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Home / New Zealand

Te Awamutu dairy farmer Wesley Nicholas and his cows find TikTok fame

By Stephanie Ockhuysen
RNZ·
23 Jul, 2025 09:37 PM2 mins to read

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Wesley Nicholas has more than 60,000 followers and millions of views on TikTok.

Wesley Nicholas has more than 60,000 followers and millions of views on TikTok.

By Stephanie Ockhuysen of RNZ

Wesley Nicholas has more than 60,000 followers and millions of views on TikTok, where he posts videos of himself teaching his cows te reo, how to be safe around an angry bull, and describing his wife the same way as his favourite cow.

While the 26-year-old, known as thatmadguy2.0 on TikTok, loves milking the 400-odd cows and thinks he’ll always do it, standup comedy is fast becoming his focus.

“I’ve been doing it for a couple of years now, it was something I always wanted to do and finally plucked up the courage to do it, and now I’m full-blown addicted to it.

“We’ve done shows up and down the North Island to about 1600 people, and now I’m in the process of booking a tour, so that’s a pretty exciting prospect.”

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The TikToks started because he used to do skits with his brother, he said.

“When I was a kid and I made one on TikTok and it blew up, so I was like ‘Okay, I suppose this is what I do now’ and years of trying to come up with new content, I thought this is something I do with my cows, why don’t I film that?”

Nicholas, who has been farming for 10 years, said New Zealand is a hard country for comedy as the opportunities and venues aren’t there.

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He’s taken to putting on his own shows and has covered a lot of rural New Zealand, taking his shows to the likes of Taumarunui and Awakino.

He said the most popular video has been how to be safe around an angry bull, but it’s not exactly the kind of tips you’d expect.

 Wesley Nicholas, who has been farming for 10 years, is a social media sensation.
Wesley Nicholas, who has been farming for 10 years, is a social media sensation.

“If they try and get too aggressive to ya, gobble at them like a turkey and it makes them bugger off.

“That’s probably been the most successful video, or my morning toolboxes seem to be a good flavour at the moment.”

Although his rising profile and comedy are his goal at the moment, there’s no denying that his jersey cows are his first love.

“I think it will always be in the blood.

“I come from a farming family that runs lots of generations, I think I’ll always be a farmer.

“I’ll probably always go and milk someone’s cows on the weekend to stay happy.”

- RNZ

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