March 31, 2025 by Ava Tatum (‘25)
Every Thursday, almost a thousand Toga students get riled up, but not for a game or a show or the fact that chicken sandwiches will be on the lunch menu for the 120th time, they’re hyped for the “Toga Almost Friday” account’s newest post.
In 2019, brothers Max and Jack Barrett started posting collections of drinking memes captioned with the two-word phrase “Almost Friday”. Now the pair has accumulated 25 million followers, a few dozen brand deals, and they’ve even partnered with Mark Cuban of Shark Tank.
Anything this popular is bound to become a trend with high schoolers, which is why many students around the world have taken it upon themselves to get their peers excited for Friday. Starting in October of 2024, a senior at Saratoga Springs High School started posting their own “Almost Friday” memes on Instagram. Since then, they’ve amassed 958 followers and 23 posts, becoming our very own microcelebrity here at Toga.
Fortunately, I’ve had the chance to meet and interview the face behind the Toga Almost Friday account and ask them a few questions about their newfound success.
[Q] What inspired you to start the Toga Almost Friday account?
[A] I started Toga Almost Friday because we didn’t really have any un-school related Instagram accounts, like we have the senior assassin account but that doesn’t start until the last few months of school typically.
[Q] What’s the process of creating posts each week?
[A] To start I ask them [Saratoga High School students] to send in photos on Wednesdays then I have to pick the photos to post- if I have some left over from last week, those are the first I post, then the ones just sent in. Then I load them into ibispaintx, size them down, choose the font lobster and screenshot them finally they are ready to post.
[Q] Why did you choose to stay anonymous? Do you think you’ll ever reveal your identity?
[A] I stayed anonymous because if people know it’s you, they will be slightly more worried to send in a photo, people feel safer sending in the photos if they have no clue who you are. I think I will (reveal my identity) at the end of the year since I will be graduating, and I might pass the account down to a sophomore.
[Q] Have you ever heard theories about who is running the account? If so, what’s the craziest one you’ve heard?
[A] I haven’t heard anything too crazy, but they always think I’m an underclassman guy.
[Q] Has anyone in your life (teachers, staff, friends, etc.) ever suspected that you run the account?
[A] Many people have suspected me mostly because I told someone, and they told 5 people and so on, but the people told I ran the account as far as I know still send in photos every week.
[Q] Have you ever had a post go more viral than you expected?
[A] I think after I posted the first few, I gained like 200 followers overnight and that’s pretty cool for a school account; now I average like 300 likes on each post.
[Q] Do you think Toga Almost Friday has had an impact on the school environment?
[A] I think people are slightly more excited for Thursdays and it helps people get through the week.
I believe many SSHS students can say that the Toga Almost Friday account is a staple for the end of the week at school, and a fun, anonymous mystery to say the least.