| Chill Guy | |
|---|---|
 The original artwork posted by Banks in 2023 | |
| First appearance | October 4, 2023; 2 years ago (2023-10-04) |
| Created by | Phillip Banks "philb" |
| In-universe information | |
| Nickname | My new character |
| Species | Dog |
| Gender | Male |
Chill Guy, also known asMy new character, is a digital artwork andInternet meme first posted by the American artist Phillip Banks onTwitter on October 4, 2023. The artwork consists of ananthropomorphic dog wearing a grey sweater, blue jeans, and red sneakers, giving off a chill expression bysmirking with his hands in his pockets. While the artwork had some success after publishing, it only became viral about a year later on August 30, 2024, when a user onTikTok made a slideshow with the artwork, combining it with other popular memes at the time. In the following days, similar memes gained tens of millions of views, attracting the attention of larger corporations, including the German athletic apparel companyAdidas, the food delivery serviceUber Eats, and the Indian political partyBJP, who used the artwork in their promotions.
The artwork became viral a second time on November 21, 2024, primarily on TikTok, inspiring thememe coin $CHILLGUY which rapidly rose to amarket cap ofUS$580 million, driven in part by a post by Salvadorian presidentNayib Bukele on Twitter in support of the coin. The resulting popularity of the coin and other unauthorized use of the artwork for commercial gain led Banks to copyright the artwork and issuenotice and take downs of "unauthorized merchandise and shitcoins"[1] trying to make a profit, not including fanart or brands using it in the trends. Following the announcement, the coin dropped to about half of what it was worth, and Banks was subsequentlydoxed, prompting him to set his Twitter account to private to avoid further harassment.
According to some media outlets, the meme likely resonated online as it was regarded as a playful but relatable piece which encourages people to seekself-help, remain stress-free, and approach life with an easygoing attitude. The artwork was regarded as one of the top memes of 2024 by the American newspaperUSA Today and the Indian digital media companyScoopWhoop.
The artwork was created by theNorth Carolinian artist Phillip Banks, which according to Banks'Tumblr account, is apseudonym.[2] It consists of a brown dog with ahuman figure, wearing a greycrew neck sweater, blue jeans, and dirty redConverse shoes.[3][4][5][6] He is smirking with his hands in his pocket, with the caption written by Banks that he is a "chill guy".[5][6] His design was misreported to be based on a cross between the 1990s American cartoonArthur and the character Charlie from the American adult animated television showSmiling Friends,[3][4][7][8] but according to Banks, he was not based on anything in particular.[9] As for the artwork's name, Bankstweeted on September 2, 2024, that he disliked the use of the nameMy new character as opposed toChill Guy, which was his original intention for the piece.[4]
On October 4, 2023, Banks posted the original image onTwitter with the caption "my new character. his whole deal is he's a chill guy that lowkey doesn't give a fuck" [sic].[5] He later posted the same artwork onInstagram Reels.[5] The artwork was soon used in a number of memes following its publishing, inspiring Banks to create an additional piece he calledUnchill Gal orMy old character, based onChill Guy, which he drew with an opposite color palette as well as more serious and less-carefree expressions.[3][7][6][8]Chill Guy only became viral later on August 30, 2024, however, when aTikTok user under the username .blitzerzz made a slideshow with the artwork, utilizing other memes at the time, including theRoddy Ricch song "Ricch Forever", and the American adult animated sitcomFamily Guy.[5][6] Another edit made on TikTok on September 4, 2024, using a quote from the American television seriesDexter, gained over 4.5 million views, and a repost the following day gaining over 13.8 million views.[5] Similar edits in the following days using "chill quotes" from other mainstream televisions saw similar success, especially on TikTok and Twitter.[5][10] According to the Indian English-language newspaperTimes Now News, the meme likely resonated online because it was a playful but relatable piece which "encourag[es] people to focus on themselves", remain stress-free, and approach life with a "laid-back attitude",[3] alongside other relatableself-help.[4][7][11] Between the two social media platforms, the original posts by Banks have received over 100 thousand likes and over ten thousand reposts.[5] Cosplay and fanart of the artwork also appeared online, inspiring someHalloween costumes later in the year.[3][7][6][8]
On November 21, 2024, the artwork made a third major resurgence online, in part due to ameme coin inspired by the artwork named $CHILLGUY reaching a maximum $580 millionmarket cap for trading on the platformSolana.[1][12] The meme coin, which was launched on Solana earlier on November 15, was made by anonymous creators without permission from Banks.[13] The coin's growth was driven in part by a post from Salvadoran presidentNayib Bukele on his official Twitter account,[2][13] social media trends on TikTok, and afear of missing out.[14] Another reason credited to the artwork's increased in popularity came after the creation ofChill Girl on November 17 by the TikTok user Stopscrolling_22, which featuresChill Guy with superimposed long hair.[15] The result was a sudden spike of memes using the artwork on social media, which saw a greater focus on male mental health.[12][16] Large corporations and entities, including the German athletic apparel companyAdidas,[16] the Indian political partyBJP,[16] theHong Kong phone case companyCasetify,[17] the American basketball bracketMarch Madness,[12] the American football channelNFL on CBS,[12] the European distributor forSprite,[12] and the food delivery serviceUber Eats all used the artwork in their own posts.[17]
Despite the success of the artwork, Banks wrote on his Twitter account on November 21, 2024, that he had copyrighted it.[13] Banks further stated he had issuednotice and take downs against "mainly unauthorized merchandise and shitcoins" using the artwork for profit; stating "I do not, and will never, endorse or condone any crypto-related projects involving my work," but clarified this did not impact brand accounts using the artwork as a trend.[1][12] Soon after issuing the notice, Banks was subsequentlydoxed, prompting him to set his Twitter account to private to avoid further harassment.[1] These controversies caused the price of $CHILLGUY coin to drop to about half of what it was worth before ($220 million).[1]
At the end of 2024, the artwork was regarded as one of the top ten best memes of 2024 by the American newspaperUSA Today,[18] and one of the top eight best by the Indian digital media companyScoopWhoop.[19] The piano piece "Hinoki Wood" byGia Margaret, often paired with the meme on social media, peaked at the number two spot of theTikTokBillboard Top 50 for the week of December 7, 2024.[20][21] A sample of "Hinoki Wood" was used by thehip hop group41 to make their song "Chill Guy", named after the artwork.[21] The song, which had a "laid-back" tone compared to thedrill music the group traditionally made, became one of their most successful, and was partially responsible for inspiring them to switch away from drill.[22] Sometime after the controversies surrounding $CHILLGUY, Banks began the sale of plush toys of the artwork.[16]
On December 15, 2024, after 2 to 1 win againstManchester City,Manchester United playerAmad Diallo referenced the meme in a post-game interview, stating "I have been working so hard every day to have this moment, to live this moment, and I am so happy the team is very happy with me because I am a chill guy."[23] From April 11 to May 5, 2025, aChill Guy-themedpop-up retail existed atFestival Walk shopping center in Hong Kong.[17] The event, which claimed to be official, includedinflatables and sculptures of the artwork, as well as sold clothing and collectable items with the artwork on it.[17]
