It's bussin', bruh! Mike Chant tells Pure West Radio how his RNLI Gen Z video went viral.
No one can deny that the morning Pure West Radio caught up with RNLI mechanic Mike Chant, the man was looking pretty gucci.
That Chant persona was full of brat energy no cap, (no gassing about that one) cos this is the bruh who's created one GOAT video about St Davids Lifeboat Station. An the whole of the UK's Gen Z generation thinks it's fire. To cut a long story short, that video is absolutely bussin'
"It's all come as a bit of a surprise, to be honest," says Mike in that impeccably measured way of delivery which makes his Gen Z performance even more sensational.
"I often get asked to do things for publicity, so when I was asked to do this video for St Davids Lifeboat, I was happy to get involved.
"I then got an email that started talking about a Gen Z video,and I no idea what they were talking about.
"I'd heard of the Baby Boomers and Generation X, but Generation Z meant nothing to me."
But true to form, Mike remained totally unphased.
"They gave me the script and I had a quick read through, but I had no idea what they were on about as it's just like reading another language. I've got five grandchildren of my own, and they're always coming out with new things to say, almost as if they like the idea that us oldies are struggling to understand what they're talking about.
"I've since seen a few translations, back in normal speak, so I can finally see what they were driving at, and rather amazingly we managed to get the entire thing recorded without any outtakes."
Meanwhile, it looks as if St David's RNLI aren't the only ones jumping on the Gen Z bandwagon in an attempt to captivate an audience. This week alone has seen Hever Castle, Leeds Military Museum and even US president hopeful Kamala Harris gearing up on their Gen Z lingo.
"I think their impetus is to try and reach out to a younger audience," continued Mike. "And if our social media figures are anything to go by, it's certainly working.
"When I checked our figures this morning, we had over 400,000 views on Instagram, 13,000 likes and around 7,000 comments. And based around my Facebook knowledge, that's pretty incredible."
And the St Davids Lifeboat's TikTok views have reached around half a million in just over a week. But one can't help wondering whether Mike's unique form of delivery could have something to do with it.
"I did the video with this whole deadpan face, even though I'm quite a jolly chap really, so maybe that's helped. Some people try over-egging the pudding, but I just believe in talking to people in the same way, so I'm talking just as I normally speak, even though I'm speaking a language and haven't a clue what I'm saying. But it's always important to never take yourself too seriously.
"It's all been quite an enlightenment to me to start exploring this whole social media kind of spiel, It raises the question, how do we promote ourselves without being tied to agents and record companies?
"So maybe this is the way forward."
Mike has served as a crew member on the St Davids Lifeboat for nearly 24 years and is currently based there as its full-time mechanic.
"Working for the RNLI is something I've always loved and I've learnt so much over the years and met some amazing people.
"All I hope is that this video has a positive effect. When you reach out to different generations, and there is a gap in terms of how we think and understand the world around us, then anything we can do to close that gap is a wonderful thing.
"I just hope that young people will see it and be inspired to get involved themselves, and hopefully they will have the chance to be as passionate about lifesaving as I've been for all these years."
It's bussin', bruh! Mike Chant tells Pure West Radio how his RNLI Gen Z video went viral.
No one can deny that the morning Pure West Radio caught up with RNLI mechanic Mike Chant, the man was looking pretty gucci.
That Chant persona was full of brat energy no cap, (no gassing about that one) cos this is the bruh who's created one GOAT video about St Davids Lifeboat Station. An the whole of the UK's Gen Z generation thinks it's fire. To cut a long story short, that video is absolutely bussin'
"It's all come as a bit of a surprise, to be honest," says Mike in that impeccably measured way of delivery which makes his Gen Z performance even more sensational.
"I often get asked to do things for publicity, so when I was asked to do this video for St Davids Lifeboat, I was happy to get involved.
"I then got an email that started talking about a Gen Z video,and I no idea what they were talking about.
"I'd heard of the Baby Boomers and Generation X, but Generation Z meant nothing to me."
But true to form, Mike remained totally unphased.
"They gave me the script and I had a quick read through, but I had no idea what they were on about as it's just like reading another language. I've got five grandchildren of my own, and they're always coming out with new things to say, almost as if they like the idea that us oldies are struggling to understand what they're talking about.
"I've since seen a few translations, back in normal speak, so I can finally see what they were driving at, and rather amazingly we managed to get the entire thing recorded without any outtakes."
Meanwhile, it looks as if St David's RNLI aren't the only ones jumping on the Gen Z bandwagon in an attempt to captivate an audience. This week alone has seen Hever Castle, Leeds Military Museum and even US president hopeful Kamala Harris gearing up on their Gen Z lingo.
"I think their impetus is to try and reach out to a younger audience," continued Mike. "And if our social media figures are anything to go by, it's certainly working.
"When I checked our figures this morning, we had over 400,000 views on Instagram, 13,000 likes and around 7,000 comments. And based around my Facebook knowledge, that's pretty incredible."
And the St Davids Lifeboat's TikTok views have reached around half a million in just over a week. But one can't help wondering whether Mike's unique form of delivery could have something to do with it.
"I did the video with this whole deadpan face, even though I'm quite a jolly chap really, so maybe that's helped. Some people try over-egging the pudding, but I just believe in talking to people in the same way, so I'm talking just as I normally speak, even though I'm speaking a language and haven't a clue what I'm saying. But it's always important to never take yourself too seriously.
"It's all been quite an enlightenment to me to start exploring this whole social media kind of spiel, It raises the question, how do we promote ourselves without being tied to agents and record companies?
"So maybe this is the way forward."
Mike has served as a crew member on the St Davids Lifeboat for nearly 24 years and is currently based there as its full-time mechanic.
"Working for the RNLI is something I've always loved and I've learnt so much over the years and met some amazing people.
"All I hope is that this video has a positive effect. When you reach out to different generations, and there is a gap in terms of how we think and understand the world around us, then anything we can do to close that gap is a wonderful thing.
"I just hope that young people will see it and be inspired to get involved themselves, and hopefully they will have the chance to be as passionate about lifesaving as I've been for all these years."