
Experience: My face became a meme [as told by Harold himself] - ptbello
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/nov/08/experience-hide-the-pain-harold-face-became-meme-turned-it-into-career
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weinzierl
Interesting story, not knowing about _Hide the Pain Harold_ I was surprised
when it was revealed that the guy is actually 74.

 _" I’m 74 now. I spent 40 years as an engineer. I did a bit of public
speaking then, at conferences and lectures, but that was very different from
appearing on television talkshows and YouTube videos. As an engineer, it was
really me. Now, it’s role play: I’m Hide the Pain Harold. But I’m not actually
a sad guy – I think I’m rather a happy one."_

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cbsks
For those not familiar with that meme, like myself, here are some examples:
[https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/hide-the-pain-
harold](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/hide-the-pain-harold)

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glouwbug
That was heart warming. I remember Overly Attached Girlfriend doing the same
thing. She used her fame for a good cause.

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aidenn0
Overly Attached Girlfriend started with a youtube video that went viral
though. A bit different from a stock photo going viral like Harold or
Distracted Boyfriend..

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viraptor
I'm glad those people embraced it and got something out of it. It's really
unfair that some public photo of you can become a meme without your input at
all. Techno Viking did not like being in that situation at all and sued the
person who filmed him
[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jan/24/techno...](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jan/24/techno-
viking-internet-celebrity-curse) but there's no way back really.

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SpaceInvader
His TEDx talk [0] about the same subject.

[0]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FScfGU7rQaM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FScfGU7rQaM)

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teh_klev
Which is linked to in the article.

