Alex from Target was 16 when he started his job as a cashier and some random teen girl snapped a pic of him at work. A week later, Alex's social media accounts blew up when a boyband-following account shared his likeness. He didn't experience growing up famous like Justin Bieber or Shawn Mendes, but Alex did get hit with an instant dose of fame that made him a sought-after celeb.
He even made an appearance on 'Ellen' in his trademark red polo.
In fact, Alex got so famous so fast, his Twitter account multiplied over a thousand times in just a day. As New Idea recapped, Alex's manager had to take him off the register and have him work in the stockroom to avoid crazed fans the day his pic went viral.
And what was the reason for his fame? It was all about Alex's looks, which is sort of a sad sign of the times. Sure, it was 2014, but it's a bit surprising that girls inundated Alex with attention just for being decent looking.
Anyhow, the fame wasn't all rosy, either; people stalked Alex, doxxed his family, and were just all-around creepy and offensive. Not only did fame make it nearly impossible for Alex to go anywhere, but he also missed a lot of school to make public appearances on talk shows and news programs.
After a while, the Texas teen wound up being homeschooled to avoid the craziness (and apparently a court case, noted New Idea.
What happened to Alex from Target after that, though? He sort of dropped off fans' radars for a while. Then, in 2017, he made a "comeback." These days, Alex is not about that red polo, nor does he want to be known for having worked at Target as a teen.
Yep, #AlexfromTarget is all grown up, and he's all about fitness now. He doesn't exactly seem enthused about fans "finding" him, either. With 14K followers on Instagram, there's not much for anonymity with the people who are obsessed with seeing what he's up to now that Target is in his past.
Alex is 22 now and seems to be over his stint as a teenage heartthrob. He appears to have a serious girlfriend, though he's more serious about gains, by the looks of his Instagram. He probably has more in common with home-gym-obsessed Ronnie Magro than anyone who works at Target these days.
But not every social media star is all about the fame, and it's understandable if Alex doesn't crave the spotlight. He has a life to live, after all. And his fame wasn't easy from day one; Alex's parents and his five siblings needed an 'emergency' plan in case fans (or critics) got out of hand, noted NY Times.
So, don't take it too personally if Alex doesn't want to engage with hordes of fans on social media, or out in public.