‘I love you, bro’, are words most often whispered, screamed, or even cried on that fateful hill at Rhythm and Vines. As it turns out though, fellas all around Aotearoa wanna hear it far more often.
Speights asked over 500 Kiwi bros, dudes and lads aged 18 - 60 what their attitudes towards saying ‘I love you’ to their mates are. 57% of dudes in Aotearoa wished their mates would say ‘I love you’ more often. Wow, ain’t that one of the most beautiful yet sad statistics you’ve ever seen?
Keeping the bittersweet numbers going, 33% of blokes in NZ feel happier when they are told they are loved. Also, North Islanders were more than twice as likely (17%) than South Islanders (7.5%) to have said ‘I love you’ to a friend in the past 24 hours.
On a sad note, 27% of men have never said the three words, or can’t remember if they have.
It’s the younger generation that is doing the heavy lifting. Nearly 70% of guys under 35 said they’d told a mate they love them in the past six months, compared to just 25% of men over 50 years old.
Although fellas may not vocalise their feelings towards their mates, 98% of those surveyed said they express their love in other ways. A good ol’ classic slap on the back or a hug are utilised by many Kiwi men, while 66% say they give gifts to spread the love.
Jona Nareki, a Highlanders player (a team who have long been sponsored by Speights), said the whole squad have made a concerted effort to show they care for each other.
“As a team, we’ve really made an effort this season to have more meaningful conversations and to show the love for each other - it’s a core part of our culture,” he said.
Speights want every Kiwi dude out there to tell a mate they love them this June, so go brother, make your mate’s day.
