« Impossible Is Nothing

December 18, 2008

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Impossible is Nothing is a 2006 video résumé by self-styled ‘CEO and Professional Athlete’ Aleksey Vayner (formerly Aleksey Garber) which became an Internet meme.

History of job application

In October 2006, Yale University student Aleksey Vayner applied for a job with UBS AG. Amused by Vayner’s apparent puffery, an unknown member of UBS staff emailed his application materials to other investment banks. They were soon posted on various blogs, then YouTube, from where they became an immense viral Internet phenomenon.

Summary

The video opens with a staged interview between Vayner and an offscreen voice. However, the “interview” ultimately consists of a single question, to which Vayner gives a lengthy, rambling response. Using considerable amounts of business-speak jargon, Vayner praises himself and shares his various insights on success, talent, and overcoming adversity. Interspliced with the interview we see clips of Vayner performing various feats designed to look impressive, including bench pressing, skiing, playing tennis, ballroom dancing, and finally karate-chopping a stack of bricks. The video ends with a dedication to Radomir Kovacevic, and a fairly lengthy credits sequence.

Features

Vayner’s job application includes:

Cover letter
Resume: One and a half page
Writing Sample: Eight pages
A glamour shot of Vayner
Seven-minute video that features the following feats by Vayner (in order):
- Interview: gives advice for achieving life goals
- Bench press: 495 pounds (225 kilograms)
- Downhill skiing: with jumps
- Tennis serve: 140 miles per hour (225 km/h or 63 m/s)
- Ballroom dancing: with female dancer
- Karate chop: seven bricks broken

Dispute with IvyGate

Legal threats by Vayner against UBS, YouTube, and various blogs did not slow its progress, and only provided further fodder, subject to the internet Streisand effect. One blog, IvyGate, became famous from its disputes with Vayner. When Vayner emailed a cease-and-desist letter demanding that IvyGate remove “Impossible is Nothing” links from its website, the blog instead published the threat and taunted Vayner to sue them. In further investigating the incident Ivygate learned and published that:

Youth Empowerment Strategies, a charity Vayner said he started, claimed a “four star” rating by Charity Navigator on its website, when in fact the charity did not exist (other than an organization by the same name unrelated to Vayner) and did not receive the rating. According to The New York Times, Vayner defended himself by saying that “he had outsourced the design of his charity’s Web site to companies in India and Pakistan and had no role in placing the Charity Navigator banner on it. Vayner told a reporter that he had the banner taken down immediately when he learned that the group had disclaimed the banner, some time around Sept. 15. When a reporter then told Vayner that the banner was still on the site as of the preceding week, Vayner clarified that he had sent notification to take down the banner.” Trent Stamp, the president of Charity Navigator, has stated that he believes Vayner should be expelled from Yale for this.
Vayner Capital Management LLC, a hedge fund Vayner says he started, had a complete website describing its personnel and investment strategies. The firm did not exist and the website content was plagiarized from a firm in Denver, Colorado.
Women’s Silent Tears, a book Vayner self-published on the Holocaust, contained passages lifted verbatim from various Internet sites. Vayner claimed that the text was a “pre-publication copy”.

Other details

Other publications investigating learned that Vayner has variously claimed the following

He won two games against tennis great Pete Sampras, and taught Jerry Seinfeld and Harrison Ford to play
He is an expert in Chinese orthopedic massage
The Dalai Lama wrote his college recommendation letter
He was an action star and professional skier
He is a professional model and has appeared in promotional ads for multiple clothing stores including Ann Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue.
He worked for the Central Intelligence Agency
He is a master in the art of bone-setting
He forged passports for the Russian Mafia
He participated in Tibetan gladiatorial contests
He is one of four people in the state of Connecticut certified to handle nuclear waste
He can beat Chuck Norris at everything

Rumpus Magazine, a Yale University tabloid, had already exposed Vayner as a possible fake before attending Yale.

Aftermath and development of meme

The Internet meme surrounding “Impossible is Nothing” spread in typical fashion: by word of mouth on blogs and by Internet, then covered both as a meme and a human interest story by major newspapers, which further accelerated growth. After the first phase of popularity, blog posters and others began adding their own fanciful contributions to Vayner’s legend. These include several classic meme features:

Hyperbolic statements of accomplishment: Vayner is licensed to handle nuclear waste, must register his hands as lethal weapons, and participates in Tibetan gladiatorial contests.
Michael Cera, of Arrested Development and Superbad, created a parody video, “Impossible is the Opposite of Possible”.

Vayner did not receive a job offer from UBS or any other bank. He took a leave of absence from Yale.

Vayner’s subsequent work

In January 2008, Vayner set up a website promoting a book written by him entitled Millionaires’ Blueprint to Success. Ivygate noted that the book cover resembled a similar book by another author.