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Journalism of Courage
In recent weeks, the image of the ‘Chill Guy’ has become all the rage on social media. Brands and celebrities alike have clamoured to embrace the newest meme: a human-like dog in a sweater, jeans, and sneakers, arms tucked in his pockets, and a bemused smirk. He could be anywhere — a field full of flowers, a bar, or superimposed onto a video of someone’s face.
And he’s been around for a while. Chill Guy was born to the world on October 4 last year, when American artist Philip Banks posted his illustration on X: “my new character. his whole deal is he’s a chill guy that lowkey doesn’t give a fuck”.
On Instagram, Chill Guy is often paired in reels with American singer-songwriter Gia Margaret’s piano song Hinoki Wood. In an interview, Margaret shared that she was burning Hinoki incense while recording it, a scent “known to reduce stress, tiredness and stimulate the brain.”
This is on brand for Chill Guy, who has made the act of not caring “lowkey.”
For one, Chill Guy’s nonchalance resonates with chronically online teenagers and adults who battle the relentless, albeit ironic pressure to seem detached. The downside of being online is the relentless exposure to an unending stream of thoughts and images.
Chill Guy also presents a marked contrast to recent social media trends that incorporate detachment and supposedly defying expectations of some sort: from “#womeninmalefields” and Charli XCX’s Brat phenomenon to the “sigma male”. Unlike the “brat” or the “sigma”, Chill Guy isn’t there to be “confident, independent or hedonistic” (according to a new entry in the Collins dictionary defining brat) or assertive, disciplined and self-fulfilling.
He’s just chill. This has lent him to several meme templates and scenarios, with his impassive expression serving as a blank canvas for all to blend their brands of humour with.
In some corners of Instagram, he’s been seen as a representative of men’s desire to relax from positions of “responsibility”, yet in others, he’s messed up something important at work, and is okay with it.
Some iterations of Chill Guy even find him in situations that joke about engaging in “toxic” relationships or substance abuse. Others come with life-changing advice about your mental health. He is a vessel for endless optimism and for a severe lack of faith at the same time.
While sometimes seen as gender-agnostic, the ubiquitous dog even has a female version, complete with a bow. Animations of him talking have also surfaced. Throughout it all, his impassive expression never changes.
This November, just as Chill Guy was gaining momentum, a cryptocurrency token named “ChillGuy” was released. Since November 15, its value has shot up to over 500 million US dollars, though it has reportedly since declined to 440 million as of November 26, according to crypto tracker website CoinMarketCap. The website also reported that “ChillGuy” outperformed other “meme coins” such as Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB).
Philip Banks issued a statement clarifying that he had obtained copyright on his illustration, and that he would be taking legal action against “unauthorised merchandise and shitcoins.” In another post to Instagram, he decried all crypto-related activities using the image. This could soon induce a sharper turn for the meme coin given the usual volatile nature of the meme coin in crypto markets.
However, Banks said that he is fine with brands making use of the image, with credit. Banks has also tagged brands such as Adidas to demand that they properly credit him for using the image in their content.
The artist has also been the target of harassment, revealing on X that his private details had been leaked in a ‘doxxing’ attempt.
Banks is currently crowdfunding to make Chill Guy plush toys, and partnering with brands such as Sprite London to make reels based on the character. He’s also experimenting with variations on the Chill Guy character.
