Whatever happened to Star Wars Kid? The sad but inspiring story behind one of the first victims of cyberbullying

A long time ago – well, 14 years ago – in a galaxy that really isn’t all that far away, there was no Facebook and no Twitter. Myspace was in its infancy. But there was still cyberbullying

If you remember 2003, you probably also remember a viral video of a teenage boy enthusiastically practising some Darth Maul-style moves, using a home-improvised version of the villain’s famous double lightsaber (actually a golf ball retriever).

Dubbed “Star Wars Kid”, 15-year-old Quebec schoolboy Ghyslain Raza went on to achieve unwanted international fame, after the footage– which he had never intended to release online – was shared across the world. It’s difficult to count how many times it’s been viewed, but some estimates (via NBC) place the figure at over a billion.

At first glance, there was nothing particularly sinister about the video’s online popularity. Raza’s concentration and obvious delight in what he’s doing, coupled with the fact that he makes a somewhat unlikely-looking Sith Lord, are both endearing and hilarious.