X

Mark Zuckerberg's ghostly sunblock photo finds new life on his surfboard

Not everyone wants a super creepy image of themselves following them around, but hey, cowabunga, dude.

Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
Expertise Breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, generational studies. Credentials
  • Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year"​ award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Gael Cooper

In April, photographers caught Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg on vacation in Hawaii absolutely slathered in sunscreen and looking like the Joker, or Commander Data, or a mime. In an Instagram Live discussion at the time, the billionaire said he was trying to hide from the paparazzi, ruefully noting the ploy did not work.

But rather than pretend that creepy photo doesn't exist, Zuckerberg is putting it out there again for all to see. He's had the image copied as a design on his surfboard, and shared it on Instagram on Wednesday.

"Thanks Adam the Creator for designing my next board," Zuckerberg wrote. "The sun never stood a chance."

{ "error": { "message": "(#10) To use 'Oembed Read', your use of this endpoint must be reviewed and approved by Facebook. To submit this 'Oembed Read' feature for review please read our documentation on reviewable features: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/apps/review.", "type": "OAuthException", "code": 10, "fbtrace_id": "AucQwnXh-zolzIv3amFvTXn" } }

Artist Adam the Creator responded with three fire emoji.

Instagram users had plenty to say about Zuckerberg's open embrace of his meme-ified image.

"This is the pinnacle of the meme-making world," said one.

"Dude broke the fourth wall," said another.

Actually, the illustration of the white-faced Zuckerberg is a lot more flattering than the original photo, so maybe having it forever attached to his surfboard isn't as bad as it could've been. 

"No one needs to be wearing that much sunscreen," Zuckerberg said after the photo was widely publicized. "I'm glad people can laugh about it. I laugh about it and I think it's pretty funny."