PATHETIC is a creative studio blending fashion, emerging tech and internet culture. The studio works with brands such as CashApp, MUBI, Nike and Gucci, and grew out of Berragan’s six-year-long Instagram meme page (@PATHETIC), which now has 288,000 followers and over 50 million impressions every month.

In this interview, Berragan talks about why memes matter as a cultural and creative tool, how running a meme page shapes the studio’s approach to brand campaigns, and why combining fashion and technology opens up entirely new creative possibilities. Plus, how to balance irreverence with professionalism – and why getting memes right can make or break a brand’s cultural relevance.

So: memes. They’ve been a through line in your career. How so? And why do you think memes resonate so much?

I actually started my career by building meme pages on Twitter. I was revising for my GCSEs and decided to make a page called Exam Problems. The page hit 50,000 followers in a few weeks, and it was the first time I realised memes could transmit a shared experience really easily and really fast. I'd get home from an exam, post about a specific question and get 2,000 retweets. That rush is something I've been chasing ever since.

Memes are the smallest unit of attention on the internet and the most efficient way to move an idea. They take almost nothing to create, spread faster than any other format, and have no ceiling on how far they can travel. When you have that kind of leverage as a creator, it’s hard to ignore.

They’re also incredibly low-stakes. Your name, face, or likeness isn’t attached, giving you a blank canvas to explore topics and shape your influence.

When working with global brands such as Nike, Adidas and Gucci, how do you balance brand identity with meme authenticity?

Brands have to accept that working with us means giving up some control over their identity and guidelines in favour of something more valuable: self-awareness and humour. To reach a genuinely large audience, you have to be willing to make that trade. The brands that see the best results are the ones that understand this.

Can you share an example of a brand campaign where memes drove real engagement, not just viral reach?