The History of Motivational Lizard

by Finn, Grade 6

Motivational Lizard, a household Internet name. You’ve heard of him before or he’s possibly even helped you through tough times. But, you’re probably wondering how you found this lizard. Well, let’s go back to 2014.

The Lizard Let Loose

In June of 2014, a bored 16-year-old named Vance Latta (AKA BraxtonThePorcupine on YouTube) had the idea for this little guy and went to work on him. And, on June 14, 2014, he uploaded the video we all know and love today called “Motivational Lizard” Unfortunately he released to little success, with only a quick article made by Metro in 2015. That was, until 2019, when his path crossed with a group of YouTubers and streamers called the Lunch Club.

Lizard x Lunch Club

In 2019, the group called the Lunch Club with people like CallMeCarson and Slimecicle did a 12 hour Minecraft stream called Lifelink, where if someone dies, everyone else dies. All of the donations were going to go to Lunch Club projects and there was also Mediashare. For those who don’t know, occasionally Twitch streamers turn on a feature called Mediashare where if you donate a certain amount, you get a short video of your choosing to be played and the streamer will react to it, making for funny moments or other occasions. Well, someone named Krinios who is also a YouTuber and was moderating the Mediashare snuck our little lizard into the queue and when it started to play, CallMeCarson began to clap, with the other Lunch Club following him. This made for one of the most memorable moments in Lunch Club history and later on in the stream, it was played a few more times and by the end of the stream, it had touched everyone’s hearts, and led to the increase of views on the actual video.

Lizard Links

With the success Vance was getting, he decided to take advantage of the increasing popularity, so he released merch to a moderate success. But, his most successful venture was turning Motivational Lizard into a Youtooz, being #13 in the Meme Collection and with each figure coming with one of 5 lines from the video, each with a different rarity. He sold out in one week, becoming one of the only meme figures to sell out. And now, links.

The Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGOQfLFzJj8

Merch:

https://teespring.com/stores/braxton-the-porcupine

Metro Article: https://metro.co.uk/2015/04/10/motivational-lizard-will-provide-your-friday-with-a-much-needed-boost-5143392/

The Youtooz:

https://youtooz.com/products/motivational-lizard

So, do I mean what I said about this little guy touching me and so many other hearts? Yes. Is this article a way to hold me over until my Motivational Lizard Youtooz arrives? Maybe. But, I want you to walk away with these wise words from the lizard himself: “ur a winner kiddo. don’t you ever forget.”