Sammy Griner first became famous when his mother took a picture of him at the beach holding a fistful of sand and his mouth pressed into a tight line. Photo / Laner Griner Instagram
Sammy Griner first became famous when his mother took a picture of him at the beach holding a fistful of sand and his mouth pressed into a tight line. Photo / Laner Griner Instagram
He first shot to stardom when a baby picture of him became a series of memes.
But the viral fame of ten-year-old Sammy Griner, from Jacksonville, Florida, was used recently in a very different way - to save his father's life.
When Sammy's mother, Laney, took a picture of himin 2007 holding a fistful of sand at the beach, she could never have guessed that the 11-month-old would become an internet sensation.
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.
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.
