Ernest Khalimov (GigaChad)

About

Russian fitness model, physique icon, and internet personality known for being the real-life figure associated with the viral GigaChad meme. He is also known for his Instagram account @berlin.1969 which has attracted more than 1 million followers and is where he has posted stylized monochrome modeling images that reflect the same aesthetic that made him famous as GigaChad online.

Before fame

He worked primarily as a fitness model and physique model before he gained worldwide internet fame. His early modeling work became connected with Sleek'N'Tears which was a visual art project that showcased stylized photography of male models. He first gained attention when images from the Sleek'N'Tears project featuring him began circulating widely on the internet around 2016. He became widely known by 2017 when internet communities and meme forums adopted the photos of him and began referring to the character represented in the images as GigaChad. His image then quickly spread across platforms such as Reddit, Instagram, and YouTube, and helped turn his modeling photos into a global internet meme.

Trivia

His black-and-white modeling images became so famous online that the GigaChad face has been turned into Twitch emotes, memes, and viral reaction images across the internet. He has also been linked to the fitness brand GIGA Fitness which uses the GigaChad identity as inspiration for its branding and philosophy around strength and fitness.

Family life

He was born and raised in Moscow, Russia.

Associated with

He and Lazar Angelov both appeared in Sleek'N'Tears photography.