Legends, rebels, absolute maniacs, or whatever you want to call them, some people were born to live on the edge. To embrace a world without order, to flirt with danger, and to go completely off the rails, blaring, “Chaos is my middle name!” These are the madmen who are brave enough to eat cereal with ice cream. Who feel like going to a bar to grab a pint of water — and do it. Who borrow a pen from the teacher and, dare I say it… never return it.

Welcome to the ‘Mad Lads’ universe where people poke fun at the “maddest” heroes on Reddit. The 1.7-million-strong online group is dedicated to “those bantasaurus rexes who can’t be contained,” allowing us to laugh at their hilarious results. Thanks to this amusing community, we get to see a hilariously entertaining collection of the best “power moves” that turned out to be not as extreme as the lads believed them to be.

Below, we’ve gathered some of the best posts from the group to share with you, so continue scrolling! Be sure to upvote the most ridiculous ones, tell us which were your favorites in the comments, and and don’t miss the chat we had about the phenomenon with licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Jesse Matthews.

Psst! Check out even more hilarious examples from previous Bored Panda pieces on this feature right here and here.

#1 Megamind As A Total Madlad

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#2 Mad Mike Check

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According to the internet database Know Your Meme, the origin of the term “lad” comes from the media-driven, primarily British and Irish subculture of the 1990s and early 2000s called “laddism”. Soon enough, the word became a popular internet slang describing principally young men who are drinking, partying, and, well, simply having a good time while trying to impress everyone around them.

The meme really took off after the phrase “absolute madman” started popping up on social media under pictures of pitiful nights out, including the well-known image of Dean lying on the floor. These posts helped to promote the slang term so much that it even spawned the ‘Mad Lads’ subreddit dedicated purely to these “unsung heroes” in 2015.

Since then, the community has been documenting the phenomenon of British masculinity at its weirdest and sharing the most ridiculous examples to ever grace social networks. And even though now the British lad culture seems to be withering, the group continues to immortalize their “power moves” with an ironic twist. Or, as Vice columnist Roisin Kiberd explained, “It’s a joke on the Mad Lads, masquerading as a community for them.”

#3 True Malicious Compliance By A Mad Lad

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#4 This Belongs Here

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Once the group started gaining more traction and made the top five subreddits site-wide, Philip, the creator of the group, started receiving comments from people wondering what this community is all about. “A lot of the time, people will be led to us by an ‘absolute madman’ comment, and they’ll understand pretty quickly that it’s a parody of lad humor,” Philip said in an interview with Vice.

While there are many notoriously famous ‘Mad Lad’ figures, such as the Ruari in the bath and Owen with a pen in his hair, “The one that always stands out to me is that guy saying ‘Never let me drink and have a broom,'” Philip revealed. “It’s just so perfect. He’s cleaning up, doing something quite positive, while probably very drunk. And the description implies he’s doing something completely mad.”

#5 Well Played

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#6 This Madman

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To hear more about the phenomenon from an expert, we reached out to Dr. Jesse Matthews, Psy.D., a licensed clinical psychologist based in Chester Springs, PA. He explained he has seen examples of this behavior online, and most of them looked like jokes.

“Some posts showed signs with rules like ‘do not touch the glass’ at the zoo with the poster touching the glass and #absolutemadman. In another, a guy posted his burger order, which included just about every topping.” As none of these actions are all that extreme, humor comes into the picture, Dr. Matthews told Bored Panda.

#7 Office Madlad

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#8 Mad Lass

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#9 This Madlad

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Previously, “mad lads” seemed to showcase a vain and self-absorbed side of themselves by presenting an edgy persona to simply gain attention. In a sense, these young men were the product of masculinity in crisis, especially if they were being serious or acted very stereotypically masculine, Dr. Matthews added.

But the psychologist noted that in the posts mocking the “absolute madman” phenomenon, this doesn’t seem to be the case. “In fact, joking about breaking minor rules or acting as though small things are so extreme seems more like it’s poking fun at masculinity.” So it looks like we’re likely moving towards a post-lad future where the “bantasaurus rexes” are faced with extinction.

#10 This Madlad

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#11 Real Madlad

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#12 This Madman

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But what lies behind the urge to share “power moves” online? “If we’re really being honest, anyone sharing anything online is seeking attention or recognition,” Dr. Matthews explained. “Some people just from those they already know, but others from strangers too. It is generally regarded as a positive thing to get more likes or follows, and certainly some kind of notoriety or fame. And if you’re lucky, maybe even money or other deals.”

#13 This Madlass

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#14 He Actually Went And Did It!

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#15 The Absolute Chompers On This Lad

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Of course, people seek praise for various reasons, but one subtle impulse that drives this urge is our herd mentality. “Most people use some type of social media these days, and young people have had it just about their whole lives. It’s now normal to share things online, whether it’s serious or whether you are performing or portraying something else,” the psychologist added.

“So there’s the idea that everyone is doing it which leads people to be part of it, and then if someone wants to stand out, they might try to start trends or they follow trends, or they may try to one-up what others are doing. It’s kind of like the idea of street cred, yet online and/or in your school, community, or local area.”

#16 No One Even Noticed!

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#17 This Madlad

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#18 This Madman

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A brief scroll through the community shows that some of the heroes featured in this subreddit are shockingly young. As many of them are growing up and have likely reached adulthood by now, there’s a chance they look back on the decisions they made with regret. But, according to Dr. Matthews, everything depends on the content they’re posting. “If it’s pretty vanilla stuff, then they are probably just doing what they see other people doing and at some point, they will grow out of it.”

“However, if it’s too extreme, as in illegal, dangerous, or inappropriate, then it could certainly have ramifications — either in the short or long run. Most of us have seen people lose jobs, have scholarships or admissions offers revoked, or people getting injured or arrested,” he continued. “It’s likely that the more extreme the content, whatever it is, the more likely you are to end up regretting it later.”

#19 Fast Food Worker Admits Tampering With Food

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#20 I Have A Copy Of It Right Here

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#21 What A Madlad

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To the madmen who are overreacting to totally normal things in life, to the absolute legends who go and do it, Dr. Matthews offered a few pieces of advice: “Be careful out there and think about what you’re doing before doing it. I understand most people are just having fun and they certainly don’t want to get hurt, in any trouble, or exclude themselves from any future opportunities.”

“I’ve always been a fan of the ‘post as though your grandmother was going to see it’ rule. You could even make it your mom, your principal, your coach, or your future boss, spouse, or child. If you’re into pushing the envelope online, five seconds of thinking ahead could make a huge difference in your life,” the clinical psychologist concluded.

#22 This Madman

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#23 Madlad Waited 9 Years For A Yo Mama Joke

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#24 1

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#25 Oh My God Somebody Must Stop Him

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#26 Madlad Doesn’t Care What The Wife Says When She’s Not Around

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#27 Absolute Madlad

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#28 Woodworking Madlad

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#29 This Madman

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#30 Madlad Removes Tag That Told Him Not To

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#31 Mad Lad Has Grate Time At Desert Daze

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#32 The Ultimate Flex

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#33 This Madman

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#34 Absolutely Mad

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#35 It’s Going To Be Mental!

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#36 He’s Right

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#37 Sheer Insanity!

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#38 This Madlad

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#39 He Is Mad!!

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#40 It’s Madlad Mayhem Over In Casualuk!

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#41 Calm Down Bro

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#42 Madlad’s A Breaker Of Bones

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#43 This Madman

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#44 What A Madlad

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#45 This Madman

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Source: boredpanda.com