Most meme accounts don’t have origin stories. But when Patia Borja is involved, exceptions to the rule seem to be the norm.

A New York nightlife denizen since 2010, the Florida-born Borja is the bawdy mind behind some of the internet’s most audacious memes. Quick-witted and self-assured, the 28-year-old has never been afraid to speak her mind, whether she’s exposing abusers or speaking out against anti-Black racism. It’s this chutzpah, in fact, that inspired her to create the Fantasy World Guide to Dismantling Systemic Racism, an exhaustive database of resources aimed at educating the masses about America’s centuries-long history of racial oppression. Coincidentally, the database brought global attention to Borja right as PatiasFantasyWorld, her ever-growing Instagram account, known for its vast selection of irreverent and ironic memes rooted in Black culture and identity, was expanding its own audience at an exponential rate.

About that origin story: In 2015, Borja started BundleUpdate, an Instagram account that spotlighted pictures of semi-known NYC scenesters doing cocaine. Being featured on the page became the epitome of downtown cool, and before long New York fixtures were messaging Borja directly with photos of themselves snorting the illicit substance. Despite its hyperlocal popularity, however, BundleUpdate was soon banned. So, with that experience under her belt, Borja reemerged with PatiasFantasyWorld. Initially a private finsta, she eventually opened it to the public, and as the demand for more content increased, she enlisted the help of other internet-obsessed Black millennials—Laina Berry, River Moon and Allan Stoops—to run the page. Today, PatiasFantasyWorld posts to an audience of more than 210,000, making Borja one of social media’s most important (and hilarious) voices.

When she’s not scouring the Facebook pages of various Black aunties to find her niche memes, the selective curator can usually be found cuddling with her Yorkie puppy, Pocari, or buried in books, studying cybersecurity as part of a certification program with Cisco. Her meme page may be bigger than she ever imagined—so big that she’s now in the business of fighting court cases, most recently when someone accused her of stealing “intellectual property” for her resource database (“A bail fund link is not owned. It’s supposed to be shared,” she contends)—but Borja has much grander goals for the long term.

Borja had been enjoying one of the last few warm days of fall when Playboy checked in for a two-hour Zoom call; the conversation with the meme curator-cum-activist covered everything from brand partnerships to mental health to posting foreskin on social media.

The memes you feature are rooted in Black culture and identity. How do you reckon with having a lot of white followers?

I guess I don’t think about it. I think white people love talking to each other in the comments more than Black people. For me, it’s a front-row seat to seeing white people do that thing they do, which is colonize. We’ve been saying from the beginning that this is for Black people. If anything, I hate feeling like I’ve birthed a lot of white people’s senses of humor this year. Some people just learned how to say, “Period.”

Despite bearing your name, PatiasFantasyWorld is run by a team. What’s the advantage of that?

The big advantage is I have time for myself in my own life. But it also helps because if it was just me, I couldn’t post certain things because I’m the “straight Black girl.” I mean, some would say I’m gay, but having members of the community really helps us post the more offensive memes—you know, the out-of-pocket memes. It helps in terms of how extreme we can go with the content.

Do people conflate you with the account?

Yeah. I’ve battled with that for a minute. Before the database, I was like, “What the fuck? I don’t want to be known as just a meme account.” I’m grateful for all the shit I get because of the account, and I’m happy that people like the work we’ve done. But I don’t want to be talking about this account when I’m 30. It’s a period in time. I don’t want it to turn into some shit like FuckJerry, you know?

BundleUpdate, your first real foray into meme culture, was informed by the nightlife scene. Do you think there’s a link between your past in the clubs and your career as a meme curator?

Back then, I was the only one who didn’t have a job, couldn’t keep a job. I was always quitting, not showing up. I was scanning fake CityMD excuses. I knew the same people then I know now. They were all doing shit, and that’s what was cool about them going out. But I was partying and couldn’t get my life together. I was young. You can’t be like, “If I did this back then…,” because if I’d done things differently, then I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now.

What made you get serious about your future?

Last year I was getting my hair done, and this woman was reading my energy. She was like, “I can’t see you working for anyone.” Everyone in New York always says they can’t work for people. But, like, I can’t work for people. I feel too smart to have people who are managing me, especially because I worked in restaurants and retail. I didn’t want a job in a cool office. I’m not trying to sit in a cubicle. So I did a lot of not giving a fuck.

That mentality toward professional shit didn’t really change until I started the resource database. For the first time in my life I had to actually reply to emails. But I fully believe you don’t have to want to do one thing. You can do it all!

You worked recently with brands including Marc Jacobs and Kim Kardashian’s Skims. Some people took issue with your collaborations; what do you say to them?

When I bought myself a Prada bag for my birthday, I got the whole capitalism lecture. And I completely get it, but I’m going to wear Prada. I don’t see people come at white people or even Black men the way they do Black women. That experience—being criticized for every single thing I did—was the craziest. When people attack me for who I work with, it’s insulting. You say you respect me and are thankful for my work, but you seem to think I’m not competent enough to make my own decisions? They’re like, “Those brands are just being performative for you.” I’m Black. I think, of all people, I know when someone’s being performative or not.

I’m not someone who gets invited to fashion shows. These brands do not have to give a fuck about me. I have no filter—I’m posting foreskin memes while telling you to read Assata Shakur. If I was running a brand, I wouldn’t hire me. The way my mania be hitting, I’m not scared of no fucking brand.

How did you learn to embrace your sex appeal?

When I was growing up, I didn’t think anyone was hot. I couldn’t even think about a football player. I was like, “Those niggas are ugly.” It wasn’t until I really bagged a major crush that I was like, “Hold up.”

People are sexy when they’re smart. So once I started being more confident in my intelligence, I felt sexy. Learning to accept the fact that I’m smart made me feel like, “Oh my God, I think the smartest people are beautiful—so I’m cute.”

Did you feel that way on set for your Playboy photoshoot with Richie Talboy?

Oh, bitch, it was fab! It was just surreal to be a Black woman and working with such a legendary publication. It felt euphoric and I think everyone on set had the same sentiment.

How have you been handling your mental health during quarantine?

Mental health is a battle and doing it during Covid is a battle. We all have stress over money and stuff. People ask, “What would you say to someone who’s depressed in quarantine?” It’s like, “Girl, when you find out, I would love to know!” What helps me right now is just knowing that, honestly, everyone’s fucking depressed.

It’s crazy to see everyone have the same problem I’ve had for 20-plus years, just being depressed and shit. I’ve had the most unexpected friends be like, “I’m spiraling. I’m inside. I’m going crazy.” And in my head, I’m like, “Damn, now you know.”

We’re in the run-up to an election. What role do you think memes will play?

I always wanted the meme page to be something for Black people to laugh at, no matter what the fuck is going on. There are specific meme topics we post about that are political, like when we posted stimulus check memes. I don’t really intend for those to raise conversation, but it’s cool when they do. That’s what memes do. But I feel like all we’ll have after this election is PatiasFantasyWorld. I guess that’s everyone’s Xanax.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

I already know what my timeline is going to look like, no matter who gets elected. We just have to keep posting memes about foreskin.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.