This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Davidson chapter.
We may have lost the basketball game against VCU a couple weeks ago, but a certain Davidson bro’s selfie game is #winning right now. The ESPN camera caught a sneaky video of him working it at the game on Friday, January 29th and the rest is history. Just Google “Davidson selfie bro” and see pages and pages of results pop up. SportsCenter even put the video up on its Instagram and it received 74k+ likes. And of course, it was the talk of Davidson’s Yik Yak for days. I got a chance to catch up with this selfie bro the other day to hear what he had to say about his fifteen minutes of fame.
Name: Tom Bucka
Hometown: San Francisco, California
Class: 2017; transferred to Davidson last spring
Major: Physics
Sport: Football, defensive end
Affiliation: Phi Delta Theta
So what was the story behind the selfie?
It was a Snapchat to some friends back home from high school.
How did you find out about your newfound fame?
His friend told him that his mom had called him saying she had seen him on ESPN next to “that weird blonde guy.” After that, he received a bunch of Snapchat from his friends.
What was your reaction?
At first, he was really embarrassed. He wasn’t too thrilled about being nationally known as the “selfie bro,” and the fact that he had only been at Davidson for a short while didn’t help either. But after seeing the reactions of his friends and people on Yik Yak, he realized it wasn’t that bad. He was just glad that people got a laugh out of it.
How do you plan to make the most of the situation?
For starters, he created an Instagram so he could be tagged in all the pictures and videos. He also tweeted at ESPN to make his identity known. He admitted that it would be pretty awesome to get an interview out of it, but doesn’t have high hopes. But his friends back home are super supportive – apparently, they are trying to design a t-shirt with the selfie on it!
Selfie tips?
“Don’t get caught.”
Haha. Seriously though, selfie tips?
Hair is key. Just make sure your hair doesn’t look scraggly. You also need to know your angles. But don’t be afraid to try new things out.
Speaking of luscious locks, any tips on how to keep your mane on point?
Since he recently switched to an undercut haircut, he’s also cut down on conditioner. So hair spray and hair gel are probably the most integral part of his hair game right now.
Any other memorable Davidson moments?
Air Band last year. It’s a Phi Delt Magic Mike-esque dance contest event. He wore a referee whistle G-string (pictured below) and proceeded to wear it out to F for the entirety of the night. He had never done anything that wild until he came to Davidson, so it was a great way to break out of his comfort zone.
Future fame aspirations? A.k.a. post-Davidson plans?
He doesn’t know if he’s seeking fame, but his goal is to travel around the world for about two years. He’s already saving up and plans to start with Japan and travel through the Pacific Islands, or just about everywhere he can.
Anything else you’d like to add?
“If you don’t know me, don’t hesitate to talk to me. I’m always down to meet new people.”
After chatting with Tom Bucka, I was pleasantly surprised by how down-to-earth the person behind the infamous selfie was. He doesn’t take himself too seriously and seems to be owning the “Davidson selfie bro” label for all it’s worth. All jokes aside, I wouldn’t judge this book (bro) by its cover (selfie)!