MR SOCIAL
Australia’s biggest online prankster – infamous for videos of a Gold Coast highrise base jump, switching off the Melbourne Cup mid-race at a packed pub and wild house parties – is opening a zany bar ... and he’s not horsing around
AUSTRALIA’S biggest social media prankster – infamous for videos of a Gold Coast highrise BASE jump, turning off the Melbourne Cup midrace in a packed pub and wild house parties – is launching his first bar. Shammi Prasad, whose often controversial online stunts have spawned 1.4m Instagram followers plus popular YouTube and Facebook feeds, opens Memory Lane on Broadbeach’s main strip Surf Parade on Saturday. It is a joint project with older brother Kailash, 31, who has a background in hospitality at a former family restaurant in Brisbane, and younger brother Jayden, 23, an exage-group Australian soccer player. The zany bar features a cocktail called Memory Loss and will regularly host miniature horses for patron photos. Controversial Shammi – who once wrapped a brother’s entire house in Christmas paper so it looked like a giant present – said: “On the daily we get messages from people saying we’d love to come party with you. Now the time has come.”
AUSTRALIA’S biggest social media prankster – infamous for videos of a highrise BASE jump, turning off the Melbourne Cup mid-race in a packed pub and wild house parties – is launching his first bar with some zany features.
Shammi Prasad, whose often controversial online stunts have spawned 1.4m Instagram followers plus popular YouTube and Facebook feeds, opens Memory Lane on Broadbeach’s main strip Surf Parade on Saturday.
It is a joint project with older brother Kailash, 31, who has a background in hospitality
at a former family restaurant in Brisbane. Younger brother Jayden, 23, a former age-group Australian soccer player, is also involved.
Known by his first name, Shammi’s hijinks often stitch up mates, his family and the public, from simple pie-in-theface pranks to elaborate schemes such as covering a brother’s entire house in festive wrapping to make it look like a Christmas present.
In 2018, he made headlines for the wrong reasons when filming an expert daredevil mate BASE-jumping off his top-floor balcony in the Meriton, Southport.
The same year he left Parkwood
Tavern punters furious when he switched off the projector as horses hit the Melbourne Cup home straight.
Shammi, 28, tips his venue will be as colourful as his online content, with plans to use it once a month for one of his viral videos. The trio also intend to bring in miniature horses – usually for kids parties – regularly for patron photos.
“We are pretty much bringing to this venue what we love doing, what we love eating and what we love drinking,” Shammi said. “We have done pretty well just being ourselves online. And now we’re letting everyone be a part of that. On the daily we get messages from people saying we’d love to come party with you. Now the time has come and everyone can actually come join the fun.”
Shammi, a tradie who quit when Facebook offered to pay him six years ago to keep producing his content in a global trial of viral members, said he had wanted his own bar for a decade and it made
sense as they were spending “thousands” on nights out plus hosting big house parties.
“I’m very excited about this,” he said. “I’ve put myself in a position where I’m able to do that. We have the platforms to get the people here. And we were like ‘Instead of spending thousands every weekend why don’t we just bring people to our own place’.”
The venue, with indooroutdoor flow on to the footpath, will serve a menu of Australian favourites and signature cocktails including one called Memory Loss. It will open 10am to midnight, with regular live music and space for about 200.
WE GET MESSAGES FROM PEOPLE SAYING WE’D LOVE TO COME PARTY WITH YOU. NOW THE TIME HAS COME
SHAMMI PRASAD