After watching his team lose, one Texas college student got the surprise of a lifetime when he realized that he'd gone viral...because of his hair.
Grant Walther, a 20-year-old sophomore at the University of Texas at Austin, became a meme now known as "Texas hair guy" when the Longhorns took on the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday, Oct. 19 — and lost 30-15.
ESPN cameras captured the look on the student's face as he took in the score, and Walther quickly took over the internet.
"I'm sitting there watching the game absolutely crushed by what I'm witnessing ... and everyone around me is on their phones," Walther told local ABC outlet WFAA of what was going on in real time. "And I kind of turn around and I'm like, 'Why is everyone on their phones?' "
That's when he learned that his pompadour had gone viral.
"They go, 'Walter you're a meme.' And I'm sitting here absolutely astonished because how could I be a meme? I'm just watching a football game," he added.
"Crazy semester even crazier last few days," he wrote in a social media post summing up the wild ride.
As for how he's been handling his viral moment, Walther said he's "just gonna roll with it."
"You can't stop what's on the Internet," he told WFAA, adding that while there have been some "hurtful things" that have been said about him, he's choosing to look at this experience as an opportunity.
"I'd obviously love to grow my brand and turn this into something bigger than myself," added the student, who has branded himself as "Angry Texas Fan" on TikTok and X.
Speaking with The Daily Mail, the sophomore said that he'd love to team up with diehard Texas Longhorns fan Matthew McConaughey for a fundraiser.
In 2019, McConaughey cut Texas defensive end Breckyn Hager's hair on the field after the Sugar Bowl, and the football player donated his hair to Locks of Love, according to ESPN.
“Maybe he can cut mine on the field and raise some money for cancer awareness," Waltham told the outlet. "My grandmother just recently got diagnosed with breast cancer and then beat it. This is the perfect platform for me to advocate for the things I care most about.”
As for what hair products he uses to achieve his signature look, well, it's really just two-in-one shampoo.
"I wash my hair every morning, and I let it dry but it just sticks straight up," he told WFAA. "I tell you what, it has a mind of its own and there is just no way I can control it."
