Black Man With Puffed Up Cheeks — Bald Black man in red cat-eye sunglasses with puffed cheeks looking up at the camera

Black Man With Puffed Up Cheeks

2018reaction imageclassic

Published November 2, 2026

Big Winnn's selfie of himself in red sunglasses with cheeks blown out became a reaction image for suppressing a cough, laugh or scream. The first documented meme version hit /r/meirl in November 2018, and by November 2020 a Harry Potter edit from Twitter user @wavydavhie had earned over 500,000 likes.

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Overview

Black Man With Puffed Up Cheeks, also known as Big Winnn Holding Breath, appears in the source photo wearing red sunglasses, holding a huge breath so that his cheeks balloon out in a cartoonish puff3. Meme versions keep the picture intact and attach a caption describing something the person is physically fighting to suppress. A cough during a silent moment, laughter at an inappropriate time, or a scream of pain after stubbing a toe are among the most common captions users attach1.

Posters often rely on a top-and-bottom caption layout, with the top line setting the scenario and the bottom naming the suppressed reaction. Users have also edited the picture to replace Big Winnn's face with other characters, as happened with @wavydavhie's Harry Potter version in late 20205.

Origin & Background

Platform
Instagram (source photo) / Reddit (meme spread)
Date
2018

Big Winnn, who posts as @bigwinnnnnn and used the handle @bigwinnn at the time, uploaded the source selfie to his Instagram Story at some point before 20183. Who first screengrabbed the image and turned it into a reaction post is not documented, so the meme creator is listed as Unknown. One of the earliest known meme versions was posted to /r/meirl on November 27, 2018, captioned about trying to hold in a cough, and collected over 40,700 upvotes in the three years that followed1.

How It Spread

On March 20, 2020, Redditor LMAO-69-420 brought the picture back to /r/meirl with a new caption about choking back laughter, bringing in roughly 24,200 upvotes4. An earlier /r/funny post by Redditor cvzmir captioned Big Winnn's face as 'the reaction right after stubbing your toe on the coffee table,' gathering over 8,600 upvotes2.

Virality arrived in November 2020. On November 21, Twitter user @wavydavhie posted a Harry Potter joke edit that gathered more than 500,000 likes and 89,000 retweets5. One day later, Big Winnn himself reposted the Harry Potter meme to his own Instagram, officially blessing the joke6. Imgur user shuuyacine also uploaded a stubbed pinky toe version on November 22, which drew over 104,000 views and 2,200 upvotes7.

How to Use This Meme

Posters typically pair the image with a two-part caption. The top line sets a scenario where the subject must stay silent or still, often a public setting like a classroom, funeral or quiet library. The bottom line names the thing bursting to come out, such as a laugh at a serious moment or a scream of pain after stubbing a pinky toe7.

Frequently Asked Questions