Giorgio A. Tsoukalos
Giorgio A. Tsoukalos is an American writer, and television presenter and producer. He is a ufologist and a promoter of the ancient astronauts hypothesis. He is host and producer of Ancient Aliens, a History Channel series.
Career
Tsoukalos is of Greek-Swiss heritage. He is a 1998 graduate of Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, with a bachelor's degree in Communications. From 1999 to 2007, he worked as a promoter of IFBB-sanctioned bodybuilding contests, including Mr. Olympia. He was lead promoter and contest director of the IFBB San Francisco Pro Grand Prix from 2001 to 2005.Since 2002, Tsoukalos has appeared in programs broadcast by Travel Channel, History Channel, Syfy, and National Geographic. He was the editor of Legendary Times magazine from 1999 to 2008. He is a co-executive producer of Ancient Aliens, and he has appeared in more than 200 episodes since 2009. He presented and co-produced the 2014 H2 series In Search of Aliens.
''Ancient Aliens'' meme
Tsoukalos's appearances in Ancient Aliens inspired a meme highlighting his unusual hairstyle overlaid with the caption: "I'm not saying it was aliens … but …" Variations of the meme were uploaded by users as early as November 2010. According to Dictionary.com, the meme mimicked "the tone of conviction used by Tsoukalos to present unfounded far-fetched pseudo-logic as fact."In a 2015 Reddit AMA, Tsoukalos said he loved the meme, adding "it's a great honor to have been embraced" by Internet users. During a 2016 appearance on CNN Philippines, Tsoukalos's "meme-ification" was discussed at length. A partial transcript of the interview was later published online as "Meet the Hair Guy from Ancient Aliens."
Tsoukalos made a cameo appearance in the 2021 Resident Alien episode "Welcome Aliens". He was described by the lead character as "that high-haired gentleman". The episode included several references to the Ancient Aliens meme. Tsoukalos reprised his cameo in the episode "Best of Enemies".
A Meme Studio analysis of Google Trends placed the Ancient Aliens meme fourth in its list of the 20 most-searched meme templates in the United States. Between June 2024 and May 2025 the meme was searched more than 2,000 time per month when paired with "meme generator" or "template".
Filmography
Radio and podcast appearances
| Year | Program | Host | Episodes | Ref |
| 2008–2016 | Coast to Coast AM | George Noory | 9 episodes | |
| 2009 | Donna Seebo Show | Donna Seebo | Episode dated September 2, 2009 | |
| 2010 | The Spirit Revolution | Kathleen McGowan, Philip Coppens | Episode dated November 16, 2010 | |
| 2010 | When Pigs Fly | Andrew Feder | Episode dated October 22, 2010 | |
| 2010–2012 | Life Changes Show | Filippo Voltaggio | 2 episodes | |
| 2011 | Connecting The Light | Mike Quinsey | Episode dated May 6, 2011 | |
| 2011 | The Metaphysical Hour | Dolores Cannon | Episode dated June 3, 2011; Published as podcast in 2021 | |
| 2011–12 | The Joe Rogan Experience | Joe Rogan | 2 episodes | |
| 2017 | Hysteria 51 | Episode: "Pyramids of Giza"; Archive audio | ||
| 2025 | Intergalaktiskt | Episode: "Zeus var chefsalien" | ||
| 2025 | On the Phone with John Mingione | John Mingione | Episode: "On the Phone With: Giorgio Tsoukalos" |