A nine-second clip has propelled a Dunedin man to YouTube stardom, with organisations - including political parties - lining up for a piece of his fame.
The clip which stars Levi Hawken saying, "Left my scooter outside the dairy ... nek minnit" before showing a broken scooter on the ground has been watched more than a million times on YouTube.
Hawken, who describes himself as an artist, skater, events organiser, designer and entrepreneur, concedes he has also become the "nek minnit guy".
"Nek minnit is just an old saying only known among really cool people ... and now I am getting a bit of flak from people for ruining it.
The clip, uploaded by Colin Evans, of Oamaru, for a skateboard video, has featured on official T-shirts, dozens of YouTube parodies, songs and banners at major sporting events, and was even played by a DJ before a concert by hip-hop heavyweights Naughty by Nature.
He has appeared on Maori Television, was set to appear on TV3's Jono Project and planned to celebrate his one million hits with a bottle of Champagne.
Hawken was even approached to do a political advertisement for the election, but that fell through because it was "too risky".
He had met Clare Curran but the Dunedin South MP told the Otago Daily Times "I thought about asking to do a wee video clip with him but I was too shy."
She confirmed there were "no plans by the [Labour] Party to make a 'nek minnit' clip with Levi right now, although I think he is a great talent and really great guy".
"I think he has got the potential to become a bit of a cult figure and a bit of an icon."
Hawken said the catch phrase had been absorbed into the mainstream, just like skating, and was "part of New Zealand now", with a friend in the Middle East telling him it was being used over there.
So, where to from here?
"I am pretty relaxed about the whole thing ... It's pretty organic, and I'll just let it ride and see where it ends up."
Nek minnit ...
