Inside the Mind of a Meme Lord
Look, it’s 2023, if you don’t know what a Meme is, I can’t help you and this article isn’t for you. For the rest of you, let’s talk about what it takes to be a meme lord. First, the definition of a meme. From the Oxford Dictionary: “1. An image, video, piece of text, etc., typically humorous in nature, that is copied and spread rapidly by internet users, often with slight variations. 2. An element of a culture or system of behavior passed from one individual to another by imitation or other non-genetic means.” So why am I defining memes on a disc golf blog? Because I found a disc golf meme lord, and I reached out to him to help shed some light on what it takes to make some of the best memes on the web.
On Twitter, he’s known as ObiBogey, an already creative username, is known as John Bailey in the real world. Hailing from the Oregon Coast, and he is 40 years young and can be considered an old school disc golfer. He started playing casually in 2002 but got serious about the sport in 2018. He was given the moniker ‘Obi’, “When I was on weird Twitter and just added ‘Bogey’ to it because I liked the way it flowed.” With just over 2k followers, he’s by no means an ‘influencer’ or ‘online celebrity’, but he does make great memes. I have provided a few here for your review.
So, what goes through the mind of a meme lord? Let’s find out! According to Obi, the process is very internal. He says, “Sometimes I have a specific image in my head, and I'll search until I find that image but sometimes, I see an image that either fits well enough or I'll see something that makes me think of something else and I forget what I was originally looking for.” Wow sounds like a bit of a madhouse in that brain. Like many great memes, the process comes in a flash of inspiration. “I usually come up with a meme on the fly”, Obi says. “If I spend more than five minutes thinking of a way to make something work, I’ll completely ditch the idea.” It is just as important in the creative process to find the right image and text that fit. Obi says, “I don’t really try and shoehorn images into the memes. It’ll be obvious to me, or I won’t use it.” Like so many things in life, timing is everything.
You may be asking where can I find these epic memes? Well unless people are cross sharing, Obi’s memes live on one platform. “I only post on Twitter. My favorite tweets are secretly my text only tweets and those wouldn't work on other sites. I do have an Instagram, but I only post about my actual game and discs, no jokes, although my game is kind of a joke,” he says. Ouch, nothing like some self-deprecating for the win. I’m sure his game isn’t that bad…
Look, this is a strange and short article this week, I just wanted to share this guy’s memes because they are hilarious. Thank you, John, for being a good sport and participating in this interview, and in closing, he says, “Thank you to the people who interact and enjoy the stuff I do. Thank You!” No, thank you ObiBogey for making the world a better place with your memes. Can’t wait to see your next one.
Do you make memes? Do you think there are better Meme Lords out there doing disc golf? Let me know in the comments, let’s have a conversation. Thanks, see you next week.
