Hankey funnyman's videos raise a laugh on social media

From digital farts to koeksisters and his thrifty wife, Hankey comedian Alfred Adriaan’s video topics are highlights for many South Africans during lockdown.

Adriaan realised that with social distancing and cancelled events, he would not have an outlet for his comedy.

“I was a bit terrified at first because I knew this would have an effect on my income, but then I watched a documentary where Warren Buffett said ‘you can’t waste a good crisis’.

“So I said to myself, I’ve been doing YouTube videos and vlogs for about nine months now and it is time to double up and do the stuff properly because people will be on their phones,” Adriaan said.

He said one of his first videos was aimed at teaching his white friends how to stretch a rand.

“I started sort of talking about the funny aspects of the lockdown and it all just blew up, people were asking for more and then I started posting a video every day.

“I find that the topics that work best with the audience are things that people can relate to.

“I don’t talk about things that I don’t find funny or that I can’t relate to, and that has been the secret to success.

“I build the humour around that,” Adriaan said, adding that people were actually “laughing with me at themselves”.

He said South Africans living in foreign countries had also reached out and thanked him “for the nostalgia” his videos had brought, with many saying they were missing home while listening to his accent.

Adriaan said his funny ideas came from things he experienced day-to-day and from things he saw on TV or social media, and his material was  just a funny reflection of the truth.

“I get an idea and take my camera out and record it, record my wife’s reaction to it and I don’t really do political jokes unless it is really funny and relates to my life.

“But I am not a political commentator because I find politics serious, and there are obviously moments, but my content is mostly family and everyday stuff,” Adriaan said.

He did, however, have a dig at Eastern Cape health MEC Sindiswa Gomba last week after she apparently let rip on television.

Gomba said she had not let off gas, as people had suggested, and the video had been altered, leading Adriaan to have a lengthy chat about “digital farts”. 

His wife, Natalie, has a normal nine-to-five job but has also proven to be a star on his videos, garnering much popularity herself.

“My wife just plays ‘audience’. She does not know what I will say and how I will say it.

“She is a character in her own right, but I come up with the jokes and she has no idea what will happen and is responding naturally.

“Everyone is asking for her to do comedy stuff, but what they don’t realise is that she is just laughing and charming, but she is an integral part of the videos and she and my son have become solid features.”

A month before lockdown, Adriaan had 3,000 views on Facebook, but before long he was on 1.1-million views and had 30,000 new subscribers.