‘Sam Sung Working For Apple’: Scottish Man Reveals Why He Changed His Name After Sudden Fame In 2012

A man who once became an internet sensation for his name has shared how sudden online fame changed his life. In 2012, then known as Sam Sung, his name went viral when he was employed at an Apple retail store at the time, according to a Business Insider report. Worried about losing his job, he took down his LinkedIn profile and later adopted the name Sam Struan to move past the joke. More than a decade on, Struan looks back on the incident and wishes he’d handled the situation differently.

Now living in Glasgow, Scotland, and working as a consultant and resume writer, 36-year-old Struan says his life was once anything but ordinary. Over a decade ago, he became a global sensation when his Apple Store business card went viral online, not because of his work, but because of his name.

Struan was born Sam Sung, and for much of his life, the name drew only mild jokes. After working at Apple’s Glasgow outlet, he later moved to Vancouver, Canada, where the name “Sam Sung” would soon take on a life of its ownoo “There were friendly jokes about Sam Sung working for Apple, but it wasn't a big deal,” he told Business Insider. That changed in 2012, when a photo of his Apple business card appeared online.

“I was working at my other part-time job, and my phone started ringing like crazy,” he said, adding, “I peeked and saw a text from someone saying I'd gone viral on Reddit, and they sent me a link.”

At the time, Struan had never even heard of Reddit and assumed the link was a scam. Hours later, he realised the situation was real. “Someone had posted a picture of my Apple business card online, and it actually went viral,” he added.

When Apple noticed the viral post Sam was removed from the shop floor. Customers and callers flooded the store wanting to confirm whether “Sam Sung” genuinely worked there. “I was so scared, and I just wanted to keep my head down and stay employed,” Struan said.

The viral attention lasted for several months before subsiding. In 2013, Struan left Apple to pursue a career in recruitment. The following year, he auctioned off one of his Apple business cards, alongside parts of his old uniform, to raise money for charity. This brought in over $2,500 for the Children’s Wish Foundation. “That was the best part of this experience,” he said.

Not long after, Struan made a life-changing decision. Sharing a name with a multinational company had become both impractical and frustrating. Online handles and branding opportunities were hard to secure, and the association with Apple refused to fade.

“I chose to adopt the last name Struan because it's the name of one of my favourite places in Scotland, a village on the Isle of Skye,” he said.

Now, after more than a decade, he is glad to have adopted a new professional name, though he might not have done so had the viral incident not occurred. “I wish I'd just chilled out a bit about it and been less worried about job security and potential work opportunities, and enjoyed it for what it was,” he added.