People are never sure whether they're serious or joking, but the one thing the Random Maori Fullas are deadly serious about is comedy. The Daily Post reporter KRISTY MARTIN talks to Rotorua men Tihini 'T' Grant and Mike Jonathan about their unique sense of humour.
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There are some jokes only Kiwis
would understand, but the two Rotorua comedians who call themselves Random Maori Fullas are taking Kiwi humour international.
Their Facebook page has more than 34,000 fans and RMF creators T and Mike say it's all down to their unique Maori sense of humour.
With fans in places as far away as Norway, Sweden and Afghanistan, these Maori fullas are capturing world attention. "There's a guy in Afghanistan who's bought an RMF T-shirt," Mike says. They also have a huge fan base in Australia.
"Most of them are homesick Kiwis," T says.
The page is based on Maori-style humour and features jokes and filmed comedy skits from the pair as well as contributions from their fans.
Mike says it's something all Kiwis can relate to.
The two liken their comedic style to Maori comedy legends Prince Tui Teka and Billy T James.
"It's like back in the old days. People grew up with Prince Tui Teka," Mike says.
Mike and T created the RMF Facebook page in 2009 after a proposed show with Maori Television didn't work out.
They decided to start a webpage because they needed somewhere to put all the material they were constantly coming up with.
In 18 months they have gained more than 34,000 fans.
"It's transformed into a monster of its own," Mike says.
They started out with only a handful of friends and watched as their page slowly gained momentum.
"It makes me happy to see so many people share the same sense of humour as us," T says.
When they reached 25,000 fans late last year the duo celebrated with a concert to raise money for a trailer for a film Mike is working on called Tiki.
All their fans were invited to the concert.
The page has its own characters and they have regular fans who comment on their skits, tell their own jokes and take part in discussions regularly.
Some fans are so involved they welcome new people to the page.
Their presence grew so large the Fullas took on another administrator to help them out. "Ninja", who has a following of her own, helps keep RMF updated.
Mike says the biggest thing about the page is that people are free to post what they want.
T says Maori have an inherent sense of humour, especially in smaller communities, and they enjoy having a laugh.
"Laughing at ourselves is something our people do really well.
"New Zealand is surprisingly PC [politically correct]. We use that fact to push the boundaries," Mike says.
The two first realised they were on the same comedic wavelength after a week of playing practical jokes on Maori Wardens during filming a few years ago.
"It's a brand of humour we both enjoy," Mike says.
"People are never sure whether we're serious or joking but we're always joking and we are deadly serious about comedy," T says.
T, a former Rotorua Lakes High School student, says humour has the ability to diffuse intense situations.
"People's reactions are often the funniest part of it," he says.
But even with their massive fan base, the two men say they still remain grounded.
They find it weird when people recognise them in the street and start taking their pictures.
"I just think it's funny," T says.
Both have other jobs - T is working as a director for Maori Television and Mike is doing freelance work as a director and cameraman, among other things. They travel often and post things to RMF from all over the world including New York and San Francisco.
T says they take their inspiration from things around them and work on the page every spare minute they get.
Eventually they are hoping to get their own RMF show and say directors have already shown interest.
"Our amount of followers gives us leverage. It's got the potential to really take off," Mike says.
- Check out some RMF laughs here
- To get a taste of the Random Maori Fullas, visit them on Facebook.