The Xavier pages are an extremely simple yet lovable concept. And because we’re such big fans of these accounts at Bored Panda, this isn’t the first time we’ve featured them. Lucky for us, we were previously able to get in touch with the team behind Xavier to hear more about how the account started and what it’s been like seeing it grow so large. Now that Xavier’s Facebook page has over 3.2 million followers, there have been plenty of copycat accounts popping up. But the creator doesn’t mind, as long as the accounts aren’t posting harmful or offensive content.
“I want my memes to be clean and simple, and I don’t want myself to be associated with someone who objectifies people on the basis of color, gender, and sexual preferences,” the founder shared. “When I created the page, I was expecting 50K followers in a month which is a very good figure in itself, but by the grace of God, the page reached around 350K followers in the first month itself. Everyone loved to see Xavier’s viewpoint on things.”
As an expert in creating a successful social media presence, the founder of Xavier also shared some of their top tips for anyone else looking to grow their following online. “I would like to give one piece of advice to everyone who wants to stand out on social media: just be real.”
“Don’t worry about likes or followers, just have a motive of bringing a positive change in the world and bringing joy to other people's lives,” the creator continued. “Giving is all we are supposed to do." And as far as technical advice, he says to "work on SMO [social media optimization], develop design skills, learn about psychology, etc."
While the Xavier page has brought smiles to millions of people around the world, it actually began when the creator was disappointed after not being offered employment from their college. “One day I was sitting alone and thought of a character which would hit the hearts of millions of people, so I put all my thoughts into it and decided on 'Xavier'—a middle-aged Indian man with a mustache, who you would least expect to say witty things, with whom people would empathize," they previously shared with Bored Panda.
"So there I was, changed my name legally, got myself plastic surgery to look like my imagination," the founder of Xavier joked to Bored Panda. They went on to share that the purpose of Xavier is more than fame or money (which they’re not getting any of anyway, they noted). Their goal is simply to bring smiles to people around the world. “I get many messages on how my memes make people happy, which is my biggest motivation to carry on despite being broke and put all my focus into bringing joy and happiness in their lives,” they shared.
The creator of Xavier also shared how grateful they are for their accounts having so much success. "I would like to thank Asif, who’s one of the kindest and sweetest people on the Earth,” they previously shared. “And thanks for believing in me always and helping me out with everything. One more mention I would like to make is 'SkyWolf' who is my own alter ego, who pushed me to be stronger and believe in myself."
While catfishing on social media is generally frowned upon, in the case of Xavier, we’ll let it slide. He’s not harming anyone, just sharing funny replies and posts that everyone can enjoy. Perhaps we could all benefit from channeling our own inner Xaviers on social media. Rather than trying to edit photos and curate our lives to appear perfect and unattainable, we might want to embrace the messiness of our lives and share clever, silly responses to other people’s posts. We aren’t likely to gain as many followers as Xavier, but as long as we’re having fun, that’s all that matters!
