ATLANTA — Anyone who has been on the Internet in the last six years has probably come across a popular video of a young student wearing a Ron Clark Academy jacket dancing in class.
And if you don't know the moment we are talking about --- here it is:
The first student you see dancing in the chair is Jaycob Linsey. Well, the young boy who was 12 at the time is all grown up now. He just graduated from high school in Atlanta.
Since that viral moment, his face has been all over social media memes and GIFs. You know you've seen it... 😂😂😂
Linsey told 11Alive Friday that on that day, his class had just learned they would get the chance to go see the movie "Black Panther." Linsey and his classmates were elated to learn the news. The highly anticipated film shattered box office records with its opening weekend debut in 2018.
"When they told us we were going to see 'Black Panther,' I was so excited," he said. "I just wanted to get up and start dancing. I don't know what made me start dancing, I just wanted to do it."
He said everyone supported him and had fun with the moment. But that viral dance, was life-changing for him.
"When I was younger, I didn't really understand what was going on, it was just like, everyone was, 'you were that kid in that video. That's you? Can I get a picture! Can I get a picture!'"
He said the attention eventually calmed down -- but that was until he graduated.
"Everything started popping back up, and it's like dang, this is really happening," he said. "It just hit me."
He said he realized the far-stretching reach of that moment, especially for young people.
"I have a very big impact on everything, on the Black community," he said. "It makes me feel so good."
He said it makes him want to make everyone who supported him proud.
"It just makes me want to try harder, go harder and put my best foot forward," he said.
He recently graduated from D.M. Therrell High School in Atlanta and is preparing to go to college. Ron Clark Academy gave him a shoutout online.
That dance will forever be remembered by his family and friends.. and for those who use the popular GIF online. 🙂
He said he's been asked to do the viral dance since that moment in the 6th grade. He had some advice for young kids who actually want to become viral.
"Be yourself," he said. "Don't try to be nothing you're not. Be yourself.
11Alive photojournalist Brandon Tucker contributed to this story.