Bogan mayhem hits TV screens
Burnouts, bourbons and heavy metal: Hamilton bogans have their time in the limelight.
With a PhD in social psychology under his belt, “boganologist” David Snell has embodied his knowledge of burnouts, bourbons and the behaviour of bogans in a reality TV series new to our screens.
Filmed across Hamilton and Auckland, the 10-part series, simply titled Bogans, premiered its first weekly half-hour episode on TV2 at 9pm, Thursday night.
Starring alongside Snell in the show is his heavy metal-mad, often armour-clad mate, Olen Frolicson, who goes by the nickname “Fro”.
The series follows Snell and Fro, along with two other self-proclaimed bogans, Anton and Kate-Mate, as they get involved in a variety of bogan-themed events, narrating their adventures along the way.
Bogans is only the latest in a growing list of accomplishments for Snell, who published a book in 2013, has been interviewed by the likes of BBC Radio and has travelled far and wide to educate others on bogan culture.
Fro, on the other hand, takes a great deal of pride in being the only certified referee for medieval battles in the Southern Hemisphere.
These friendly, fun-fuelled fights are featured in Bogans, and according to Fro, viewers can expect to see a whole lot of people in armour, “hacking away at each other with swords”.
Although the filming of Bogans has been an enjoyable experience for the petrol-headed pair, they are aware of the stigma surrounding their culture.
“The feedback we’ve got from the people we know has been positive,” says Snell. “Different opinions help with research. Even a negative opinion is an opinion.”
“I’m at that age where I don’t give a shit,” adds Fro. “If you can’t be constructive with your criticism, go away.”
What is next on the cards for this dynamic duo? When it comes to the idea of taking part in a second season of Bogans, both Snell and Fro are open-minded.
“I won’t say no. If we do get a second season, we’ll be getting a lot more adventurous and out of our comfort zones,” says Fro, adding that he would be interested in travelling globally to explore other bogan cultures.
Snell, a researcher at Wintec, says that he would be interested in researching “sub-genres of metal”.
Meanwhile, an exciting project is underway in the form of a movie called Sort of Famous.
The 2013 publication of Snell’s book, Bogan: An Insider’s Guide to Metal, Mullets and Mayhem, led to a couple of celebratory beers between the two mates which sparked a joke-turned-plan to create a movie.
There is a good chance that the trailer may even feature in an episode of Bogans.
Watch this space.
