The photo was made into thousands of memes but there's a secret behind the notorious photo: Sammy had accidentally eaten some of the sand, the New Statesman reports.
In 2006, Sammy's father Justin became ill and suffered full kidney failure in 2009, forcing him to go on dialysis.
After six years, Mr Griner was told he needed a kidney transplant.
The family set up a GoFundMe page to raise the money. When several internet users realized that it was the father of the 'Success Kid', the Griners raised more than $100,000 in just days. All the money went to help with care surrounding the operation.
In August 2015, Mr Griner successfully underwent a transplant operation.
While Sammy is happy his fame went to a good cause, he says he doesn't want to go viral again and is happy with it having happened "just the once."
His mother says she allows him to have the final say on any media appearances or interviews.
Mrs Griner said: "We were asked to do a game show recently where people try to guess what you're famous for but Sam didn't want to do it so we told them no."
"I don't want to be shown on TV unless it's like just the picture," Sammy said.
