For most teens throughout the school year, Friday means stressing, piling up tests, finishing essays and racing to meet project deadlines.

For others, it means the end of testing, a sign of relief and a time to relax.

And for those who fall into both camps, Fridays last semester took on a new vibe with casual comfort and community, especially in Orange County.

Enter Flip Flop Friday, a social media-driven trend in which some Sunny Hills students came to campus barefoot with slippers at the end of the school week as a laid-back way to welcome the weekend.

Students began to hear about the trend through word of mouth as far back as last September and from viewing the Instagram account — @flipflopfriday_ — that has gained 959 followers as of May.

“It’s funny because you wouldn’t think flip flops would become a big thing,” said senior Lucas Saab, referring to last semester’s movement. “But now it’s like a statement; it’s our way of saying, ‘Hey, it’s Friday, we’re relaxed and we’re ready for the weekend.’”

FLIPPING THE SCRIPT

Saab said he traces the trend’s origin not to anyone from Sunny Hills High School. In fact, it was from someone whom he met through his boys volleyball teammate, junior Jake Sueki. 

It was Sueki who introduced the senior to Tustin’s Beckman High School junior Gavin Looney, whom Sueki met through a mutual club volleyball team, Sueki said.

According to Looney’s Sept. 19 Instagram feed, the Beckman student decided to post on his new Instagram account a photo of Brazilian soccer player Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior with the phrase, “Almost Flip Flop Friday,” added onto it.

After reaching out to Looney for an interview via his Instagram account, he did not respond to requests for follow-up questions.

Based on the other 23 posts starting from Sept. 19, 2024 – May 25, 2025, Looney did the same with more celebrity photos — including singer/actress Jennifer Lopez and Los Angeles Dodgers World Series slugger Shohei Ohtani — and his friends, other classmates, teachers and coaches from his high school in flip flops. 

A month after Looney’s first post, Beckman’s Associated Student Body got involved because of how popular the trend was at school, helping to formalize Flip Flop Friday as a school-wide event. The trend was no longer just a funny idea among friends, but instead a cultural phenomenon.

According to other Instagram posts, Flip Flop Fridays spread across Orange County high schools, such as Edison in Huntington Beach and Foothill in Tustin. 

For Saab, he said his main goal last semester was to join Looney in spreading the word at Sunny Hills about Flip Flop Friday so others could enjoy coming here in a more relaxed manner.

“I enjoy wearing flip flops,” he said. “They’re very comfortable, but I want it to be popularized rather than stigmatized.”

Then, Sueki and Saab decided to expand on Looney’s vision by going beyond just social media posts to promote the trend.

The duo said they went around campus asking peers if they wanted to join them on Fridays.

Just like the name, participating students gathered in small clusters around campus on Fridays, showing off their flip flops like trophies. Some sported basic rubber ones from Old Navy, while others went all out with leather straps and bright colors. 

“Once I started telling everyone about it, it kind of spread like wildfire,” Saab said.

DIFFERENT FEATURES OF THE TREND

Senior Ethan Castro said he got into the trend after Sueki spoke to him.

“I thought the first post from the Flip Flop Friday Instagram was pretty cool,” Castro said. “It was funny because [students] would just meet people and connect, yet have no socks on.”

According to the Strategist, Birkenstock slides are most popular. Students participating in OC Flip Flop Friday also wear flip flops from Birkenstock the most. 

EVEN MORE OF AN EXPANSION OF THE TREND

To make the trend even more fun, Saab said he would talk to his friends and create themes for specific days, such as certain holidays or special occasions that add other elements, still including flip flops.

“We did one with quarter zip jackets, backward jerseys during Halloween and basketball jerseys,” he said.

In addition to posting photos weekly on Instagram, Looney decided to create a shirt as merch to donate to Donovan’s SMILE, a non-profit organization that supports pediatric cancer patients. 

“Flip Flop Friday” was printed on the back of the shirt in order to support pediatric cancer patients while in treatment. He created a design of the shirt and created a website to sell the shirt. No additional information was provided as to how much money he was able to raise. 

Although social science teacher Kelsie Castro was not part of the trend, the instructor has come to campus wearing flip flops.

She became a part of Flip Flop Friday because she coincidentally wore flip flops one day and was introduced by Saab.

“It is great to see students supporting that kind of cause to help out others,” Kelsie Castro said.

Math teacher Kari Morita, who learned about Flip Flop Fridays from Saab, said she feels the trend has a great impact and purpose.

“Anything that makes people or students laugh is great,” Morita said.

A HIATUS 

This semester, Flip Flop Fridays has been on hiatus because of the low temperatures, Saab said. However, it recently started back up through a post on May 1, 2025.

Saab remained committed throughout the hiatus and continued to spread the trend as much as he could. Adding on, the Instagram account created four other posts after the hiatus ended.

Sophomore Rachel Lee said she recalled how it was a fun experience for her.

“It felt pretty cool participating in something that would become bigger later on,” Lee said.