It seems time does fly when you’re having fun – even if a small portion of that time has been spent not having fun in lockdown. One day you’re on a YouTube journey watching the fallout of some Kiwi bloke innocently leaving his scooter outside of his local dairy, then nek minnit 10 years has passed and you’re wondering what you’ve done with your life in the ensuing years.

New Zealand skateboarder Levi Hawken became an internet sensation back in late-2011 when video footage of his tale of woe went viral. By the end of that year, the YouTube clip had received over 1.5 million views, and the phrase ‘nek minnit’ had flown across the Tasman to work its way into the everyday Australian vernacular. That infiltration was confirmed late the following year when freshly-minted Syndey premiership player Rhyce Shaw leant into the microphone during the AFL Grand Final presentation ceremony and exclaimed “NEK MINNIT” to an adoring crowd. Like many pop-culture references, once it had received that level of mainstream coverage it was already on the downward curve for relevance on the street, but that didn’t stop suburban language laggards and drunken aunties from latching on for the final death throes, as the phrase endured its twilight years and passed through the lips of a wide demographic of people.

So, what does all this mean? Nothing, really. We just thought it was interesting how much time had elapsed since “nek minnit” was part of the cultural zeitgeist. Ten years hey?

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