Swole Doge vs Cheems

2020Image macro / comparison formatsemi-active

Also known as: Buff Doge vs. Cheems · Chad Doge vs. Cheems · Then vs. Now Doge

Swole Doge vs. Cheems is a 2020 image-macro comparison format pairing a hyper-muscular Shiba Inu with a timid, round-faced version to contrast past strength with modern weakness.

Swole Doge vs. Cheems is a comparison meme format pairing a muscular, anthropomorphic version of the Doge Shiba Inu with Cheems, a round-faced, cowering Shiba Inu. The format went viral in May 2020 on Reddit and Facebook, used to contrast something from the past (strong, tough, cool) with its modern equivalent (weak, soft, cringe). It works like a visual version of "things were better back then" jokes, drawing from the same well as Virgin vs. Chad.

doge family memestwo panel memesnostalgia memesvirgin vs chad familyshiba inu memes

Overview

Swole Doge vs. Cheems is a side-by-side comparison meme with a dead-simple visual language. On the left stands Swole Doge, a photoshopped version of the original Doge (Kabosu the Shiba Inu) given an absurdly jacked human body1. On the right is Cheems, a real Shiba Inu named Balltze from Hong Kong, whose scrunched face and soft posture give off maximum "I'm baby" energy. The contrast between them is the entire joke.

The format typically labels Swole Doge as something from the past, a tougher era, or a stronger version of a concept. Cheems gets labeled as the modern, weaker, or softer counterpart. A vertical line sometimes divides them, chart-style, but plenty of versions just drop them side by side on white space. The meme slots neatly into the "things used to be tougher" nostalgia genre while keeping the whole thing lighthearted thanks to the dogs.

The two characters that make up this format emerged separately on Reddit's r/dogelore subreddit in 2019.

Cheems came first. On June 8, 2019, Reddit user Spicy_Meme_Boi took a photo of a Hong Kong Shiba Inu named Balltze, originally posted to Instagram on September 4, 2017, and turned it into the first "Cheemsburbger" meme. The character's defining trait is a speech impediment where the letter "m" gets crammed into every word1. Balltze was a rescue dog owned by a woman named Kathy in Hong Kong.

Swole Doge followed a month later. On July 7, 2019, Redditor purnya232 posted an edit of the classic Doge image with an extremely muscular human body to r/dogelore. The post pulled in over 7,400 upvotes with a 99% approval rate. The edit uses Kabosu, the original Doge Shiba Inu photographed by her owner Atsuko Sato in 20101.

The two characters got paired into the comparison format for the first time on February 5, 2020, when Facebook page Doges artesanales published what's believed to be the earliest Swole Doge vs. Cheems meme.

Origin & Background

Platform
r/dogelore (Swole Doge character, 2019), Facebook (first combined format, February 2020), Reddit (viral spread, May 2020)
Creator
princet0xic
Date
2020

The two characters that make up this format emerged separately on Reddit's r/dogelore subreddit in 2019.

Cheems came first. On June 8, 2019, Reddit user Spicy_Meme_Boi took a photo of a Hong Kong Shiba Inu named Balltze, originally posted to Instagram on September 4, 2017, and turned it into the first "Cheemsburbger" meme. The character's defining trait is a speech impediment where the letter "m" gets crammed into every word. Balltze was a rescue dog owned by a woman named Kathy in Hong Kong.

Swole Doge followed a month later. On July 7, 2019, Redditor purnya232 posted an edit of the classic Doge image with an extremely muscular human body to r/dogelore. The post pulled in over 7,400 upvotes with a 99% approval rate. The edit uses Kabosu, the original Doge Shiba Inu photographed by her owner Atsuko Sato in 2010.

The two characters got paired into the comparison format for the first time on February 5, 2020, when Facebook page Doges artesanales published what's believed to be the earliest Swole Doge vs. Cheems meme.

How It Spread

The format sat relatively quiet for a few months after that initial February post. Things changed in mid-May 2020.

On May 16, Redditor DiegoGamer25 posted a version comparing his dad at 17 ("came back from war, had 3 kids") with himself at 17 ("wants to be a cute anime girl"). Three days later, on May 19, Redditor Vulpanthrope added a grandpa tier to the format. That same day, Redditor PEKE19 posted a version comparing medieval priests (1450) to modern priests (2020) that racked up over 83,900 upvotes in a single week. This was the breakout moment.

From there the format spread rapidly across Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter throughout mid-to-late 2020. The template's flexibility made it easy to apply to almost anything: phone durability (Nokia 3310 vs. modern smartphones), music tastes (classical composers vs. lo-fi hip hop listeners), fitness culture, national stereotypes, and countless "then vs. now" comparisons.

Know Your Meme documented the format with its own entry on May 22, 2020, just days after the viral surge began.

Platforms

RedditTwitterInstagramTikTokFacebook

Timeline

2020-05-22

Entry published on Know Your Meme

2026-02-24

Last modified on Know Your Meme

2025-01-01

Swole Doge vs Cheems is still actively used and shared across platforms

View on Google Trends

How to Use This Meme

The Swole Doge vs. Cheems format works best for comparisons where one thing is clearly being played up as tougher, cooler, or more hardcore than the other. Common approaches include:

1

Pick two things to compare. The classic setup is "past vs. present" ("Warriors in 300 BC" vs. "Warriors in 2020"), but it works for any strong-vs-weak contrast: two generations, two products, two approaches to the same task.

2

Assign Swole Doge to the "stronger" side. Label him with the tougher, older, or more respected version of the thing.

3

Assign Cheems to the "weaker" side. Give him the modern, softer, or less impressive counterpart. Adding Cheems-style speech (inserting random "m"s into words) is optional but adds flavor.

4

Use the template. Meme generators like Imgflip and Kapwing host the standard template, typically with Swole Doge on the left and Cheems on the right, sometimes divided by a line.

Create Your Own

Cultural Impact

Swole Doge vs. Cheems carved out a specific niche as one of the go-to comparison formats of the early 2020s. It sits alongside Virgin vs. Chad and the Drake format as a standard template for "X vs. Y" content.

The format got a boost from the broader "ironic Doge" movement centered around r/dogelore, which turned the original wholesome Doge into a cast of characters with distinct personalities. Swole Doge and Cheems became two of the most recognizable figures from this second wave of Doge culture.

Both dogs behind the meme passed away within a year of each other. Balltze (Cheems) died on August 18, 2023, at age 12, after a battle with cancer. His owner Kathy announced the news on Instagram, asking fans to remember the joy he brought during the pandemic. Kabosu (the original Doge and basis for Swole Doge) died on May 24, 2024, at age 18, from leukemia. The deaths sparked waves of tribute posts and memorial memes across social media.

Fun Facts

Balltze's meme name "Cheems" reportedly originated from an Instagram comment saying he "looks like Cheese," which got warped through internet telephone into "Cheems".

Cheems' defining "cheemsburbger" speech pattern (adding "m" to words) was established in the very first Cheems meme by Spicy_Meme_Boi in June 2019.

The PEKE19 Reddit post comparing medieval vs. modern priests got 83,900 upvotes in one week, making it the single post most responsible for the format going viral.

Kabosu, the Doge behind Swole Doge, was adopted by Japanese kindergarten teacher Atsuko Sato after being rescued from a puppy mill in 2008.

The meme format appeared in at least one academic paper, with a researcher on ResearchGate using the template as a figure.

Derivatives & Variations

Multiple Dogs Variations

Expanded versions using more than two dogs for more complex comparisons

(2017)

Text-Heavy Variations

Versions emphasizing speech bubbles and extended dialogue

(2017)

Photoshopped Modifications

Edited versions exaggerating Swole Doge's muscularity or Cheems' weakness

(2017)

Frequently Asked Questions

References (1)

  1. 1
    Doge (meme)encyclopedia

Swole Doge vs Cheems

2020Image macro / comparison formatsemi-active

Also known as: Buff Doge vs. Cheems · Chad Doge vs. Cheems · Then vs. Now Doge

Swole Doge vs. Cheems is a 2020 image-macro comparison format pairing a hyper-muscular Shiba Inu with a timid, round-faced version to contrast past strength with modern weakness.

Swole Doge vs. Cheems is a comparison meme format pairing a muscular, anthropomorphic version of the Doge Shiba Inu with Cheems, a round-faced, cowering Shiba Inu. The format went viral in May 2020 on Reddit and Facebook, used to contrast something from the past (strong, tough, cool) with its modern equivalent (weak, soft, cringe). It works like a visual version of "things were better back then" jokes, drawing from the same well as Virgin vs. Chad.

doge family memes two panel memes nostalgia memes virgin vs chad family shiba inu memes

Overview

Swole Doge vs. Cheems is a side-by-side comparison meme with a dead-simple visual language. On the left stands Swole Doge, a photoshopped version of the original Doge (Kabosu the Shiba Inu) given an absurdly jacked human body. On the right is Cheems, a real Shiba Inu named Balltze from Hong Kong, whose scrunched face and soft posture give off maximum "I'm baby" energy. The contrast between them is the entire joke.

The format typically labels Swole Doge as something from the past, a tougher era, or a stronger version of a concept. Cheems gets labeled as the modern, weaker, or softer counterpart. A vertical line sometimes divides them, chart-style, but plenty of versions just drop them side by side on white space. The meme slots neatly into the "things used to be tougher" nostalgia genre while keeping the whole thing lighthearted thanks to the dogs.

The two characters that make up this format emerged separately on Reddit's r/dogelore subreddit in 2019.

Cheems came first. On June 8, 2019, Reddit user Spicy_Meme_Boi took a photo of a Hong Kong Shiba Inu named Balltze, originally posted to Instagram on September 4, 2017, and turned it into the first "Cheemsburbger" meme. The character's defining trait is a speech impediment where the letter "m" gets crammed into every word. Balltze was a rescue dog owned by a woman named Kathy in Hong Kong.

Swole Doge followed a month later. On July 7, 2019, Redditor purnya232 posted an edit of the classic Doge image with an extremely muscular human body to r/dogelore. The post pulled in over 7,400 upvotes with a 99% approval rate. The edit uses Kabosu, the original Doge Shiba Inu photographed by her owner Atsuko Sato in 2010.

The two characters got paired into the comparison format for the first time on February 5, 2020, when Facebook page Doges artesanales published what's believed to be the earliest Swole Doge vs. Cheems meme.

Origin & Background

Platform
r/dogelore (Swole Doge character, 2019), Facebook (first combined format, February 2020), Reddit (viral spread, May 2020)
Creator
princet0xic
Date
2020

The two characters that make up this format emerged separately on Reddit's r/dogelore subreddit in 2019.

Cheems came first. On June 8, 2019, Reddit user Spicy_Meme_Boi took a photo of a Hong Kong Shiba Inu named Balltze, originally posted to Instagram on September 4, 2017, and turned it into the first "Cheemsburbger" meme. The character's defining trait is a speech impediment where the letter "m" gets crammed into every word. Balltze was a rescue dog owned by a woman named Kathy in Hong Kong.

Swole Doge followed a month later. On July 7, 2019, Redditor purnya232 posted an edit of the classic Doge image with an extremely muscular human body to r/dogelore. The post pulled in over 7,400 upvotes with a 99% approval rate. The edit uses Kabosu, the original Doge Shiba Inu photographed by her owner Atsuko Sato in 2010.

The two characters got paired into the comparison format for the first time on February 5, 2020, when Facebook page Doges artesanales published what's believed to be the earliest Swole Doge vs. Cheems meme.

How It Spread

The format sat relatively quiet for a few months after that initial February post. Things changed in mid-May 2020.

On May 16, Redditor DiegoGamer25 posted a version comparing his dad at 17 ("came back from war, had 3 kids") with himself at 17 ("wants to be a cute anime girl"). Three days later, on May 19, Redditor Vulpanthrope added a grandpa tier to the format. That same day, Redditor PEKE19 posted a version comparing medieval priests (1450) to modern priests (2020) that racked up over 83,900 upvotes in a single week. This was the breakout moment.

From there the format spread rapidly across Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter throughout mid-to-late 2020. The template's flexibility made it easy to apply to almost anything: phone durability (Nokia 3310 vs. modern smartphones), music tastes (classical composers vs. lo-fi hip hop listeners), fitness culture, national stereotypes, and countless "then vs. now" comparisons.

Know Your Meme documented the format with its own entry on May 22, 2020, just days after the viral surge began.

Platforms

RedditTwitterInstagramTikTokFacebook

Timeline

2020-05-22

Entry published on Know Your Meme

2026-02-24

Last modified on Know Your Meme

2025-01-01

Swole Doge vs Cheems is still actively used and shared across platforms

View on Google Trends

How to Use This Meme

The Swole Doge vs. Cheems format works best for comparisons where one thing is clearly being played up as tougher, cooler, or more hardcore than the other. Common approaches include:

1

Pick two things to compare. The classic setup is "past vs. present" ("Warriors in 300 BC" vs. "Warriors in 2020"), but it works for any strong-vs-weak contrast: two generations, two products, two approaches to the same task.

2

Assign Swole Doge to the "stronger" side. Label him with the tougher, older, or more respected version of the thing.

3

Assign Cheems to the "weaker" side. Give him the modern, softer, or less impressive counterpart. Adding Cheems-style speech (inserting random "m"s into words) is optional but adds flavor.

4

Use the template. Meme generators like Imgflip and Kapwing host the standard template, typically with Swole Doge on the left and Cheems on the right, sometimes divided by a line.

Create Your Own

Cultural Impact

Swole Doge vs. Cheems carved out a specific niche as one of the go-to comparison formats of the early 2020s. It sits alongside Virgin vs. Chad and the Drake format as a standard template for "X vs. Y" content.

The format got a boost from the broader "ironic Doge" movement centered around r/dogelore, which turned the original wholesome Doge into a cast of characters with distinct personalities. Swole Doge and Cheems became two of the most recognizable figures from this second wave of Doge culture.

Both dogs behind the meme passed away within a year of each other. Balltze (Cheems) died on August 18, 2023, at age 12, after a battle with cancer. His owner Kathy announced the news on Instagram, asking fans to remember the joy he brought during the pandemic. Kabosu (the original Doge and basis for Swole Doge) died on May 24, 2024, at age 18, from leukemia. The deaths sparked waves of tribute posts and memorial memes across social media.

Fun Facts

Balltze's meme name "Cheems" reportedly originated from an Instagram comment saying he "looks like Cheese," which got warped through internet telephone into "Cheems".

Cheems' defining "cheemsburbger" speech pattern (adding "m" to words) was established in the very first Cheems meme by Spicy_Meme_Boi in June 2019.

The PEKE19 Reddit post comparing medieval vs. modern priests got 83,900 upvotes in one week, making it the single post most responsible for the format going viral.

Kabosu, the Doge behind Swole Doge, was adopted by Japanese kindergarten teacher Atsuko Sato after being rescued from a puppy mill in 2008.

The meme format appeared in at least one academic paper, with a researcher on ResearchGate using the template as a figure.

Derivatives & Variations

Multiple Dogs Variations

Expanded versions using more than two dogs for more complex comparisons

(2017)

Text-Heavy Variations

Versions emphasizing speech bubbles and extended dialogue

(2017)

Photoshopped Modifications

Edited versions exaggerating Swole Doge's muscularity or Cheems' weakness

(2017)

Frequently Asked Questions

References (1)

  1. 1
    Doge (meme)encyclopedia