Apple employee called Sam Sung became so famous online he had no choice but to change his name

A man named Sam Sung became an internet sensation after a photo of his Apple business card went viral online.

What started as a simple joke about his name quickly spiraled into a global news story that changed his life.

The Scottish Apple employee found himself at the center of a social media storm as people around the world couldn’t believe the coincidence.

Eventually, the attention became so overwhelming that he decided to leave it all behind and even change his name.

Wait, you work at Apple, and your name is Sam Sung?

Back in 2012, Sam Sung was working as a tech specialist at an Apple Store in Vancouver, Canada, when a customer bought an iPhone from him and noticed his unusual name.

The customer snapped a photo of Sung’s Apple business card and shared it online, where it quickly exploded across social media.

People were stunned that an Apple employee was actually called Sam Sung, and the image spread around the world within hours.

The sudden attention brought some unexpected consequences.

According to Sung, his phone started ringing constantly, reporters began turning up at the store, and curious customers would ask to meet him in person.

The situation became so intense that the store reportedly pulled him off the sales floor and stopped issuing him business cards altogether and his coworkers were also instructed not to point him out to customers.

Concerned that the viral fame could affect his job, Sung deleted his social media accounts and tried to stay out of the spotlight until the frenzy eventually died down.

He got a whole new identity

Sung continued working for Apple until 2013 before eventually moving on to other opportunities.

A few years later, the former Apple employee decided to make one final contribution to the story that had made him famous.

In 2015, he auctioned off his original employee business card, employee badge, and uniform, with the collection selling for more than $2,500.

The proceeds were donated to charity.

The man formerly known as Sam Sung has since legally changed his name to Sam Struan and now works as a consultant in Glasgow, Scotland.

Writing for Business Insider, Sam said that he realised all the social media handles were taken by the tech giant and he was working towards building his own professional brand.

While the viral photo remains one of the internet’s most memorable coincidences, Struan appears to have embraced a quieter life far away from the unexpected fame that followed him around the world.

Still, more than a decade later, people continue to remember the Apple employee whose name was literally their biggest competitor.