When Nathan Apodaca’s car broke down last month, he reached for his smartphone, a bottle of cranberry juice and his long-board, flicked open a popular social media app and rolled his way into history.
Even if you are familiar with the viral TikTok clip of him skateboarding down a US slip road lipsyncing to a popular song from the '70s, it is worth unpacking it a little to work out why those few seconds of footage have gone viral.
Perhaps it is the knowing nod Mr Apodaca gives to the camera in its opening frames or the grey asphalt, silver silos and white pick-up trucks that filled his corner of Idaho on that crisp September morning? Or maybe it was his choice of song, Fleetwood Mac's Dreams, which was such a perfect example of soft rock to set against the cloudy blue morning sky behind him. Taken together and viewed from afar, this is a familiar version of America, as seen in popular culture.
But the real magic happens as Mr Apodaca slides down the road on an unseen skateboard, slugging fitfully from an oversized plastic bottle of fruit juice, and Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks begins to sing, “You say you want your freedom, well who am I to keep you down,” before Mr Apodaca mimes: “It’s only right that you should play the way you feel it.”
Like the best art, everything seems to balance perfectly: intrigue, humour, light and despair. There is what we know in this small vignette and then there is the great chasm of the unknown that has been progressively filled by the many interviews Mr Apodaca has given since posting his work on TikTok.
What happened next also seems to embody a version of the old-fashioned American Dream, with his rise from anonymity and adversity to possibility and prominence.
Mr Apodaca's moment of fame, compressed into a clip a few seconds long and unwound on loop in our digital world, has prompted tribute videos honouring his art, including one by Mick Fleetwood himself, and has pushed Rumours, the best-selling album from which the song is drawn, back to the top of one of the many Billboard charts that now map every possible genre of music.
Mr Apodaca's TikTok back catalogue has been given a boost too, with many seeking out the clips he posted before he started troubling the zeitgeist. Last week, Ocean Spray, the brand of juice he was drinking on that September morning, delivered a new vehicle to his doorstep to replace his unreliable old one. Media reports say he's found himself an agent and has taken time away from work to make sense of the world he now lives in.
Of the daily avalanche of content delivered to our social media feeds that is posted with phrases like “this clip is exactly what we need right now” and “how it started vs how it’s going”, it turns out that what we really needed was a pause to consider that someone might be having a worse day than any one of us, and that a knowing nod to camera was the best way to express how it’s going.
The trend in viral clips has moved on from the irrepressible spirit of banging pots
In a year marked by staying put and sheltering at home, the trend in viral clips has moved from the irrepressible spirit of banging pots to honour frontline workers in the spring to the look-at-me-I’m-great world of “your last move is their first move” and “between art and quarantine” of the summer.
To some degree, viral social media always used to be rooted in community. Even the often criticised ice bucket challenge, which dominated social media feeds six years ago this autumn and is recognised as one of the defining viral campaigns of the past decade, raised awareness and money for ALS and motor neuron charities around the world. A 2019 report found that funding increased dramatically in the period when the campaign's social media fire burnt most brightly.
That same year, the viral 2014 Twitter campaign "put out your bats" which began following the death of Australian international cricketer Phillip Hughes after being struck by a cricket ball, served to be one of the ways that communities bound themselves together in their collective sadness and incomprehension at what had just happened.
Both examples seem several places removed from the show-off viral social media moments of the summer. If 2020 is the year when so many dreams have dissolved into nightmares and communities have been torn apart by the unfolding tragedy of the pandemic, then his clip is a timely correction at the very least.
No one really knows why certain clips or stories catch fire in the deep forest of social media. Maybe the reason this one did is that it exudes both a sense of loss and a feeling of hope. Later in the song, Nicks sings about “have you any dreams you’d like to sell”. It turns out Mr Apodaca did – and we were only happy to buy them.
Nick March is an assistant editor-in-chief at The National
FIGHT CARD
Welterweight Mostafa Radi (PAL) v Tohir Zhuraev (TJK)
Catchweight 75kg Leandro Martins (BRA) v Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR)
Flyweight Corinne Laframboise (CAN) v Manon Fiorot (FRA)
Featherweight Ahmed Al Darmaki (UAE) v Bogdan Kirilenko (UZB)
Lightweight Izzedine Al Derabani (JOR) v Atabek Abdimitalipov (KYG)
Featherweight Yousef Al Housani (UAE) v Mohamed Arsharq Ali (SLA)
Catchweight 69kg Jung Han-gook (KOR) v Elias Boudegzdame (ALG)
Catchweight 71kg Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) v Jerry Kvarnstrom (FIN)
Featherweight title Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) v Alexandru Chitoran (ROU)
Lightweight title Bruno Machado (BRA) v Mike Santiago (USA)
SHOW COURTS ORDER OF PLAY
Wimbledon order of play on Tuesday, July 11
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Centre Court
Adrian Mannarino v Novak Djokovic (2)
Venus Williams (10) v Jelena Ostapenko (13)
Johanna Konta (6) v Simona Halep (2)
Court 1
Garbine Muguruza (14) v
Svetlana Kuznetsova (7)
Magdalena Rybarikova v Coco Vandeweghe (24)
The specs: 2018 Range Rover Velar R-Dynamic HSE
Price, base / as tested: Dh263,235 / Dh420,000
Engine: 3.0-litre supercharged V6
Power 375hp @ 6,500rpm
Torque: 450Nm @ 3,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 9.4L / 100kms
How to volunteer
The UAE volunteers campaign can be reached at www.volunteers.ae , or by calling 800-VOLAE (80086523), or emailing info@volunteers.ae.
SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.5-litre%204-cylinder%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20101hp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20135Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Six-speed%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh79%2C900%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Miguel Cotto world titles:
WBO Light Welterweight champion - 2004-06
WBA Welterweight champion – 2006-08
WBO Welterweight champion – Feb 2009-Nov 2009
WBA Light Middleweight champion – 2010-12
WBC Middleweight champion – 2014-15
WBO Light Middleweight champion – Aug 2017-Dec 2017
OPENING FIXTURES
Saturday September 12
Crystal Palace v Southampton
Fulham v Arsenal
Liverpool v Leeds United
Tottenham v Everton
West Brom v Leicester
West Ham v Newcastle
Monday September 14
Brighton v Chelsea
Sheffield United v Wolves
To be rescheduled
Burnley v Manchester United
Manchester City v Aston Villa
Tenet
Director: Christopher Nolan
Stars: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh
Rating: 5/5
How The Debt Panel's advice helped readers in 2019
December 11: 'My husband died, so what happens to the Dh240,000 he owes in the UAE?'
JL, a housewife from India, wrote to us about her husband, who died earlier this month. He left behind an outstanding loan of Dh240,000 and she was hoping to pay it off with an insurance policy he had taken out. She also wanted to recover some of her husband’s end-of-service liabilities to help support her and her son.
“I have no words to thank you for helping me out,” she wrote to The Debt Panel after receiving the panellists' comments. “The advice has given me an idea of the present status of the loan and how to take it up further. I will draft a letter and send it to the email ID on the bank’s website along with the death certificate. I hope and pray to find a way out of this.”
November 26: ‘I owe Dh100,000 because my employer has not paid me for a year’
SL, a financial services employee from India, left the UAE in June after quitting his job because his employer had not paid him since November 2018. He owes Dh103,800 on four debts and was told by the panellists he may be able to use the insolvency law to solve his issue.
SL thanked the panellists for their efforts. "Indeed, I have some clarity on the consequence of the case and the next steps to take regarding my situation," he says. "Hopefully, I will be able to provide a positive testimony soon."
October 15: 'I lost my job and left the UAE owing Dh71,000. Can I return?'
MS, an energy sector employee from South Africa, left the UAE in August after losing his Dh12,000 job. He was struggling to meet the repayments while securing a new position in the UAE and feared he would be detained if he returned. He has now secured a new job and will return to the Emirates this month.
“The insolvency law is indeed a relief to hear,” he says. "I will not apply for insolvency at this stage. I have been able to pay something towards my loan and credit card. As it stands, I only have a one-month deficit, which I will be able to recover by the end of December."
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
In numbers
1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:
- 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
- 150 tonnes to landfill
- 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal
800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal
Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year
25 staff on site
The%20Roundup
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Lee%20Sang-yong%3Cbr%3EStars%3A%20Ma%20Dong-seok%2C%20Sukku%20Son%2C%20Choi%20Gwi-hwa%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
