The Memer Diaries: @HugePlateOfKetchup8

Let's not kid ourselves here: life really sucks for everyone right now, and we're all just doing our best not to go insane. We don't know about you, but for us, memes have played a big role in that - That's why we created The Memer Diaries, a series where we get to the heart and soul of the creators of some of our favorite meme accounts. In this installment we spoke with Jackson Weimer, a 22-year-old memer, editor at eBaum's World, and the creator of the shitpost-laden Instagram account @hugeplateofketchup8 where he posts 100% original content. We caught up with him recently about being a band nerd, his “stupidity and dumb” brand, and meme-ing during a pandemic.

Memebase: Hey Jackson, briefly introduce yourself with anything basic you'd like our readers to know!

Jackson: I run @hugeplateofketchup8 on Instagram and have been making memes daily for the past four years. I’m 22 years old, fresh outta college, and currently live in Brooklyn. I’ve made my career into making memes, having written about meme culture for Meme Insider for three years, and now currently for eBaum’s World. My background and inspiration for making memes spurts from my time in drum corps (DCI) and other musical activities I have been involved with. There’s just something about us band nerds that festers a will to make memes. 

Memebase: Describe the types of memes you make.

Jackson: The style of memes that I make depends on my mood. I am a shitposter so I pretty much make memes about anything that I want. My only overarching thing that ties all of my memes together is that I only make and post memes that I find funny. Sure, I’ll make memes in popular formats or about trending topics but I also like to make my own formats sourced from my favorite video games/shows/whatever that I find on my own. My favorite thing about my account is that I hide a small .png of Wario in all of my memes for my followers to find, like a "Where’s Waldo’" for memes. 

"My favorite thing about my account is that I hide a small .png of Wario in all of my memes for my followers to find, like a 'Where’s Waldo’ for memes." 

Memebase: Can you talk a bit more about how being involved with music got you into meme-ing?

Jackson: In all of the musical activities that I’ve been involved with, I’ve always noticed how there are tons and tons of inside jokes that all of the members have with each other. If you walk into any college or high school band room you’ll hear kids saying things and making references that you won’t understand because often times they're inside jokes, or inside memes. Memes are just jokes on the internet. After doing band for a while, I got good at making inside jokes within my section and watching them spread throughout the band. I guess this was the energy that inspired me to take my joke-making skills to the internet. Most of my memes are stupid and dumb, exactly the same style most band humor is. 

I joined a drum corps in 2017, 7th Regiment, and went on a summer tour across the US with a group of 100 kids my age for three months. At that time, I had my meme account already but it wasn’t that big yet. All of my friends in the corps loved my meme account and kept encouraging me to make more and more memes and kept giving me ideas. Before I left for tour, I printed a few thousand stickers of my handle and profile picture and would give them away to other corps we saw on the road, while also sticking them in every rest stop and school that we slept in. That summer was the reason why I continued to pursue memes as an important part of my personal brand. 

Memebase: How did you come up with your Instagram handle name?

Jackson: There’s no real meaning behind the name but somehow that totally fits the brand I’ve created. I think I was inspired by Xbox Live’s name generator tool that would give you new username ideas that were insanely random. @Hugeplateofketchup8 was not one of those names but it totally was in the same style. I like ketchup but like not that much.

Memebase: What do you think has made your Instagram account so popular?

Jackson: My account started to get popular in 2017 with my Tinder memes which would be just me posting extremely surreal and shitpost-y Tinder conversations that I had with real people. I gained something like 25,000 followers in one month. I’ve kinda stopped posting those types of memes mainly because they’re really cringe, but sometimes I do. I also created the Perhaps Cow meme, which blew up my account in May of 2017 - a meme I made while at a drum corps rehearsal. That was fun to watch explode because all of my band friends were there to watch. Now, I really perfected the use of hashtags and I have kinda created a meme personality that is truly me. I think people follow me because I’m me and not like many meme accounts these days. Sounds cringe to write but that’s probably why. 

Memebase: When you say you're “not like many meme accounts these days,” is there a common trait of meme creators that you think people just don't like?

Jackson: I think people who follow me are tired of other meme accounts on Instagram who post countless ads, don’t make their own content, and have no personality associated with the content they post. There are also some accounts that try too hard to make memes associated with current trends just to try and stay relevant. I’m aware of current meme trends and if one aligns with my ‘stupidity and dumb’ brand then I’ll make one, but if not I won’t force myself to try and make one. If there’s a meme format that I just don’t like, I won’t make one compared to many meme accounts who feel the need that they have to make one stay relevant and please their followers. Simply put, I am me(me). 

Memebase: Why do you think memes are so popular with young people?

Jackson: To put it short, it’s because young people grew up on the internet. We are the first generation to have mobile phones with high-speed internet and social media. It just makes sense that we’d use that combination to have fun and share funny things with our friends but also with strangers online to make them laugh. If older people had grown up with the same internet, they would love memes just as much as we do. Lots of older people do love memes, just not as much as young people obviously. Memes are the inside jokes of the internet and the medium of art that my generation will be remembered for. 

If older people had grown up with the same internet, they would love memes just as much as we do.

Memebase: How (if at all) has the pandemic influenced your memes?

Jackson: At the beginning of the pandemic, I made a few memes pertaining to the events that were occurring. Once I realized mid-March that this was going to be a long event, I stopped making them. Since then, I haven’t made any memes about it. Sometimes I find it difficult to come up with non corona-related material to make memes about, but that’s lead to more creative solutions and ultimately better memes. The pandemic has challenged me to be more creative than I ever have been. 

Memebase: How (if at all) has the current political climate influenced your memes?

Jackson: I really try and keep all politics off of my page. If I make a political meme, it’s going to make one side angry and cause those followers to leave. That’s not what I want to use my account for. I want people to come to my account and just have a stupid laugh and feel dumber than they did before they looked at my page. 

Memebase: Who are some meme creators you like?

Jackson: My favorite meme account of all time is @yusefbro unfortunately his account was disabled by Instagram in late 2019. He made over 4,000 original memes and started some of the best trends in dank meme culture pre-2017. Currently, I love watching a lot of the high-effort memes from @ocmerchants and @ocplebs; two of Instagram’s best video OC meme-making groups. Also in my Instagram account’s highlights, I have a list of some of my favorite meme creators if you’re interested in seeing more.

Memebase: Anything else you'd like to add?

Jackson: If you come to my page and you don’t find any of my memes funny, that’s the correct reaction. 

In case you missed our debut installment of the series featuring Margeaux of @SpilledMyJuice, be sure to check that out here!