Meet the man behind the Canberra Affirmations Instagram page

The mysterious admin of Canberra Affirmations talks about getting back at the Betoota Advocate and why he’s over Ken Behrens.

If you’re on Instagram you’ve probably seen surreal, ironic, and oddly motivational “Affirmation” memes.

It started with Global Self Hypnosis/ @afffirmations (yes that’s three f’s), who began posting bizarre memes with haunting grammatically incorrect captions.

The affirmations craze went from global to hyper-local with dedicated affirmations pages for Australian cities and towns popping up from Perth to the Central Coast.

With more than 10,000 followers, Canberra Affirmations is one of Australia's most successful affirmations pages.

It boasts odes to Lake Burley-Griffin’s algae woes, ‘funky fresh’ public servants and seamless roundabout manoeuvres.

The creator of Canberra Affirmations was eager to share his story on the condition of anonymity.

The Australian National University student is a born and bred Canberran who has no plans to leave the nation’s capital.

Despite being overwhelmed by notifications and looming university assessments, the admin has no plans of slowing down.

“I made a folder that has a list of really niche Canberra locations and experiences – I’ve got over 200 memes on the back burner,” he said.

“I won’t be going anywhere soon.”

Canberra Affirmations

The admin founded the page at the beginning of Canberra’s Delta lockdown.

“I had the mindset of ‘I need to do something with my time to feel like this isn’t a sad and apocalyptic time,” he said.

“I thought an affirmation page would be a nice cheeky thing for Canberra.

“When I started Canberra Affirmations there were only two other accounts that existed similar to mine.

“But then my page really blew up. I think there was a time where [I] had the most followers of all the other Australian city affirmations accounts.”

“Obviously Melbourne and Sydney are much bigger places so they’ve all surpassed me which is expected.

“Its not a competition, it’s fun to be all in this together.”

The admin said the page aims to cherish the national capital, and poke fun at it without being too cruel.

“The combination of wholesome energy and pride in the city as well as a satirical punch or poke is a great combo,” he said.

“Canberra gets pushed into this box; ‘nothing ever happens there … its just public servants, bikes and Questacon.

“I started thinking about the cheeky in-group cringe that Canberrans have.”

Picture: Canberra Affirmations

He’s also proudly defended Canberra against the haters.

“When I first started the account the Betoota Advocate did an article Canberra's lockdown and said the streets are just as busy as it is on Boxing Day.”

“I will not accept Canberra slander so I sent a bunch of evil eyes to them.”

Equally Canberra Affirmations isn’t afraid to skewer some of the city’s most loved, if over used, in-jokes.

“Ken Behrens is a tired joke,” he said.

“I’ve seen enough.”

While Canberra Affirmations started as a fun distraction from the devastating effects of Covid-19 the admin is considering ways to use his platform to give back to the community.

“When you hit 10k followers Instagram gives you the option to add links to your stories,” he said.

“I’ve been thinking about what sort of fundraising opportunities can arise from this … especially considering how lockdowns have been so intense.”

The admin said he’s aimed to cultivate an slick and egotistical “girlboss” persona on the page, but promises he’s nothing like that in real life.

“It’s a fantasy,” he said.

“I don’t take myself seriously, I don't take the account seriously … everyone is welcome.”