The internet has a new boyfriend. And it turns out I might too.
A handsome, mysterious brunette figure has emerged on TikTok and Instagram, going by the name Mr Fantasy.
In just three weeks, he’s gained over 5.8 million likes on TikTok, and his debut song, Mr Fantasy, has been viewed over 14m times on the social media platform alone.
Every time he posts on his account, @iamtherealmrfantasy, it spreads quickly among his 600K - and growing - followers. Mr Fantasy, however, follows only 12 accounts, all fan pages for the actor James Franco.
So who is this fabulous and quirky British man, with a gap between his front teeth, saucy dance moves and a sense of style comparable to legends like David Bowie and Mick Jagger?
Internet sleuths were quick to suggest he bore a striking resemblance to Kiwi actor KJ Apa. Some even went as far as to match up the actors’ tattoos to those of Mr Fantasy.
I spoke to Apa just a few weeks ago, so who better to myth-bust this spicy rumour than someone so recently engaged with him?
I found an email address for Mr Fantasy and his mysterious manager, John, and I chatted. He told me Mr Fantasy (no first name given) would be thrilled to chat, with the caveat that I not mention “TJ Apple” or actors with names sounding similar. I obliged.
What started as a weirdly wonderful chat with an eccentric man in a pair of polarised aviators with a palm tree background quickly turned into a playful exchange, with this journalist finding herself utterly charmed.
You can check out the video at the top, which goes some way to explaining what transpired during those 30 fantastical minutes.
We start at the beginning. Mr Fantasy tells me he’s from a small town in the United Kingdom called Harrogate. He says his late grandma encouraged him to move to LA, where he is now based, living in the lounge of an aspiring actor named Blane, whom he found on Craigslist (which is a bit like Trade Me).
“I lived with my nan for about three years, in a senior living facility, and before that, we were living in her house in Harrogate, and she got quite sick and, basically, I looked after her for a few years.”
Mr Fantasy says he’s always been fascinated by America, mysterious figures like Mickey Mouse and mythical creatures who had the freedom to be who they wanted to be.
“This place where people seemed to be able to live out their dreams in a way that seemed impossible anywhere else. And I know that sounds fantastical, but I am Mr Fantasy, aren’t I?”
After opening up about his childhood and the loss of his nan, it felt like the right time to ask about his purpose. What on earth was Mr Fantasy doing, and why?
“The question of all questions,” he laughs, exposing his cheeky grin.
“My purpose really lies in the music that I make, and what that does after I release it from myself. It’s not up to me any longer. It’s up to whatever this thing I’ve created now has its own purpose.”
Constantly finding things in common, Mr Fantasy compares his purpose to mine - being a parent.
“My purpose is to create other purposeful things that can live off their own lives outside of me. It’s very much like being a parent, isn’t it? Life is worth living when you have something positive to give.”
I compliment his outfit, a yellow and brown polka dot shirt, and ask him how he picks his striking looks. His answer is unorthodox, yet undeniably fascinating.
“I feel comfortable in the clothes which have been worn by others, which is why I like to shop at thrift stores.
“I sniff it first and, after I sniff it, I get a sense for the energy of the past lives that have been wearing this piece.”
This test can determine whether he wants to take on the energy of the person who wore it before him. Belt buckles and boots, he promises, can contain “dark energies”, which one must be careful with.
His ultimate fashion advice: “Keep sniffing until you’re happy”.
So what makes Mr Fantasy happy? His answer is simple: his music, his guitar and being at one with them both.
“I love playing the guitar. I mean, I play every instrument, you give me anything, and I can play it, I can lick it, I can suck it, and I can touch it, I’ll tell you that. But guitar is my instrument of choice.”
But it’s not all about him, he insists. He’s interested in my favourite music, passions and hobbies. We begin mulling over musical collabs and the aura of Post Malone, before I remember the mission at hand, and he does too.
He tells me he’s not been sleeping. Even internet sensations struggle with too much screen time.
“A lot has happened over the last week,” he says. “I love TikTok, and it’s taking over my brain, like some kind of weasel burrowing itself inside of me, and I just sit up all night on my TikTok, looking at all these wonderful fans listening to my song,” he laughs, pulling a strand of hair between his two front teeth.
That surge of fame has seen him become water-cooler chat here in New Zealand, with many asking their colleagues and friends if they’ve heard of the mysterious, albeit familiar-looking man.
So would he ever bring his music to Aotearoa? Has he even heard of us?
He says he first became familiar with New Zealand through the Lord of the Rings films and our scenery, which he says, “reminds me a lot of my childhood, strangely”.
“I heard there are real hobbits that actually live in New Zealand, in the mountains. Is that true?”
I tell him I’ve never spotted one, but I’d hate that to deter him from visiting or bringing his music to us.
“I’ve already brought it there, darling,” he laughs. “But would I play a show in New Zealand? Of course, are you kidding? It’s an amazing place; it looks absolutely stunning there. No wonder the hobbits love living over there.
”To all the Kiwis ... and hobbits that reside in your magical kingdom. My message to you is ...”
Mr Fantasy then stops, asking me to look to my left, where he spots something over my shoulder.
“You know how I know that you’re a special person, Jennifer. It’s because you have a number 11, if you look to your left. That is a very, very good sign, because that’s a good number.”
He then returns to his message, and I still cannot find where he’s spotted a number 11 to my left.
“Listen to the voice inside. What I mean by that is, a lot of the time, we’ll realise that there’s been someone inside trying to get our attention and the more you ignore it, the more it becomes difficult to hear. But if you practise every day, listening to that voice, it’ll slowly become easier.”
As the interview is about to wrap up, Mr Fantasy says he’d love to keep in touch. In fact, he’d love to take me to play frisbee. He promises to track me down, should his magical journey ever bring him to New Zealand.
He doesn’t want to hang up, and neither do I. After several failed countdowns to try to end the call, I take him on a virtual tour of the newsroom, there is a declaration of love from both sides, and Mr Fantasy tells me, actually, he will never hang up.
“I’m not gonna do it, Jennifer, you have to understand. Am I the kind of guy that’s gonna hang up? I want to suck you all up,” he laughs hysterically.
I feel terrible keeping the man of the moment from his loyal fans, and I insist I must let him go.
“While I am busy, there’s a connection, and I feel that you are a very good person, and I have time for very good people,” he says.
Eventually, I reluctantly hang up, promise to see him soon and blow him an uncharacteristic kiss.
Later, as I watch back the recording of our call, I see Mr Fantasy kept his word. He didn’t hang up. He kept talking even after I was gone.
“Oh, she actually did hang up. I was hoping she was never gonna hang up ... ever.”
At the start of our interview, Mr Fantasy told me it was hard to put into words what he was doing because he believes in magic, and magic is much more powerful than logic.
And after speaking with him, I think I agree. There’s no logic to it, but Mr Fantasy’s gravitational pull is undeniable and, like the internet, I am well and truly under his spell.
I set out to give Kiwis a definitive (and logical) answer, an explanation of who this man really is, and reveal that, of course, it is KJ Apa. Instead, I find myself suggesting we all stop looking for the logic in Mr Fantasy and pay attention to his magic instead.
I, for one, will never utter TJ Apples and Mr Fantasy in the same breath again.