A visit to The Outhouse

Trying to explain the magnitudes of Newfoundland culture to anyone off the island, can be extremely difficult. The language, the music, the pastimes, the towns, the beers and the need for a shed: the list is never ending. How does one even comprehend the extensive language or even the regionalization of dialect?

Once a statement is uttered, you then have to describe the format of sentence which is completely unique to the island.

For example:

Common Sentence: Wouldn’t know now that I saw you all day.

Translation: You’re acting as if I have been with you all day, and yet I haven’t seen you.
It is like getting into the depths of an inside joke between two very connected people and trying to explain it to an outsider.

From now on, when a mainlander comes to you with a deep confusion and yet genuine interest, send them to The Outhouse.

The Outhouse is a group of hilarious guys who have come together to make some seriously fist poundingly funny videos. Not only that, the clips are extremely relatable, yet entirely unique and creative.

These guys have become Newfoundland celebrities. I saw one of them at the gym and I turned red and ran away. It was the most famous person I almost met.

Well I garnered up enough courage to speak to two of the b’ys online for a chat and it seems to me, they may have a serious side after all, especially when it comes to their fan base.

“We like to believe that we capture the pure essence of what it is like to be a Newfoundlander. You know, the weather, the whole out for a beer with the b’ys or out around the bay for a weekend at the cabin. We give something to our audience that they can identify with. It’s the relation of the subject matter to the audience that causes it to grow”, said Markus Rose, who appears in many of the videos sporting reflective construction overalls.

Rose can be found along side Justin Hawco in most of The Outhouse vids.

Hawco is the narrator behind the “Top Five Things that Make you a Skeet” video, he is usually sporting an old school Montreal Canadians jacket and he really sucks at Mario Brothers games. You may recognize him from great stints like Newfoundland vs. where he plays the incomparable Skip. In fact, Skip pops up in Outhouse’s “The Newfoundland Video Game” in all his glory.

Hawco and Rose are also a part of the comedy group Not Quite.

“I started making videos on YouTube under the name Jhawk23, that’s where we made Newfoundlander vs. and Bluestar Man. I just wanted to bring back my old style of JHawk23 videos again, because I spent an entire year not making anything myself, which as a creative killed my soul. The Outhouse is just the name I used on Facebook to trick people into following me that hate my old videos already,” said Hawco of his many endeavours.

Markus’ claim to fame is Troy Buckle, a Newfoundlander adorned in coveralls with a pretty thick accent, a love of drinking as well as a variety of questionable canned meat. You can find Markus making a crossover into a Walking Dead scene, in another clip he dubs over a R2D2 replica and one of the videos follows him through regular activity.

Though some people may assume that Markus is an exaggerated form of the classic Newfoundlander, he is actually appearing more or less as himself, even when in character.

“This is pretty much who I am. Actually, I just removed those orange coveralls that you may have seen me wear as Troy Buckle. I was born here in the city but I spent a lot of years around the bay and that really shows in my everyday life,” he said. “That being said, I don’t necessarily wear the work suit and speak in that high pitched voice everywhere I go. I attended a wedding once and I wore a tux. I’ve got the pictures to prove it. In all seriousness, I would say there is at least a sixty- forty chance that if you see me in public, I’m going to be in my blaze of orange getup.”

The b’ys have come up with some truly unique ideas- the process of an unexpected drunken get together is depicted in “Evolution of Drinking.” An almost exaggerated amount of alcohol is consumed in the shed, by three guys who only had intentions of throwing back a couple.

I say ‘almost’ exaggerated because I am truly interested in seeing how many brewskis the cast of The Outhouse can take. Maybe this interview should have been a drinking game? MAYBE I should have taken advantage of their superb video and gaming skills, and had a competition of sorts. I think this should be in the works for the future, if I can handle their celebrity status face to face.

There is a dandy version of Newfoundland Monolopy with a Double Double Tim’s piece and a sweet spoiler on adjusted on the car piece. The guys try and collect Irving properties throughout the province and hit up George Street.

The “Beer League” is a fan favourite, the story of two “superheroes” (is that what one would call them?) searching for exceptional people to join their team. While surprisingly “Work Work Work Work” video gets me going every single time and it’s just two guys working throughout the week with Rhianna playing in the background.

If you want a more than a few laughs or you got a buddy down from the mainland dying to be a Newfie after one night out on George Street, look up The Outhouse. The b’ys give an accurate and relatable view in completely hypothetical situations.

Plus you can determine if you’re a skeet or not- which is truly important if you are a Newfoundlander.

To check out their videos visit : www.youtube.com/Jhawk23 and their facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/TheOuthouseTV/?fref=ts