Ah, the internet. It’s brought us some kooky characters, hasn’t it? From the Cash Me Ousside Girl to the Yodelling Kid, we’ve had some absolute gems over the years but I reckon one of my all time faves has to be Alex from Target.
[jwplayer pOv0yCqQ]
The cute cashier, Alex LaBeouf achieved international social media stardom after someone snapped a pic of him (which was low-key creepy, come to think of it…) while he was bagging their purchases at a Target in Texas and posted it online.
Here’s the glorious snap in question:
The Texan teen became a global sensation overnight, scoring guest appearances on talk shows across America including The Ellen Show.
“I went on tour for a full month. It was the first time I’d ever gone out of state without my parents. It was pretty crazy,” he told J-14. “I was best friends with Sam Pottorff. We went on tour together and we because really close friends. I actually moved in with him whenever I moved out to California. I was living with him for a couple months.”
But the fame became a bit too intense for the poor kid and he had to quit his job at Target ‘coz he was constantly being bombarded by fans.
“I left work early because people we starting to come in to take pictures and stuff. That got kind of weird,” he said. “I was like ‘What does this mean? Is this gonna change my life?’ The moment I realised it was actually going to change everything was the moment Ellen called.”
He even told the New York Times that he was scared to leave the house at one point so he left high school and started homeschooling.
“I had to leave high school after going on the Ellen Show in Texas you can only miss ten days of school before you’re truant and you have to go to court. So, I had to go to court because I was missing so much school from flying out to Los Angeles and all that stuff,” he told J-14. “Once I started homeschooling, then I actually got the freedom to kind of go wherever so that after that everything just started getting crazy.”
Then he did what all ~influencers~ do and started a YouTube channel, a gig that he could manage from the comfort of his bedroom.
https://twitter.com/AlexLeeWorld/status/916755570257944576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E916755570257944576&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.j-14.com%2Fposts%2Falex-from-target-now-137935
He saw this as more of a side project, though, and decided to go to college to become an EMT (emergency medical technician).
“I’m probably not going to put everything I have into this because social media is such a…it’s not the type of business I wanna put everything I have into. It’s too risky, in my opinion, especially with what I had gone through in the past. So, right now I’m going to be starting school to be an EMT soon.”
Nowadays, he’s gone from the cutesy, boy-next-door, “I’ll have your daughter home by eight”, bb faced angel to a totally jacked gym nut with a whole lotta tatts.
Without any further delay, take a sip of the tall glass of water that is post-Target Alex…
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgHlFlEHzgr/?taken-by=alexleeworld
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj29BCHH7uY/?taken-by=alexleeworld
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bhp42EWnTL3/?taken-by=alexleeworld
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf9EKRJHWJ3/?taken-by=alexleeworld
https://www.instagram.com/p/BardXexAOhJ/?taken-by=alexleeworld
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSujLr5A83u/?taken-by=alexleeworld
