Meme King: The story of Vine star Gavin Thomas

The Man, The Meme, The Legend

Who is Gavin Thomas? You may know him as the lizard kid from vine, or the kid with relatable facial expression that hung out with the girl who used to be in Fifth Harmony. At just 6 years old, Gavin has more retweets than many of us will ever see in a lifetime. Gavin and his mother Kate took the time to catch up with me over the phone to answer some questions and let his followers know what’s going on.

It all started when he was just two and a half years old. Gavin’s uncle Nick Mastodon decided to feature his little nephew in his 6 second vine. At this point Nick already had a decent following on the app, but he really got his fame when people started responding to the adorable toddler. The memes didn’t start forming until Nick released the video where a lizard clearly bit Gavin, and Gavin denied that it happened. Gavin wanted me to add that the lizard did bite him but “IT DIDN’T HURT”.

Since the end of vine (RIP) people have been wondering what Gavin will do with the rest of his career. When asked he claimed “I want to be a swim instructor and work at Home Depot when I grow up”. To be fair, last year he claimed he wanted to be a truck and a race car, so at least he is settling in on a human job. Gavin is very interested in making Youtube videos, he even has his own channel “FOLLOW ME ON GAVINTUBE” (you really should, he’s hilarious). From unboxing videos to workout tutorials, Gavintube offers a wide range of entertainment.

Now we all know what can happen to child celebrities *cough cough Demi Lovato, Lindsay Lohan, Miley Cyrus* but this 6 year old internet meme is not letting this fame go to his head. I asked Gavin if he thought he was famous and he responded “the big kids in fifth grad think I’m famous, they have seen my videos”. Sit down Gavin, be humble. This, almost 7 year old, kid will be blowing up your twitter for many more years to come. I predict this is just the beginning of Gavin’s career.