Warren Hunt’s take on the ‘TubeGirl’ trend. TikTok.
You may have seen “Wazza” on international video-sharing platform TikTok but you can see the man behind the wig working at your local park.
Christchurch City Council Regional Parks Team Leader Warren Hunt is relishing in the fame of the council’s viral TikTok, with over two million views, participating in the ‘TubeGirl’ trend.
The original Tube Girl, Sabrina Bahsoon, found TikTok fame after a self-filmed video of her exuding confidence while riding London’s Underground (hence the name — “tube”) went viral, inadvertently sparking a movement championing self-confidence.
While this may be only the start of Hunt’s social media career, he has become a man of many talents during his 35 years working at Waitākiri/Bottle Lake Forest Park.
Hunt started his parks-based career at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens with a horticultural apprenticeship.
After finding a love for parks and all things trees, he later joined the team at Bottle Lake Forest where he has been ever since.
Christchurch City Council Regional Parks Team Leader Warren Hunt. Supplied.
Hunt said, “I’m excited to come to work each morning, and every day is different with the wide variety of work to get involved in.”
He said a day’s work can be anything from emptying bins around the forest to taking on the role as Gruffalo whisperer in the council’s Walking Festival, and it is this assortment of activities he finds enjoyable.
“I love working with school groups, dealing with the public and interacting with people from all walks of life,” Hunt said.
“Alongside these fun and games, you’ve still got to do the core jobs – the hard mahi.”
His work includes managing the risk of forest fires with Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ), as well as getting involved with the Coastal and Plains Rangers to look after the nearby coast and plains regional parks.
With plenty of change happening during his time at Bottle Lake so far, Warren says a shift to focus on the value of people’s recreation has been a huge factor.
“After the Canterbury earthquakes I was contacted to see if the forest would be open for recreational activities like running races and orienteering,” Hunt said.
“It created a sense of wholeness and community, and it felt like we had the ability to help people get back to being semi-normal.”
Hunt said the people he works with are a huge part of why coming to work each day doesn’t seem like a chore.
“It’s a great team, whether we’re getting stuck in or if we’re celebrating our successes.
“It’s been thirty-five years at Bottle Lake and I can’t imagine I’ll be leaving any time soon. I’ll be doing it for a while longer – I love it,” he said.
