How 'four lads in jeans' faced vicious trolling after snap of pals enjoying a ... trends now
A group of friends who posed for a photo whilst wearing tight trousers during a casual night out in Birmingham took the internet by storm.
Jamie Philips, Connor Humpage, Kevin Rooney and Alex Lacey rose to internet fame when their 2019 group photo became a meme known as the 'four lads in jeans'.
Four years later, the friends recreated the snap ditching their tight clothing for baggy jeans and cargo pants and have been immortalised in a statue.
But how did this innocent group photo become a viral snap adored by Britons?
The pair have featured in BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge and appeared in ad campaigns for McDonald's and Sony noise-cancelling headphones.
Jamie Philips, Connor Humpage, Kevin Rooney, and Alex Lacey (from L to R) shared their new look on Instagram
The 'four lads in jeans' took to Birmingham city centre donning tight cropped trousers and polo shirts back in 2019
The friendship group ditched tight jeans and chinos for edgier clothing items, such as cargo pants for the 2024 shot
However, for a year and a half after the 2019 photo was taken outside Birmingham's New Street station, online trolling outweighed the commercial benefits of being famous.
Mr Lacey, a plumbing and heating engineer, said he received abusive phone calls and texts after his work number was leaked and his mother was targeted on Instagram.
He said: 'She got trolled saying 'your son's this, your son's that' – that was a low point.
'You don't see the good in it for a long time. It did massively knock me on my head. It changed me a lot.
'I don't understand why the Government isn't looking more into social media and online bullying.
'If I physically bully someone it's illegal, but online it's not. I don't understand the justice in that.'
Mr Humpage, a tattoo artist, was also impacted by how the group's image has been used to convey opinions or beliefs not aligned with their own.
He explained: 'As a tattoo artist, I was drawing a portrait of George Floyd out of respect and in tribute, then I think it was that day someone was making these memes slandering Black Lives Matter above our picture.
'Certain people are thinking they're our words and we've said it and stereotyping us just for being us… I hope people realise we aren't those types of lads.'
After the abuse, the group faced a positive turning
