There was a time when opening the internet meant being prepared for anything. You could find a strange GIF on Tumblr, a bizarre YouTube video or a pixel-art character that somehow became impossible to escape. Few images captured that era better than Nyan Cat
A tiny gray cat with a Pop-Tart body flying through space while leaving a rainbow behind it sounds like the kind of idea that should have disappeared after a few days.
Instead, Nyan Cat became one of the defining memes of the early 2010s.
Behind that famous pixel cat was digital artist Chris Torres, better known online as PRguitarman.
A 2025 Tumblr creator spotlight showed that he is still actively making art and remains interested in the way internet culture evolves.
So if you remember Nyan Cat from the days of Tumblr, YouTube and early meme culture, the creator’s story is not really about vanishing.
It is about what happens when a person creates something so famous that the character becomes bigger than its creator.
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Table of Contents
Who Is Chris Torres?
Chris Torres is a digital artist and internet creator best known for creating Nyan Cat. He was born in Puerto Rico and moved to Texas when he was five years old.1
He eventually became known online by the name PRguitarman.
In a 2021 interview with Know Your Meme, Torres described himself as an artist, internet surfer and cat lover. At that time he was 35 years old.
His interest in drawing started long before Nyan Cat. As a student, Torres made simple comics with friends. Those early drawings eventually developed into a longer-running online comic project called LOL-Comics.
His early work was influenced by everyday life, jokes and personal experiences.
This is important because Nyan Cat was not the beginning of Torres’ artistic career. It was the project that suddenly made the rest of the world notice him.
Torres had already spent years creating comics, GIFs and digital artwork.
Nyan Cat simply reached an audience on a scale that few independent internet artists could have imagined at the time. His artistic identity has also remained strongly connected to old-school digital culture.
In a 2025 Tumblr interview, Torres explained that he created the original Nyan Cat on a 70-by-70 canvas using Macromedia Fireworks.
He also said his interest in classic Nintendo-era video games influenced his approach to pixel art. That detail explains a lot about why Nyan Cat still looks so distinctive.
It was not designed to look realistic. It was designed to feel like a piece of classic internet and video game culture.
How Did Chris Torres Create Nyan Cat?
The origin of Nyan Cat is almost as strange as the character itself.
In 2011, Torres was taking part in an online charity event. He was drawing requests from people who donated money. During a livestream, people suggested that he draw a Pop-Tart and a cat.
Torres combined the two ideas. The result was a cat with a Pop-Tart body. It sounds random because it was random.
That randomness became one of the most important parts of the character’s appeal.
The cat itself was inspired by Torres’ Russian Blue cat Marty. Torres had already used Marty as inspiration for some of his comics.
The real cat eventually became closely connected to the Nyan Cat story. Marty died in 2012 after suffering from feline infectious peritonitis.
Torres then turned the drawing into a short pixel animation. The original artwork was posted online on April 2, 2011.
At first, Torres called the character Pop-Tart Cat. But the internet quickly gave the character a different name. Nyan Cat won.
A separate YouTube user named Sara June combined the animation with a version of DaniwellP’s Japanese song “Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya!” and uploaded the video on April 5, 2011.
That combination became the version that millions of people would recognize. The result was simple.
Cat. Pop-Tart. Rainbow. Space. Extremely catchy music. And repetition. Lots of repetition.
Of course I got that timelapse✨ pic.twitter.com/W9MepuJBaS
— ☆Chris☆ (@PRguitarman) July 8, 2026
Stats Table
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full name | Chris Torres / Christopher Torres |
| Online name | PRguitarman |
| Known for | Creator of Nyan Cat |
| Profession | Digital artist and comic creator |
| Nationality | American |
| Birthplace | Puerto Rico |
| Raised in | Texas |
| Major creation | Nyan Cat |
| Nyan Cat debut | April 2, 2011 |
| Original inspiration | His Russian Blue cat Marty |
| Original software | Macromedia Fireworks |
| Original canvas | 70 × 70 pixels |
| Long-running project | LOL-Comics |
| Major NFT sale | 300 ETH |
| NFT sale year | 2021 |
| NFT sale value at the time | Roughly $560,000–$600,000 |
| Online alias | PRguitarman |
| Current focus | Digital art, Nyan Cat and internet culture |
Why Did Nyan Cat Become So Popular?
Nyan Cat appeared at the perfect moment.2
The early 2010s internet was built around sharing strange and entertaining content. Tumblr, YouTube, Reddit and other online communities helped memes travel extremely quickly. Nyan Cat was also easy to understand.
You did not need to know a complicated joke. You did not need context. You simply saw a cute pixel cat flying through space.
That simplicity was powerful. The character also had an unusual combination of nostalgia and absurdity.
The pixel design reminded people of older video games. The rainbow trail made it visually memorable. The Pop-Tart body made the character ridiculous. The repetitive song made the whole thing impossible to forget.
According to PCWorld’s 2012 interview with Torres, he deliberately wanted Nyan Cat to have a positive and carefree feeling. He wanted viewers to smile and feel happy when watching it.
That goal may explain why Nyan Cat has aged differently from many other memes. A lot of old memes depend on a specific joke.
Nyan Cat does not really need a joke. It is a character and a mood. That makes it easier to revive years later.
Nyan Cat Became Bigger Than Chris Torres
One of the strangest parts of Torres’ story is that Nyan Cat became famous faster than its creator did.
Millions of people knew the character. Far fewer knew the name Chris Torres.
That is common in internet culture. A meme can become a cultural object while the person who made it remains relatively unknown. Torres also had to deal with the complicated question of ownership.
In 2013, Torres and Keyboard Cat creator Charles Schmidt took legal action against 5th Cell and Warner Bros. over the unauthorized use of their characters in the Scribblenauts video game series.
The dispute was eventually settled. The episode highlighted a major problem with early internet culture.
People were becoming famous through memes before there were clear systems for protecting or monetizing internet creators.
A meme could be copied thousands of times. A company could use it. A creator could become famous. But fame did not automatically mean control.
Torres’ experience became part of the larger conversation about whether meme creators should be able to control and profit from their creations.
What Happened to Nyan Cat After the Meme Boom?
The internet eventually moved on. New memes appeared. Social media platforms changed.Tumblr’s cultural influence declined.
YouTube changed. TikTok arrived. The way people created and consumed memes became much faster. But Nyan Cat never completely disappeared.
The official Nyan Cat website continues to exist and still presents the character in its original looping format. The character also appeared in merchandise, games, remixes and countless fan creations.
Torres continued creating art instead of trying to live permanently inside the 2011 meme. That is one of the biggest differences between Torres and some other early internet personalities.
He was an artist before Nyan Cat. He remained an artist after Nyan Cat.
The $600,000 Nyan Cat NFT
The biggest financial moment in the Nyan Cat story came years after the original meme had peaked.
In February 2021, Torres remastered Nyan Cat for its 10th anniversary and turned the artwork into an NFT.
The piece was auctioned through Foundation. It sold for 300 ETH. At the time, that was worth roughly $560,000 to $600,000 depending on the exact cryptocurrency price used.
For Torres, the sale represented more than a large payday. It was also a way to argue that memes could be treated as legitimate pieces of digital art.
In a 2021 interview, Torres explained that he hoped the NFT could help create new opportunities for meme creators and artists.
The timing was significant. NFTs were becoming one of the biggest conversations in the online art world. Digital artists were looking for ways to sell work directly to collectors.
Nyan Cat was a perfect example of how this new market could intersect with old internet culture. The image that had once been copied endlessly could now be sold as an authenticated piece of digital art.
The sale helped establish Nyan Cat as more than just an old meme. It became a piece of internet history.
Chris Torres and the NFT Era
Torres did not stop with the original Nyan Cat NFT. He continued exploring digital collectibles and new versions of the character.
The NFT boom eventually cooled down, but Torres remained involved in online art. That is another reason the “whatever happened to him?” question is slightly misleading.
He did not disappear after making Nyan Cat. He adapted. His career moved from web comics and GIFs into the world of digital collectibles and creator-driven online art.
In 2025, Tumblr featured Torres in its creator spotlight series. He described Nyan Cat as a character that had been flying around the internet since 2011 and explained that he was still drawing Nyan Cat characters in the original format and style.
That is perhaps the clearest answer to where he is now. He is still creating.
What Is Chris Torres Doing Now?
Chris Torres continues to work as a digital artist.3
His online identity remains closely associated with PRguitarman and Nyan Cat.
His social media profile describes him as a digital artist, cat lover and creator of Nyan Cat. He has also continued working on Nyan Cat-related art.
The 2025 Tumblr interview is especially useful because it gives a recent picture of Torres’ own perspective. Rather than trying to force Nyan Cat into another major trend, he said he was happy watching the character live a life of its own.
He also said he was still drawing different Nyan Cat characters in the original format and style. That suggests Torres is comfortable with something many creators struggle to accept.
The audience now owns part of the cultural meaning. People remix Nyan Cat. They redraw it.
They turn it into new characters. They bring it into new games. They use it as a nostalgic reference.
And Torres appears to enjoy seeing the character continue to evolve.
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Nyan Cat and the Return of Internet Nostalgia
The renewed interest in Nyan Cat is part of a much larger trend. The internet has become nostalgic for its own past.
Memes from the early 2010s are no longer simply old jokes. For many people they are memories of childhood, school, early social media and the first period when online culture became a major part of everyday life.
Nyan Cat fits perfectly into that nostalgia.
Seeing the character again can instantly remind people of Tumblr dashboards, YouTube playlists, old computer screens and the strange humor of the early web.
That is why Nyan Cat can return without needing a major new event. The nostalgia itself is enough.
A 2026 retrospective published by CommuniKitty described Nyan Cat as one of the most recognizable artifacts of early internet culture and revisited its journey from Torres’ 2011 pixel animation to its later NFT sale.
The character has effectively become a time capsule. It represents a period when a single GIF could become a worldwide phenomenon without being manufactured by a major entertainment company.
Why Chris Torres’ Story Still Matters
The Nyan Cat story is not only about a funny cat. It shows how dramatically internet culture has changed.
When Torres created Nyan Cat in 2011, the idea that a small pixel animation could become a valuable digital artwork was difficult to imagine.
There were no TikTok creators in today’s form. The creator economy was still developing. NFTs were not part of mainstream conversation. Social media fame was much less structured.
Torres accidentally found himself at the center of all of those changes. His story also shows the difference between viral fame and a sustainable creative career.
Going viral can last for a few weeks. Building a creative identity can last for decades.
Torres had been drawing before Nyan Cat. He kept drawing after Nyan Cat. That consistency is arguably more important than the meme itself.
The Legacy of Marty
It is impossible to tell the Nyan Cat story without mentioning Marty.
Marty was Torres’ Russian Blue cat and the inspiration for the cat’s appearance. That gives Nyan Cat a surprisingly personal history.
What began as a silly internet character was partly based on a real pet that Torres loved. Marty died in 2012. Torres later continued to reference the cat as the inspiration behind Nyan Cat.
For fans who only remember the rainbow and Pop-Tart body, that personal detail changes the story.
Nyan Cat was not simply a random piece of pixel art. There was a real animal behind the character.
And that character eventually became one of the most recognizable cats in internet history.
Did Chris Torres Get Rich From Nyan Cat?
The most famous financial event connected to Nyan Cat is the 300 ETH NFT sale in 2021.
However, it would be misleading to suggest that the NFT sale is the only source of Torres’ income or that his entire career can be measured by that one transaction.
Nyan Cat has been connected to merchandise, licensing, digital collectibles and other commercial opportunities over the years.
The important point is that Torres eventually gained much greater control over the commercial identity of his creation.
That was not always the case. The early years of Nyan Cat included battles over unauthorized commercial use.
The later NFT sale represented a very different environment where the creator could directly present the original artwork to collectors.
The journey from a free GIF to a six-figure digital artwork is one of the clearest examples of how the internet economy changed during the 2010s and early 2020s.
Is Chris Torres Still Making Nyan Cat?
Yes. This is perhaps the simplest answer to the entire “where is he now?” question.
Torres is still creating Nyan Cat-related art.
In his 2025 Tumblr creator spotlight, he said he continues drawing different Nyan Cat characters using the original format and style. He also described himself as happy to see the character continue to live through internet culture.
That means Nyan Cat is not simply a relic being managed by a company. Its original creator is still involved.
He is still drawing. He is still experimenting. And he is still watching people reinterpret the character.
Why Nyan Cat Has Survived for 15 Years
Most memes have a short shelf life. Nyan Cat is different because it works on several levels.
First, it is visually simple. Second, it is nostalgic. Third, it does not depend on a specific celebrity or political event. Fourth, the character can be adapted into almost anything.
Most importantly, Nyan Cat feels joyful. That matters.
Internet culture can become cynical very quickly. Memes often rely on irony, outrage or controversy. Nyan Cat is almost aggressively cheerful. It is just flying.
There is no complicated message. There is no villain. There is no ending. It simply continues.
That endless loop is almost a perfect metaphor for internet culture itself.
What Makes Chris Torres’ “Where Are They Now?” Story Different?
Many viral creators become trapped by their biggest moment. They become known as the person who made one video.
Torres managed to avoid that fate by continuing to identify himself as an artist. Nyan Cat may be his most famous creation but it is not his only work.
His LOL-Comics project existed before Nyan Cat and remained part of his creative identity afterward. His interest in pixel art also continued to influence his work.
In that sense, Nyan Cat did not end his career. It gave his career a permanent landmark.
Today, someone may discover Torres because of Nyan Cat and then find his other artwork.
That is a much healthier legacy than simply trying to recreate the exact viral moment from 2011.
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FAQ’s
Who created Nyan Cat?
Nyan Cat was created by digital artist Chris Torres, who is also known online as PRguitarman. He created the original pixel-art animation in 2011.
When was Nyan Cat created?
The original Nyan Cat animation was posted online on April 2, 2011. A YouTube version combining the animation with the famous Japanese song appeared a few days later.
What is Chris Torres known for?
Chris Torres is best known for creating Nyan Cat. He is also a digital artist and the creator of the long-running LOL-Comics project.
Is Chris Torres still alive?
Yes. Chris Torres is alive and remains active as a digital artist and Nyan Cat creator. His recent creator interviews show that he continues to make art and Nyan Cat-related work.
Where is Chris Torres now?
Torres continues his work as a digital artist. He remains active online under the name PRguitarman and continues creating artwork connected to Nyan Cat and internet culture.
How much did the Nyan Cat NFT sell for?
The remastered Nyan Cat NFT sold for 300 ETH in February 2021. The value was roughly $560,000 to $600,000 at the time depending on the exchange rate.
Conclusion
So whatever happened to the guy who created Nyan Cat? Chris Torres did not disappear.
He kept drawing. He kept creating. He kept working online.
And he watched the character he created in 2011 become one of the most recognizable symbols of early internet culture.
The Nyan Cat story is particularly fascinating because the original idea was so small.
The most interesting part of Chris Torres’ story is not the money or even the meme’s original popularity. It is the fact that he continued being an artist after the internet moved on.
Today, Nyan Cat represents more than a funny GIF. It represents an earlier internet.
It reminds people of Tumblr dashboards, YouTube rabbit holes, pixel art, Flash animations and a time when a strange little image could spread around the world simply because people thought it was funny.
Torres’ own recent comments suggest that he understands that legacy. Rather than trying to force Nyan Cat back into the spotlight, he continues to create and lets the character evolve through the people who still love it.
That may be the best possible ending for a meme creator. Nyan Cat is still flying. And so is Chris Torres’ art career.
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