68-Year-Old Skateboarding Professor Becomes Viral Meme [PICS]

Tom Winter, 68-year-old University of Nebraska classics professor, rose to Internet stardom after a picture of him riding his skateboard, with a briefcase in hand, became a Reddit top post on Thursday.

Numerous blogs and news publications wrote stories about the web-famous skateboarding professor.

Winter had never heard of Reddit until his students notified him about his popular picture on the website. He checked the network out for himself and found some of thememes hilarious. He thought others were full of confusing “contemporary slang.”

He received even more Internet love on Friday when BuzzFeed published a The 30 Best Teachers Of All Time, with Winter landing on top.

“You can roll, but you can’t hide,” Winter told Mashable when asked what he makes of all this. When Mashableasked him about meme culture, he thought “memes” referred to the book “The Selfish Gene” by British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins.

The sight of a professor on a skateboard may be surprising for some, but Winter thinks it’s normal. He drives to work and then skateboards on his Arbor Pocket Rocket board around campus. He even tries skateboarding tricks. He has battle wounds to show it — he once broke a rib while attempting a wheelie.

“Walking sucks, so I get there on my wheels,” he said. “I am 19 except [my] joints are all of 68. Walking is of discomfort. Once I get the board going, I can keep my balance and the joints are happy.”

For more Winter-inspired hilarity, check out the gallery below. Winter reviews nine memes that fans have created using his picture.

Image courtesy of Reddit