Former Apple Employee Sam Sung Reflects on Viral Fame

Scottish consultant Sam Struan, formerly known as Sam Sung, became an internet sensation after a photo of his Apple business card went viral while he was working in Vancouver.

He recalls receiving endless calls and messages after someone posted the card online in 2012. At first, he feared losing his job, thinking Apple would see it as bad publicity.

«I was terrified,» he said. «But if Apple had fired me, it would have caused even more noise.»

Apple briefly pulled him off the shop floor and told colleagues not to confirm his identity to curious visitors. Within months, the attention faded, and in 2013, he left the company to move into recruitment.

A year later, Sam auctioned one of his old business cards and a uniform for charity, raising over $2,500 for the Children’s Wish Foundation.

«It was nice to take something that once scared me and turn it into something good,» he said.

The viral moment also inspired a permanent change. Feeling that his name had become an online joke and wanting a more professional identity, he adopted the surname Struan, after a village on Scotland’s Isle of Skye.

More than a decade later, many still remember him as Sam Sung, but Struan doesn’t mind.

«I’m glad I changed my name,» he says. «But I wish I’d relaxed more and enjoyed the moment for what it was.»