Q&A with Approval Guy

Approval Guy has been quite the mover and shaker since revealing his origins and journey to internet fame on Reddit not too long ago. He was also kind enough to contribute a super concise story of origin for our entry, but we wanted to know more about the man himself. So we got a hold of Approval Guy again and asked what he's been up to lately.

Interview

Q: How has life been for you since you last talked to us? How has New York been treating you? Any more people recognizing you off the street?

A: My life is pretty much the same. A lot of my close friends already know and find it funny but I've had more and more people send me messages on Facebook about it. If they find out I just reply with a short story about the picture. New York City is great, I couldn't be happier here. People noticing me on the street? Maybe… and if they do they never come up to me and say it, because it's New York, who cares? People are just living their lives. If I'm hanging out with new people and it's mentioned by my friends, some may remember seeing the picture. I have also been replying to a lot of fan and hate email. I'm not sure why people feel the need to hate something so silly. Ooh well, it's funny to me.

Q: So we got a pretty thorough story from you a while back about origins and things that have happened since, but what about the girls in the picture? Have any of them found out and what were their reactions?

A: The girls in the picture, you say? They all hate me now. But hell, have another picture of them from the party. They don't find Approval Guy funny and told me to take down the Reddit thread. Despite legal threats, I refused and continued to answer questions on the thread. They are all very aware of the meme but do not want their names associated with it and for good reason. (They are in their underwear, LOL).

Q: Has "thumbs up" always been your go-to photo gesture before the picture? Looks quite natural on you.

A: Yeah, I usually do it, I also like to have a ridiculous look on my face if possible.

Q: Are there any regrets or did you have any reconsideration before posting on Reddit? Were there other places you considered revealing yourself?

A: No regrets, none and no other place, just Reddit.

Q: Have you had any other meme celebrity icon meetings? Do you consider yourself an internet celebrity?

A: Funny you ask – I do not consider myself a celebrity at all. I'm just a guy who happens to be posted on the internet a bit. Now about meeting other memes, I've only met one, a great one, Samwell as seen here. I'm pretty sure he was hitting on me at a bar in Milwaukee, WI. Regardless, I recognized him and we chatted for some time, he is a really nice guy. I've also met Daniel Tosh in Madison, WI. I went to see his stand-up, which I really enjoyed. This was before he had his show Tosh.0 but it's nice to see he's a "Meme Destroyer" now.

I've also met a personal hero of mine about a year ago, that man's name is Tommy Wiseau, you may have heard of him and his glorious movie The Room. I also once had the opportunity to get a picture with Rachel Ray. Her husband clearly does not approve (the dude in the background).

Q: You mentioned last time with us that you did stand-up comedy. You think it will be inevitable that the Approval Guy persona will end up merging with your comedy work given enough time?

A: I really haven't had time to do stand-up in NYC yet, but I probably wouldn't mix the two. If I did, I would need to have a projector and an audience with the Knowledge of Meme's. I'd just rather write a good dick joke. You know?

Q: In real life, what are some of other things that you generally approve of? and you absolutely disapprove of?

A: Things I approve of? Oh there is so much, I had the opportunity to purchase approvalguy.com and feelsgoodman.com but I really don't know what to do with them yet. I think I would like to approve and disapprove of movies some day, maybe on approvalguy.com, we'll see.

Q: Finally, what are some of your favorite memes?

A: Favorite Meme's? BESIDES Approval Guy? Of course! A classic is Shoop Da Whoop(*). Birthday Dog (*) is pretty great. Advice memes are getting old and annoying, but Advice Dog (*) was great when I saw it years ago. Samwell always cracks me up up, in the butt butt (*). But I think my favorite Meme is Weegee (*). But who is going to read about a Meme's favorite meme? That's so meta. …Feels Good Man (*) is probably my favorite meme now that I think of it.

Editor's Notes: For the sake of privacy protection, Approval Guy's real life identity remains anonymous. However, you can send your own fan mails and questions via approvalguy@gmail.com. For more information and future updates on his online presence, check out his official website at http://approvalguy.com.