Trickster Magazine

[ 01 ] You’ve described making memes as something close to therapy – just cheaper and more fun. But are you the one being diagnosed, or are you holding up the mirror? What’s the bigger idea behind soy.vilnius?

[ soy.vilnius ] I may agree with the therapeutic and self-referential aspects of memes. By their nature, memes function almost like cultural mirrors – they reflect shared experiences, anxieties, and identities in a compressed, ironic form.

It’s somewhat close to the ideas of Jean Baudrillard and his concept of simulacra, where representations become more real than reality itself. This is especially noticeable in how far I’ve pushed Naujamiestis into absurdity. My memes obviously distort reality, much like our memories do, so there are clear overlaps with therapy, but I’d shift the perspective. I’m more on the therapist’s side. For me, making memes is work, mostly unpaid.

Speaking about the core concept, what people often miss is that soy.vilnius is closely tied to capital and privilege. The topics I cover, as well as the items and places I mention, come with a fairly high entry threshold. The way the content is perceived can vary a lot depending on how much someone pays per square meter and which part of Vilnius they live in. In that sense, for the audience it’s also an expensive kind of therapy – they have to pay 75 euros for three bites and two sips just to experience that moment of self-recognition and shared trauma.

To sum it up, soy.vilnius is an anti-capitalist commentary in the form of images and text, which simultaneously capitalizes on capitalism and hyper-consumerism.

[ 02 ] Were you a meme enthusiast before starting soy.vilnius? And what’s the origin story behind it?

[ soy.vilnius ] The soy.vilnius story starts on a bus from Nida to Vilnius, with me feeling sad that my vacation was over and it was time to return to corporate slavery. During that ride, I started questioning what I could do to stop working altogether.

I began brainstorming all kinds of ideas – from selling specialty coffee in Neringa to designing actually cool, non-cringe wedding graphics. One of those ideas was becoming an influencer and getting things for free. But it felt too late to go on TikTok with silly dances, so I decided to become a meme influencer instead.

Memes are something I’ve been making ever since I got access to the internet, but my creations were mostly limited to close friends and coworkers. You might ask how good my memes were, and I’d say they were good enough that I got called into HR twice because of them.

[ 03 ] I’ve been following the account for a while, and the posting rhythm and consistency have always stood out – along with the brand integrations. Have you been intentional about growing the account from the start?

[ soy.vilnius ] At what cost! You can’t imagine how much effort and energy goes into making memes. My evenings and weekends are spent creating content, and when I work on more niche or historical memes, I can spend a lot of time researching just to keep them accurate.

I’ve always taken this craft seriously. Even before launching the page, I had a content plan and a strategy mapped out for months ahead.

In a way, you could say everything was intentional, but in reality it was still a gamble. I was hoping it would work, but I didn’t expect the level of success it had from day one.

[ 04 ] Your content gives off a self-aware, anti-capitalist, anti-consumerist vibe – but the level of niche detail suggests you’re part of that world too. That feels like the epitome of a trickster to me : )

[ soy.vilnius ] Thank you for noticing! And it’s true, there is an anti-capitalist and anti-consumerist tone in what I do. But at the same time, I’m very much part of that system, and in some ways contributing to it.

I also believe it’s almost impossible to fake this kind of perspective. You can immediately feel when something isn’t authentic or lived through. If you want to create content that truly resonates, you have to experience it yourself – be curious, follow trends, spend an unreasonable amount of time online, and at the same time stay present in physical spaces, observing people.

I often joke with my partner and friends: “I’m not brainrotting, I’m working” or “this is not where I’d like to be, but you know… it’s part of the job.”

Sometimes it feels like I’m an ouroboros within the capitalist system – consuming it, reflecting it, and feeding it back into itself at the same time.

[ 05 ] One of the nicest things about your account is that it makes people feel like they’re in on something exclusive. As a non-Lithuanian, I often don’t fully understand the place names or hyper-local references, but I automatically translate them to Tallinn, London, Paris, or other European cities. Is that something you anticipated, or did you realize it later on?

[ soy.vilnius ] From the beginning it was very important for me to build a strong identity around Vilnius and its residents. My goal was to promote the city, detach it from the outdated perception of being “the scary part of Europe,” and place it on the same level of cultural coolness as cities like London, Paris, Berlin, or New York. I also consciously chose Vilnius as part of the name and played with the dual meaning of “soy” – both as a reference to woke culture and the Spanish “I am.”

Memes are a perfect format for that because of how efficient and adaptable they are – they replicate, mutate, and travel fast. They exist in a kind of borderless digital space, which makes them one of the purest and fastest forms of cultural globalization.

So what you’re describing wasn’t entirely planned, but it’s also not accidental. It’s not that Vilnius is identical to those cities, it’s that the language of memes makes local experiences universally recognizable. Algorithms curate me, and in a way, I curate how Vilnius is perceived.

And I’d say it’s a good thing. Over the past year I’ve seen many comments like, “lol I’m American, why am I on a Lithuanian meme page?” A few years ago, Vilnius was running campaigns around the idea that nobody even knew where it was. Now, somehow, a meme page is not only creating visibility, but also making people curious enough to actually come and experience the city.

[ 06 ] What are you actually enjoying on Instagram right now – are there any accounts you keep coming back to?

[ soy.vilnius ] Honestly, the accounts of my friends and loved ones.

I like The 1975 and really vibe with Matty Healy. I feel like we share a similar way of broadcasting ideas through irony. There’s a line from their song People that really stuck with me:

“People like people
They want alive people
The young surprise people
Stop fucking with the…”

And that’s kind of how I feel about Instagram now. Stop messing with the algorithms and my feed – just show me photos of my friends, not random accounts I never asked for.

Sometimes I genuinely feel sorry for newer generations. They never got to experience the “good” version of the internet. What they got instead is constant comparison with influencers, AI slop, and feeds optimized for engagement rather than real human connection. 

[ 07 ] You’ve chosen to stay incognito on Instagram – which feels smart, sustainable, and kind of punk in this face-branded, algorithm-driven ecosystem. Is that more about protecting yourself, or protecting the brand?

[ soy.vilnius ] None of that, really. It’s more about following Roland Barthes’ idea of “the death of the author” to allow for interpretation. By staying anonymous and abstract, I can be anyone or anything, and most importantly, give a voice to everyone. If my memes were tied to me as a persona, it would be much harder for others to relate.

[ 08 ] I have to compliment the balance of masculine and feminine perspectives in your content. Is that just what naturally stands out to you, both online and in real life – or do you have people around you helping you sense-check what lands?

[ soy.vilnius ] Actually, there’s often a misconception that there are multiple people behind the account, when in reality it’s just me and the content is fully organic.

I’ve tried involving close friends, but all of them said they weren’t funny enough to make memes. I’ve also experimented with AI (even tried to create my own soy.vilnius “agent”) but there’s a huge limitation with all LLMs: they’re trained on the past. They reproduce what has already been created, while memes require something timely and original.

AI is almost useless for making memes unless you’re using it to proofread text, generate images, or look up historical or cultural references. Or maybe it’s just that I have a very clear sense of what I want and how it should feel.

So in a way, I feel like memers, comedians, and content creators are relatively safe, even in the middle of this so-called AI apocalypse.

[ 09 ] “Memes are hard. But what in life is easy?” I love that quote of yours. I’ve had to make a few memes myself, and yeah – it’s hard. So I have to ask: are you funny in real life?

[ soy.vilnius ] You’re asking me to rate myself? What do you expect, lol? Of course I’d give myself a strong A+. Probably the funniest person on the planet. Honestly, I should be a galactic meme emperor, not just a meme lord from Earth.

That said, I do consider myself funny, but I’m not ‘a walking entertainment machine pro max’ or a clown 24/7. In real life, I’m actually more calm and observant. I don’t like to draw attention in public, I prefer to watch and listen. It gives me room for good jokes.

There’s a variety of parrot called Eclectus (I’ve been into parrots recently, bear with me). They're known for their intelligence and strong personality, but they often prefer to sit back and observe how the world falls apart rather than constantly interact like other parrots.

Maybe I’m a bit like that.
Getting a parrot… could be a move.

[ 10 ] Has running this meme empire affected your day job as a product designer in any way?

[ soy.vilnius ] Vice versa. My professional background actually helps me with memes. Being a product designer means having strong empathy, understanding user needs, and solid research skills. It trains observation and pattern recognition, which is exactly what I rely on when creating content. That’s usually my answer when people ask how I notice and interpret things in the city.

At the same time, the account has brought a significant increase in social interactions and responsibilities, especially when it comes to partnerships. There are emails, chats, meetings, and ongoing discussions around collaborations and marketing.

And that’s where it gets complicated. It’s honestly like living a bit of a Hannah Montana life – balancing two parallel identities. During the day I’m a product designer, and in the evenings I’m running soy.vilnius.

The difficult part is that my partners operate during the same hours as my full-time job, so a lot of the work spills into evenings and weekends. It can be intense, but I guess that’s the reality of building something on the side – especially when it starts to grow beyond just a hobby.

[ 11 ] You cover fashion quite a bit. For example, “you could show the Salomon XT-6 some nature at least once” made me laugh out loud – and think of my dear partner. I guess social mockery really is a universal love language?

[ soy.vilnius ] I think it really is, in a way. There’s even research showing that people share content not just to entertain, but to express themselves and strengthen connections.

At this point memes have basically become a modern love language. People don’t always say “I’m thinking about you” directly, they send you something very specific that only you would understand.

And social mockery plays a big role in that. It’s not really about making fun of someone, but about recognition. Like, “this is so you” or “this is so us.”  So yeah, if someone sends you a very accurate meme about your Salomon XT-6… that’s probably love.

[ 12 ] What would be your top three places to visit for the full soy.vilnius experience?

[ soy.vilnius ] There are two sides to this – the sarcastic world of my memes, and my sincere recommendations.

In the first category, I’d include trend-driven business projects that could be described as “soy” – all these small plates natty wine listening bars. I don’t think these places are bad at all; they just perfectly align with the soy.vilnius universe and the kind of characters I make fun of.

Then there’s my actual list – places where you can realistically find me. It’s always changing depending on my mood, so it’s hard to limit it to just three. This is more of a spontaneous selection rather than a ranking.

Le Travi – my favorite Italian restaurant, with a very warm atmosphere and great people. I love sitting there and watching the chefs cook. The pasta is amazing and always surprising, and they serve natural wine.

Chinkali Namai – a completely anti-soy place. It’s far away, a bit sketchy, cash-only, and you will absolutely be judged if you try to order sour cream with khinkali. But it always delivers. It feels authentic. You know a place is good when it’s family-run, has 1,950 reviews, and survived COVID.

Miesto Laboratorija – I’m currently in my Antakalnis era, and I love this hidden gem. They serve organic food, grow their own ingredients, and host a lot of community activities for different age groups. But the best part – they have their own chicken coop.

[ 13 ] What’s next for soy.vilnius?

[ soy.vilnius ] What’s next? I’d like to keep a bit of intrigue – it helps maintain interest and gives me room to maneuver.

On a broader level, my direction stays the same – I want to keep growing and scaling the project.

One of the newer things, which is still mostly behind the scenes, is that I’ve started consulting brands and helping them with creative marketing and customer acquisition. I go beyond content creation, helping brands refine their existing setup and develop ideas that are both meaningful and effective.

In a way, I replace what would normally require a small design or marketing team – combining strategy, design, content, and growth into one continuous process.

This is where my background as a growth designer really helps. I can work across the full spectrum from strategy to execution, and think about the user and audience experience end-to-end.

At the same time, I feel like many businesses should reconsider how they approach SMM in 2026. Unless you’re genuinely willing to invest time and effort into creating something distinctive, it just doesn’t work anymore. Algorithms are too demanding — if a post doesn’t perform within the first hour, it basically disappears and ends up being seen by a few colleagues.

I definitely plan to keep developing this direction.

[ 14 ] If the world could use a little more of one thing, what would it be? Or, put another way: what’s your message to the people?

[ 15 ] And finally – if you had to make a meme about Trickster Magazine, what would it look like?

[ soy.vilnius ] Uno Reverse card. I suggest you make a meme about me based on this interview.

Oh, soy – how very Trickster of you. The mirror flips, the observer becomes the observed, and suddenly we’re all part of the meme.