Who is nek minute guy

A Loading Docs documentary - The man known as the 'Nek Minnit' guy confronts the meme that defined him. Levi Hawken recalls his joke that birthed a viral catchphrase.

Living with a rare genetic condition which affects his appearance and turned him into an internet caricature, Levi defines the price of our fame based society. Blurring the line between internet icon, skateboarding legend and talented artist, he discovers all is connected and fate is often as simple as being careful what you wish for.

Levi Hawken says he made a joke that stuck and he didn't realise that he had no control over it. Photo: Stjohn Milgrew. But the skater - who had dreamed of becoming a comedian - began to realise he was on the wrong side of the joke. Levi Hawken's viral video, which launched the catch phrase 'Nek Minnit', began as a joke between him and a friend as they walked through a park in Auckland, New Zealand in Hawken pictured still gets recognised in the streets for the 10 second clip he made in The catchphrase 'nek minnit' was New Zealand's sixth-most-searched term on Google in Ectodermal dysplasia is a collection of disorders that affect the outer layer of the embryo ectoderm that helps make up the skin, sweat glands, hair, teeth, and nails.

They are caused by in various; the mutations may be from a parent, or normal genes may become mutated at the time of egg or sperm formation. And Mr Hawken's face became synonymous with the phrase, both appeared on television shows and T-shirts.

The catchphrase was even used as a slogan for a political party during an election. He began to feel helpless, unable to control what people were saying about him. And then you go on the internet and there's people saying you're a crackhead or you're inbred or something.

No one knew the reason for his toothy grin was actually the result of a genetic disorder called ectodermal dysplasia, which affects hair, skin, teeth and sweat glands. As his public persona spiralled out of control Mr Hawken turned back to skating to escape. Hawken had been skating with his mate and saw a broken scooter.

Hawken grew up skating and got back into it once the attention from the meme got too much. Mr Hawken, who used to work as a landscaper, had grown up on his board, it was his way of clearing his head.

He now skates for American company Sector 9 and works as an artist in Auckland, selling unique sculptures and paintings online. As he zips through the streets on his board these days people still recognise him. Mr Hawken said when people stop him in the streets they still expect the character they saw in the 10 second clip. But that person is far from his reality. He creates mixed-media pieces, brutalist garden sculptures and abstract paintings.

He has a genetic disorder called ectodermal dysplasia, which affects hair, skin, teeth and sweat glands Pictured: Hawken when he was a child. Only one in people worldwide have Ectodermal Dysplasia, which affects sufferers' physical appearance. Hawken has hardly any sweat glands, so his skin looks discoloured. Thanks to the disorder, he has also lost his hair and his teeth are crooked. As the clip was exchanged around the world, internet users with no knowledge of his medical background speculated carelessly and often cruelly about his appearance.

Some thought he had leukaemia, others claimed he was "retarded" or had a meth problem. Hawken had already been bullied about his appearance at school and having to deal with that on a global stage was hurtful. A nine-second clip of Hawken lamenting the broken scooter was ripped from the DVD, which had taken the then Oamaru-based Evans about two years to make, and uploaded to YouTube.

But soon countless other nek minnit clips had popped up. Evans, today based in Sydney and running a finance company specialising in loans for heavy machinery, says he now has a different outlook on the issue. While the video could have been monetised, including getting a lawyer to sort out the rights, it was a case of too little too late once it went viral.

Evans says the video is uniquely embedded in New Zealand street culture and came from poverty.