Guy Who Went Viral 'Holding In Fart' Explains What Was Really Happening

Yes, that one. Turns out, we've got the scoop on what was really going down when that famous photo was captured.

The guy in the meme is Michael McGee. 

In the photo, you can see him putting on quite the strained expression while sitting next to his pretty classmate. 

The picture first hit the internet with the caption: "Holding in a fart next to the cute girl in class."

The meme went viral. Credit: X

Michael was a student at Northwest High School in Justin, Texas, when his friend took this unforgettable snapshot. 

Little did they know, it would catapult into meme fame in 2013, just two months after the picture was taken, making Michael the face of the struggle to hold in farts worldwide.

At the time, Michael, who was just 16, couldn't have imagined the global recognition he would gain for, well, holding in gas.

The photo made its way to Twitter thanks to Michael's friend, who not only snapped the pic but also turned it into the meme we all know and chuckle at. 

They probably had no clue just how iconic it would become.

In a 2021 interview with Buzzfeed, McGee recounted how the photo didn't catch fire online until a couple of months later, when it suddenly "blew up." 

He shared: "We're on Christmas break in December, and I went to sleep one night. I wake up and my phone is really scorching hot."

Who can forget this? Credit: X / @amlab

"I look on my phone and it has the 20+ notification on your Twitter icon. I saw that a guy on Reddit had taken Matthew's [the guy who captured the photo] tweet and pic stitched it to their own, and it was 'when you’re holding in a fart next to your crush'. And it just blew up."

He added, "I had all these people tagging me in the photo like, ‘hey, is this you?’. Overnight I went from 700 Twitter followers to 3000 or something like that."

This wasn't the first time McGee has spoken out about becoming an iconic meme figure. 

Back in 2018, he gave an interview to UNILAD where he clarified:

"I was not flatulent by any means! It's quite a party trick really, I just kind of hold my breath and flex my head, if that makes any sense?"

He went on to explain the backstory of the picture, saying:

"The guy who took the picture has been a really good friend of mine since I moved to Texas, and I knew I could do that face any time I wanted."

Credit: BuzzFeed

"So he wanted to take a picture and put a funny caption with it. So he got his phone and told me to make a face."

"He posted it and in like two or three months it went completely viral and took off!"

Even today, Michael gets recognized by "random people," with strangers occasionally approaching him to ask if he's the "fart meme guy." 

He takes it all in stride, though, finding the whole situation amusing. 

"My parents don't really understand how big and widespread it's become so they overlook the whole thing. My friends find it hilarious though!" he mentioned.

And what about the girl sitting next to him in that infamous photo? 

The one he was supposedly trying so hard not to fart around? 

Turns out, Mike is still "very good friends with the girl in the photo."

Her name is Amber Potter, and she had her own reaction to the moment: 

"At first when he did the face I was like 'what are you doing?!' I hope he's okay? It looked pretty painful."