Hello and welcome to our exclusive interview with @incellectuals_cathays! We want to start off this interview with a massive thank you to @incellectuals_cathays for agreeing to this exclusive interview with Quench Culture! We canÔÇÖt wait to dive into the inside scoop of what itÔÇÖs like to run the most popular Cardiff University comedy and meme Instagram account whilst remaining anonymous!
First off we want to ask you – what do you think makes your posts inherently funny?
We don’t think they are, really. We think we have a niche audience who is easily amused by stuff they relate to.
How did the account start – do you know how long it’s been running?
Just under two years I think. We had a lot to say about the DILF who works in Pizza Time and we wanted to share it. We ended up making a group chat and the rest just wrote itself.
Where do your ideas and jokes come from?
We’ve lived in Cathays for two years – its literally just from walking around and laughing at things that aren’t really funny – the less glamorous parts of student life. Either that or its making a point about things that piss us off: England winning the rugby, immigration enforcement vans, people who talk too loudly. Anything is fair game. A lot of them are inside jokes too, generally the ones with no likes.
Why do you think its important to represent Cardiff-specific student humour?
I think this is why we have followers, really, rather than being funny; its Cardiff-specific, and there are particular people and places that everyone knows and loves, and its fun to riff on that.
How do you stay relevant and up to date with everything that happens in Cardiff! You seem to have eyes and ears everywhere, all at once
We have a Gossip Girl-esque network established. Cathays doesn’t actually have that many people – a good half of the “people” you see are carefully placed informants who send us anonymous tips. We never actually leave the house.
Do you interact with your followers or do you let your posts speak for themselves?
That’s an issue. We had one admin who we sacked because they were getting too close to our fans. Apart from anything else, flirting with strangers through a meme account to the extent of inviting them to your house party isn’t great internet safety practice. I think we like to remain aloof as well, because at its core, incellectuals is selfish. Our posts are for our own entertainment, we don’t appreciate people trying to use them for advertising
What is the weirdest DM you have received?
Mark Drakeford actually invited us to speak at the Welsh Labour conference, but we declined because we weren’t allowed to wear masks. Apart from that, it wasn’t a DM but the Vulcan made a drink in our honour after we joked about shooting up in their bathroom which was pretty sick.
As of October 2023, you have an impressive 4,064 followers. How do you feel with such a huge following and is there any pressure to post consistently entertaining and relevant content to maintain your following?
We actually had an incident earlier this year; one admin buckled under the pressure and is now undergoing therapy because their posts were getting no likes. They won’t be returning for some time. The rest of us are chilling though.
What will happen to the account if you finish your studies or decide to move out of Cardiff? Will you be passing on the torch to another?
We’re considering a jury-duty type system, where one person per week is randomly selected to take over. Obviously we’re not including computer science students in that cohort. If that doesn’t work out our phones are set to explode in July of 2025.
LastlyÔǪReveal yourself! Kidding – can you tell us a clue about yourself or if you plan on staying anonymous for the foreseeable future? No pressure ÔǪ 🙂
No clues, but we’ll consider a foot reveal if we reach 5k.
Thank you so much to @incellectuals_cathays for agreeing to do this interview, it’s been a pleasure to get to know you more! Be sure to follow @incellectuals_cathays on Instagram for more witty student related content!┬á
Interview words by Julia Bottoms