Nek Minnit — Animal jawbone in dirt captioned Left my girlfriend outside the night club Nek Minit

Nek Minnit

2011catchphraseclassic

Published September 8, 2026

Nek Minnit, also spelled Nek Minute, is a 2011 catchphrase pulled from a short clip of New Zealand street skater Levi Hawken talking about a wrecked scooter in a thick faked accent. The line escaped a local skate film and turned into a nationwide storytelling tic across Twitter and Facebook.

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Overview

Nek Minnit works as a timing device for setup-punchline storytelling. Someone describes a normal moment, drops the phrase, then reveals whatever went sideways6. The delivery hinges on an exaggerated New Zealand accent that flattens 'next minute' into 'nek minnit,' making the setup sound offhand before the payoff hits2.

The format shows up in text captions, before-and-after photo pairs, and short reaction videos that mimic Levi Hawken's original cadence4. Kiwis applied it to everyday mishaps, from broken skateboards to burnt cooking to awkward run-ins, with the accent doing most of the comedic work6.

Origin & Background

Platform
Skate film (South in Your Mouth) / YouTube (viral spread)
Creator
Levi Hawken
Date
2011

The clip came from 'South in Your Mouth,' an independent skate film by Colin Evans that premiered on November 26, 2010 at the Hollywood 3 in Sumner, Christchurch4. In it, Levi Hawken, an Auckland street skater already known locally for bombing steep hills on a standard skateboard rather than a longboard3, speaks in a faked heavy accent about a wrecked scooter2.

The clip was first posted to YouTube as 'Negg Minute' on May 8, 20115. A reupload titled 'Nek Minute,' posted by user phillyfan06 on August 16, 2011, pulled more than 100,000 additional views past the original4.

How It Spread

Hawken's own profile got a boost on June 23, 2011 when Auckland's edition of 20/20 aired a short piece on his skating and hill bombing runs1. The TV coverage helped push the clip beyond the skate scene and into wider New Zealand pop culture3.

The phrase spread on Facebook and Twitter, with hashtags #NekMinnit and #NekMinute both circulating and #NekMinnit trending in New Zealand4. Users picked up the line as a substitute for 'and then' or 'but then,' preserving the accent as the comic hook2. From there it moved outside New Zealand through skate and viral video circles, keeping its Kiwi flavour even in overseas captions6.

How to Use This Meme

The common convention is to describe a normal action, insert 'nek minnit' as the turn, then reveal a surprise or disappointing outcome, often paired with a photo of the aftermath6. Users typically write the phrase in the phonetic 'nek minnit' spelling to signal the Levi Hawken accent rather than the plain 'next minute'2.

Frequently Asked Questions