Revealed: 'Success Kid' has used his viral fame to save his father's life

Sammy Griner first became famous when his mother took a picture of him at the beach holding a fistful of sand and his mouth pressed into a tight line. Photo / Laner Griner Instagram

He first shot to stardom when a baby picture of him became a series of memes.

But the viral fame of ten-year-old Sammy Griner, from Jacksonville, Florida, was used recently in a very different way - to save his father's life.

When Sammy's mother, Laney, took a picture of him in 2007 holding a fistful of sand at the beach, she could never have guessed that the 11-month-old would become an internet sensation.

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#successkidney

A post shared by Laney Griner (@laneymg) on Aug 16, 2015 at 10:16am PDT

With a "determined" look on his face, he was dubbed the "Success Kid" when the photo went viral in 2010.

The photo was made into thousands of memes but there's a secret behind the notorious photo: Sammy had accidentally eaten some of the sand, the New Statesman reports.

In 2006, Sammy's father Justin became ill and suffered full kidney failure in 2009, forcing him to go on dialysis.

After six years, Mr Griner was told he needed a kidney transplant.

The family set up a GoFundMe page to raise the money. When several internet users realized that it was the father of the 'Success Kid', the Griners raised more than $100,000 in just days. All the money went to help with care surrounding the operation.

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Everything.

A post shared by Laney Griner (@laneymg) on Sep 24, 2016 at 8:01pm PDT

In August 2015, Mr Griner successfully underwent a transplant operation.

While Sammy is happy his fame went to a good cause, he says he doesn't want to go viral again and is happy with it having happened "just the once."

His mother says she allows him to have the final say on any media appearances or interviews.

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No one does Success Kid like #SuccessKid.

A post shared by Laney Griner (@laneymg) on Nov 19, 2015 at 6:09pm PST

Mrs Griner said: "We were asked to do a game show recently where people try to guess what you're famous for but Sam didn't want to do it so we told them no."

"I don't want to be shown on TV unless it's like just the picture," Sammy said.