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Frame from title video illustrating ballroom dancing scene.
Impossible is Nothing is a 2006 video résumé by self-styled 'CEO and
Professional Athlete' Aleksey Vayner (formerly
Aleksey Garber)[1][2]
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.[3]
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):
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[4]
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."[5]
Trent Stamp, the president of Charity Navigator, has stated that he
believes Vayner should be expelled from Yale for this.[6]
- 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".[5]
Other
details
Other publications investigating learned that Vayner has
variously claimed the following[1]
- 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 stuntman 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 Tibetan 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 at one point claimed to be the original developer of
Napster
Rumpus
Magazine, a Yale University tabloid, had already exposed Vayner as a
possible fake before attending Yale.[2]
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:[1]
- 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".[7]
- The U.S. sitcom How I Met Your Mother
featured an episode entitled "The Possimpible" in which a main character
has a video resume that is a clear parody of "Impossible Is
Nothing."
Vayner did not receive a job offer from UBS or any other bank.
He took a leave of absence from Yale.[4]
Vayner's subsequent
work
In January 2008, Vayner set up a website promoting a book
written by him entitled Millionaires' Blueprint to
Success.[8][9][10][11]
Ivygate
noted that the book cover resembled a similar book by another
author.[9]
References
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links
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