- Popeyes introduced a partnership with viral meme star Dieunerst Collin on Thursday.
- Collin, now a school soccer participant, signed an NIL cope with the corporate.
- Collin will probably be featured on a Popeyes billboard in his hometown of New Jersey, ESPN reported.
The star of a once-viral meme is having a full-circle second after inking a cope with Popeyes, the restaurant the place his well-known side-eyeing GIF was born.
Dieunerst Collin was 9 years outdated when a stranger on the fast-food restaurant launched him to web stardom with a video evaluating Collin to viral star, Lil Terrio, who gained fame on video-sharing app Vine for his dance strikes.
Within the video of Collin, the cameraman could be heard asking a confused-looking Collin to say “Oooh,” just like the creator of the unique viral Vine of Lil Terrio. Since then, Collin’s suspicious stare has been used as a meme throughout social media platforms.
Collin — now a freshman and soccer participant at Lake Erie School in Ohio — lastly cashed in on his on-line fame on Thursday when by signing a Identify, Picture, Likeness (NIL) cope with Popeyes as a school athlete, ESPN reported.
As a part of the NIL sponsorship, Collin will promote the restaurant and seem on a billboard in his residence state of New Jersey, per ESPN. It’s unclear how lengthy the deal will final and precisely how a lot Collin will make from it.
Collin credited a Monday Instagram publish from Sports activities Heart for his concept to tag the restaurant chain within the hopes of profiting off of the NCAA’s new guidelines for athlete compensation.
“I assumed that is in all probability the chance I can get with Popeyes to at the very least attain out,” Collin instructed ESPN.
He continued: “I went on Instagram and determined to publish asking everybody to repost and tag Popeyes, not understanding that I might get all of the help I acquired.”
By Monday afternoon, Popeyes messaged Collin letting his know they’d prefer to work with him, and the partnership was formally introduced on Thursday.
—Popeyes (@Popeyes) January 12, 2023
The announcement has prompted different corporations to succeed in out for added model partnerships, Collin instructed ESPN.
“I had Dude Wipes, they talked to me they usually’re sending me some merchandise,” Collin stated. “I’ve one firm that I have been with referred to as Lock1N. It is an athletic model from a soccer participant I used to play with in highschool.”
In 2021, student-athletes celebrated a monumental NCAA coverage change that will enable them to become profitable from their names, pictures, and likenesses after a decades-long combat for the suitable to take action. The change sparked a slew of brand name offers for school athletes – some even scoring 5 – 6 determine offers, in accordance with the report.
Collin instructed ESPN he is grateful that his unintentional fame is lastly paying off almost a decade later.
“I simply need to thank everybody for going within the feedback and tagging Popeyes,” Collin stated. “That truly led me to the place I am at now, so I am grateful for that.”