The No Such Thing as a Fish hosts in the bathroom at Mean Doses Taproom in Wellington. Photo: Supplied / Andrew Graham
In a bar upstairs on Wellington's Tory Street, fans of an internationally acclaimed podcast will soon be able to hear a secret, exclusive episode - but they will have to go to the bathroom to do so.
Recorded in a corner of Mean Doses Taproom by three out of four of the No Such Thing As A Fish team before their Wellington show in November, it is an Easter egg for dedicated fans.
The bar began playing episodes of the podcast in its bathrooms a while back, and soon enough it was drawn to the podcasters' attention by a listener.
Dan Schreiber, one of the show's four regular voices, explained: "It was very random. One day we just received a video from someone who listens to us in the inbox saying, 'Did you know that if you go to the toilets in this pub called Mean Doses in Wellington, your podcast is on loop?' And then more and more people started sending it in to us.
"So we thought, wouldn't it be amazing if one day we could make an episode for this place, but we didn't know how that would be possible, we were toying with the idea of doing it in the office," he said.
"...so we decided to book a whole tour around it," co-host Anna Ptaszynski said.
Mean Doses Taproom venue manager David Wood said he could not believe it when Schreiber got in touch.
Mean Doses taproom venue manager David Wood. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
"I freaked out a bit," he said.
"It was the verified Dan Schreiber, a bit of a celebrity to me after listening to him for ten years. I messaged back and said 'yes please, oh my god, I thought you were joking.'"
Wood had been a fan of the podcast since the beginning, but the inspiration came from a bar in Sydney, called the Bob Hawke Beer and Leisure Centre, which played old cricket commentary in the bathrooms.
No Such Thing As A Fish set a similar mood. "It works really well, because it's just short facts, and you're only in there briefly," he said.
On the night of the recording, the bar launched a special edition No Such Thing as a Chocolate Fish beer, a rich, chocolatey, berry-infused stout with a chocolate fish jammed onto the rim.
The hosts crammed into a curtained corner of the bar, mics clipped on, levels checked, and a handful of fans and bar staff jostled for a vantage point.
The hosts were down a member, with Andrew Hunter Murray called back to the United Kingdom suddenly and mysteriously. ("I think he left the iron on," Ptaszynski said.)
A No Such Thing as a Fish poster at Mean Doses Taproom. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
New Zealanders might count themselves lucky when any big act tacks a local show onto the end of its tour schedule - let alone one's favourite podcast. But this was not the show's first trip to New Zealand, as they first appeared on the Opera House stage in May 2018.
Schreiber said it came down to the listener data, which consistently showed they could confidently book a nice big room.
This tour marked the show's 10-year anniversary. With more than 500 regular episodes and 100 more of extra content, it sat at number four in the New Zealand Apple Podcast charts at the time of the special episode's recording, and number two in the comedy category.
Schreiber, who is half Australian, said the hosts often came across New Zealand in their fact-finding research.
"There was a scientist that worked out that if you're walking on ice you should take your socks off, put your shoes on and put your socks over your shoes, that's the best way to walk on ice. That's here, that's in New Zealand."
As for the secret episode, Wood said it was not available to listen to just yet - but the Mean Doses team would be making a big fuss about it as soon as it was.
"It will be playing on repeat in the toilet for at least the first couple of months."
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