wagner
Thirteen years later, Wagner is the owner of a small business that runs a social media agency.
“The girl who was a meme turned content into her life. I started my business three years ago. I work with clients around the country, mainly in the design and construction of real estate spaces,” she shares.
Ironically, Wagner points out that the others in the video currently have over 3 million YouTube followers and are also in some form of social media, film and television production, including Tatro, who has appeared in several comedies, including Shimi Valley and the real brothers of the machine.
Apart from creating content professionally, Wagner shares parts of his personal life, focusing on mental health awareness, creating a more open and transparent online space.
“There’s an issue of anxiety,” Wagner said. “I’ve been dealing with it for the rest of my life and have been fortunate to avoid the negative aspects of Tiktok. It does a lot to people’s mental health. Being in the industry, I’m actively creating content for both myself and my clients.
Her biggest takeaway from her short internet stardom was the impact that rude comments had on everyday people. She begs social media users to think before typing, not “bullying people on the internet.”
“We are real people. Meme people are real people. If you have a lot of rage and you need to express it, write it down in your journal,” she says. “You don’t need to tell people that you’re ugly, the most gli girl you’ve ever seen, and the most gli girl you’ve ever seen, that you don’t do great things for people’s mental health.”
