Friday 28 July 2022
Gnomeboys x POLITIX – street style
Dancers, content creators and entrepreneurs – but most importantly, good mates creating wholesome content. The Gnomeboys, comprised of Chris (the group comedian), Mike (the double espresso fiend), Jamane (the group choreographer) and Nathan (the self-proclaimed frontman), are the masters of “premium Tok”, making waves worldwide through their hilarious and authentic videos.
Their authenticity radiates through the way they dress – while the boys mostly rock comfy, baggy streetwear in their videos, they’re not opposed to alternatives. We caught up with the four lads for a chat, styled them in slick street-style suits and found out what they thought. Spoiler warning: they loved it.
Q&A WITH GNOME BOYS
POLITIX: Hey guys. VICE has described your content as ‘wholesome’
- what do you guys think about that?
Chris: Yeah, they’re spot on.
Jamane: Thoroughly agree – we’re a wholesome bunch.
POLITIX: Definitely agree. Speaking of your content, we absolutely love all the different scenes of Melbourne in your videos.
How do you guys usually decide on a location to shoot your content?
Nathan: We’re pretty free with location scouting, though most of the time we end up filming in local parks the most.
Chris: But we often like to challenge ourselves and shoot wherever we want.
Mike: Yeah – apart from parks and gardens, we love shooting outdoors and on the Melbourne city streets.
POLITIX: We loved the reel you made for us in South Yarra. How did you all feel rocking a suit in the streets?
Jamane: It felt cool mixing up the suit with sneakers. Definitely the first time I’ve ever felt super comfortable in a suit – not just because of the outfit, but the quality of the Politix suit itself.
Nathan: I wouldn’t usually wear a suit, but I ended up feeling really confident when I put it on. My casual shoes also paired really well with the overall look.
Mike: I felt great wearing a suit on the street – it really boosted my confidence and swag levels.
POLITIX: It was our pleasure to suit you guys up – we loved how it transformed your look but still let your personalities
be the star of the show. Now that you’ve had a taste of changing up your outfits, are any of you planning to up your suit game?
Nathan: If it was up to me, I’d wear a different suit every day [laughs].
Chris: Every day if I could.
Jamane: Nothing better than a suit for a nice dinner date with my girl.
Mike: I’d wear a suit whenever I wanna feel fresh.
POLITIX: We concur. On that note, in three words, what does style mean
to you guys?
Chris: Confidence, expression and character.
Mike: Individuality, personality and taste.
Jamane: Expression, comfort and swag.
Nathan: Excellence, expression and – I know this isn’t one word – ‘universal language’.
POLITIX: So true. Many people know you’re all good mates from Melbourne, but how did Gnomeboys start out?
Chris: Easy. A group of friends plus cool ideas equals Gnomeboys.
Nathan: Yeah. We all had a love for different forms of art and expression growing up, and we’ve been best friends for a long time. We took what we loved seriously and formed a group, which we eventually named Gnomeboys.
POLITIX: It’s clear through your dance videos that you’re all close. What does friendship really mean to you guys?
Mike: Trust, love and support through the good and bad.
Chris: A safe space to be yourself and feel at home.
Jamane: To me, friendship means family.
Nathan: “Ohana means family. Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.”
POLITIX: Lilo and Stitch are spot on. Speaking of good movies and videos, how important is it to
express yourselves and your personalities through your content?
Jamane: For me, it’s the number one factor in creating any sort of content or art – to express your truest and most authentic self is the real definition of being original.
Nathan: I don’t think I could live without expression – I'd still be creating art even if social media and the internet didn’t exist.
POLITIX: Apart from killing it in the dance scene, do you guys have any hidden talents?
Chris: I have photographic memory.
Mike: I can backflip on sight.
Nathan: Skating!
Jamane: I can fit my entire fist in my mouth.
POLITIX: Hope that makes an appearance in a future video, Jamane. We have an idea on how you guys
felt when you were suiting up (it was written all over your faces), but can you tell us your thoughts in your own words?
Mike: Like the number one draft pick in the NBA.
Jamane: Like a million bucks.
Chris: I feel like a brand-new man.
Nathan: Scrumdiddlyumptious!
POLITIX: Last question, and possibly speaking to the core of what Gnomeboys is as a collective.
What does dancing mean to you?
Jamane: Dancing is my one true love – a physical expression of my experience on this earth.
Mike: Dance is the centre of my life. It’s opened so many doors for me – I wouldn’t be here without it.
Chris: In recent years, I’ve come to understand that dancing is one of my favourite ways of self-expression through my physical self.
Nathan: I’m the least experienced in dance out of the entire group. While I may not be as talented as the other boys, I wouldn’t be where I am today without it – and I wouldn’t have got to know all the lovely people in the dance community. I truly believe everybody is a dancer and an artist deep down inside – it’s in our souls!
