Source: Radio New Zealand
Thanks to an international network formed by three Ryans in New York three years ago, groups now party at Rytoberfest , chat in WhatsApp groups, and will soon attempt a new world record at RyanCon .
When New Zealander Ryan Mitchell discovered the Ryan Meet Up Instagram page a few weeks ago, attending a Ryan gathering in Tauranga or Auckland shot to the top of his bucket list.
The RyaNZ meet-up he’s now organising might look like 15 Ryans sharing life stories at a barbecue and commiserating about the “hardship” of having a name Kiwis struggle to get right, he tells RNZ’s The Panel.
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Although most New Zealanders have heard of the name ‘Ryan’, many don’t seem to encounter real-life Ryans very often, he says, and frequently mishear or somehow mistake it for another similar name.
Ryan Mitchell was named after Ryan O’Neal, here in the 1975 Stanley Kubrick film Barry Lyndon.
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After years of being called by incorrect names – in his case, everything from ‘Borin’ to ‘Zion’ but usually ‘Bryan’ – many Ryans live with a kind of “identity crisis”, Mitchell says.
“Every time you order a coffee, there’s a coffee for ‘Ron!’, ‘Rowan!’, ‘Brian!’ You’re there at BP [in Pakuranga], and you’re getting up and sitting down [all the time]. If I was playing cricket, I would have run three people out.”
On the upside, bearing the name ‘Ryan’ has made Mitchell more resilient and tolerant, he reckons.
Many people swiftly correct anyone who gets their name wrong and might even get angry if that persists, he says, but that’s “water off a duck’s back” for a Ryan.
“It’s a common thing to the point where you just kind of answer to it”
The “quintessential” Kiwi Ryan, in Mitchell’s view, is pro golfer Ryan Fox , who displayed an impressive degree of chill about spilling hot dog mustard on his shirt during the prestigious 2023 BMW PGA Championship.
“A lot of athletes would get embarrassed about that, but he just brushed it off and couldn’t care less … He doesn’t have an ego.”
Professional golfer Ryan Fox is the “quintessential” Kiwi Ryan, Ryan Mitchell says.
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Ryans of any gender identity will be welcome at any of the local Ryan Meet Ups he organises, and Ryans who feel socially isolated or like they don’t have much in common with other people, especially so.
“[The Ryan Meet Up] is kind of agnostic [about] where you come from, how you got there and how the name happened. It doesnt matter if you’re rich, poor, whatever nationality you are.”
Canadian actor Ryan Gosling is said to have repeatedly turned down the title of People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive.
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While the idea of people who share a name meeting up for the sake of it could seem “silly”, Mitchell says, to him it’s beautiful in its simplicity.
Those of us lucky enough to be named ‘Ryan’ have a cool opportunity to experience “something new”, he says.
“This could have been any name of billions of names in the world. The fact that it kicked off with Ryan is quite unique.”
Ryans interested in being part of RyaNZ can email ryankerrymitchell@gmail.com or follow Ryan Meet Up NZ on Instagram.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand