Lifestyle: A Boys' Night Out You'll Wanna Remember
We don’t do enough boys' nights out these days. Did plenty back in the teenage years when we had better access to the crew of lads, didn't have adult responsibilities or require permission slips to get leave for the night 😂 These days when we think of a boys' night out, we automatically default to hitting the pub, and yeah for sure sometimes that’s all that’s required, just a few cold handles at the local with the hopes of taking home the infamous meat raffle. But in reality, we know we can do better, we just need to set our sights a little higher, put in a touch more effort and we're likely to have ourselves a fun night that'll be talked about for weeks, and for the right reasons!
For this particular boys' night out execution, I enlisted my two good mates Glenn and Chris. I've known Glenn since I was a teen and met him through his cousin who was also a Shore boy like me. Glenn grew up in the big bad capital of the North, Whangarei (more on this later) and loved coming down to spend holidays with the more 'refined' Auckland boys. Then there's Chris Breezy as I call him, 'cause he can do some fairly impressive breakdancing moves after a couple of drinks. I've come to know Chris over the past few years through my best mate Ash who studied Geo with him at Auckland Uni. Chris is an Auckland Grammar boy, but I've never held that against him. I'm compassionate like that.
One of the major challenges to a successful boys' night out is having a variety of activities at your fingertips. It can be a bother arranging constant travel from a to b, so it didn't take me long to decide that we'd be making SKYCITY our home base for the evening. It has all the essential ingredients for making this night a goodie; entertainment, food and drink. Now you just can’t turn up to SKYCITY without looking the part. Think Oceans 11, that was our inspiration for the night. You gotta be looking sharp and make people believe you're somewhat important. So we got our glad rags on, sprayed on some fragrance and ordered our Uber into Federal St. Being the refined gentleman we are, we believed it was appropriate to warm us into the evening events by swinging by Masu to try one of the new and exclusive Japanese whiskies they've just added to their lineup. We sat at the bar, sipping our blended Hibiki whiskey and watched in amazement as the Japanese barman, Akira, carved out numerous balls of ice from a solid block that looked like it was a slab straight from Antartica. After taking some time to gently finish the whiskey it was time for the main event, hitting the SKYCITY Casino.
Glenn hasn’t been on the casino floor for years, so he was dazzled by all the flashing lights as soon as we walked in. And well Chris, he’s a bit of a pro since he's a regular winner at our social Wednesday night poker sessions and has done a few trips to the real Las Vegas (not Rotovegas) so he knows his way around table games like Roulette and Black Jack. Chris set the tone by putting a quarter of his pocket money on red straight off the bat, which totally paid off and subsequently set off a chain reaction. I followed suit with the same amount but instead put my chips on black - while yelling black repeatedly as the wheel spun - and won.
I didn't stop there however. My confidence got a boost and I managed to win two consecutive numbers in a row and multiplied my winnings by 35. I was playing small, so no new Maserati was purchased. Glenn however was struggling with Roulette, so we switched over to Black Jack which was very new to Glenn and myself but we were all quickly educated on how you're playing against the dealer. After a solid session we collectively came away better off, with Glenn back in the positive, Chris had $190 in hand and I walked away with a cool $430. It was exhilarating, no matter the size of the win, it felt good and we had many a laugh while doing it. Winning got us a hankering for food, so it was time to take off the ties and grab a bite, and we beelined straight for the nearest burger joint.
Andy's Burger & Bar is a funky spot filled with booths that give you that classic American vibe. Fantastically it's open 24 hours a day so no matter what adventures your night holds, the fries and burgers are cooked fresh when you need it. Even though our activities weren't exactly strenuous, we were ravenous and got ourselves a selection of yummy items off the menu from burgers, buffalo wings, bacon wedges, to fries. And I have to make special mention of what Glenn chose to order; he went straight for the Jim Beam burger, complete with onion rings, bacon and no surprises - bourbon sauce. He didn't stop there too, he paired it with an appropriate Speight's swappa crate bottle to show his true Whangarei colours. Really should have re-thought who I invited on this night out.
It's fair to say we had a rip-roar of a time. From tasting Japanese whiskey, hitting the casino floor to see how our luck rolled out, to grabbing burgers and beers, it was something that we rarely ever do as a gang. I've had messages from both the guys saying that had a blast and enjoyed feeling like they've just closed the big Rutherford deal by sipping on top shelf drinks while dressed in suits.
It's worth making the effort and doing something different (and winning is a nice cherry on top too). Next time you've got a boys' night out on the radar, be the one who takes control and sets the bar high.
Just don't forget to bring your style game too.
jb
Jaheb wearing // Zara suit, Ralph Lauren shirt, Calvin Klein tie, Aldo shoes, Bailey Nelson sunglasses & Daniel Wellington watch.
Glenn wearing// Hallensteins suit, Topman shirt, shoes from Hannah's & Apple Watch x Nike Series 2.
Chris wearing// head to toe Topman, Ray-Ban sunglasses & Daniel Wellington watch.
This article was created in collaboration with my friends at SKYCITY. All choices, words, opinions and creative direction are all me. Thanks to Glenn & Chris for joining in on all the fun!
📸 Amazing photography by my talented friend Sophie Miya-Smith