Introduction
Charles A. "Chuck" Testa is an American taxidermist and owner of Ojai Valley Taxidermy in California. A commercial for Testa's business created by Rhett and Link for the show Rhett & Link: Commercial Kings became a viral video, and the catchphrase "Nope, Chuck Testa!" became an internet meme.
Life and career
Testa was born and raised in the Ojai Valley. He managed his father's Baskin-Robbins store in Venice Beach, California, before he began preserving wildlife.
Commercial and response
In summer 2011, Testa's future son-in-law posted a commercial for Testa's business on YouTube. The video was originally created by Rhett and Link for the show Rhett & Link: Commercial Kings on IFC. The commercial asserts that Testa's work is so realistic that people will assume the animals are still alive. It depicts people reacting to what they believe are live animals in unusual situations, only to have Testa appear and declare "Nope, it's just Chuck Testa!" The phrase became popular on websites, including Reddit and Tumblr, spurring mainstream media coverage, including Fox News and CBS. The video was also ranked as the #10 best meme of 2011 by Time's Nick Carbone.
Television appearances
In 2015, Chuck Testa was featured in Season 1, Episode 1 of CarbonTV's original series, American Elements.
In 2016, Chuck Testa and Ojai Valley Taxidermy were featured in the web docu-series Mounted: Chuck Testa and Friends on CarbonTV.com.