Hide Your Pain Harold declares he’s not an influencer despite having a huge following

Hide Your Pain Harold wants everyone to know he’s not an influencer despite having hundreds of thousands of followers.

The white-haired senior stock photography model has a facial expression that captures suppressed pain or discomfort while trying to force a seemingly fake smile.

You have surely used this meme after bumping into your ex or when your barista hands you the flyer to their upcoming reggae gig.

This infamy has helped the model, whose real name is András István Arató, attract a following of more than 400,000 people on social media.

But, despite being one of the most famous memes out there, he insists he is not an influencer.

Recently at his appearance at the Como Fun - the pop culture fair in Lariofiere, Italy - the 77-year-old was sporting a T-shirt that read ‘I am a meme. Not an influencer’.

Many rallied behind his message, as one person wrote: “If others use memes for their own advantage (money, advertise), they will eventually fall. But if you only embrace the fun that memes are supposed to be for, then you will never fail. That's why Harold is the best.”

Another said: “Best T-shirt ever.”

While a third commented: “Which is 100 times better.”

During an interview with Buzzfeed, András István Arató shared the remarkable story about how he accidentally became one of the world’s most recognisable memes.

While vacationing with his family, Arató uploaded some selfies of his trip, which prompted a professional photographer to contact him.

“The stock photos began when a photographer contacted me when he saw my sour face on social media, and he was saying that he was seeking a character like me and invited me to shoot some images,” he said.

He revealed that he first realised he had become a meme six or seven months later.

“At first it was horrifying when I encountered the first memes because there were some really rude or disgusting jokes with me. So I wanted to restore all the pictures and close down all the websites they appeared on, but that was not a solution,” he added.

But now, he takes it in his stride.

“At first, I did not consider myself as famous, but later more and more people stopped me on the street asking for a sour face. I do this always willingly because I see the joy in the eyes of these people,” he added.

He added that his management is even in talks with film studios to produce a movie about his life.

Next stop, Harold takes Hollywood!

Featured Image Credit: Instagram/Pain Harold

Topics: News, Social Media

Charisa Bossinakis

Charisa Bossinakis is an Associative Journalist at LADbible. Charisa has worked across various media platforms including, print, digital, radio and podcasting while maintaining the highest regard for quality work and integrity. She also covered everything from breaking news, to pop culture, entertainment and politics and is part of the editorial team for LADbible.

@CBossinakis