An Interview With "Fungbunger," The Funniest Man You've Never Heard Of

An interview? *Spits* Oh alright.

Deep in Australia's shallow online community, a new, twisted, and highly strung face has emerged.

Fungbunger, a 25-year-old Sydney man who only joined the platform a few months ago, has been taking hold of the East Coast Twitterati with a constant stream of tweets that tap into Australia's silent, unheard inner monologue.

Twitter

Fungbunger, who wouldn't reveal his true identity, was introduced to Twitter by a friend and immediately proceeded to "throw shit at it," he tells BuzzFeed News via Twitter direct message. A small following of a couple of broken Twitter-eggs and local confused Australians has grown to over a thousand - made all the more impressive when you consider he didn't follow anyone for months. There's no ancient wisdom to what Fungbunger does, no secret method or style that contributes to his success. He says it's all down to seeing normal situations through "southern cross tinted glasses."

"There was an old lady at Coles the other day, eating grapes," he says. "Just standing there, eating all the grapes. I thought it would be cool if a loss prevention officer came along and threatened her. Like, 'one more grape and I'm calling the cops.'"

"I think people identify with what I post," he said. "There's a lot of stupid shit that happens in Australia and we forget to appreciate it. We're used to it." Fungbunger takes regular Twitter formats and adds his own flair, but admits there's absolutely no art to it. "I like making words sound more Australian," he says, before finally explaining that "fungbunger" is what he used to call Facebook. But there's an air of deliberate misunderstanding to Fungbunger, who believes many just pretend to know what he's on about. He doesn't like being associated with "ocker," claiming the term has nasty connotations that have developed over time, and they don't do wonders for his brand.

"My posts are relatable because Australians experience these kinds of situations... But maybe not with the dialogue that runs through my mind. To be honest, 90% of my content is inspired by things that happened to me in Coles. I shop there literally twelve times a day."

When asked about similar online personas - such as the Michael Cusack-inspired Darren and Damo from "Ciggy Butt Brain," Fungbunger says success online is always in unison with relatability. "That is literally what the south coast is like," he says. "I used to live in the country and funny things just happened there, I didn't even have to think."

The real man behind Fungbunger says the alter ego is only about 40% of him, but he does find himself switching into Fungbunger's bizarre bogan drawl with ease, sometimes far too easily. "I use the word 'cunt' pretty loosely," he says. "In 95% of cases I will literally fight anyone who says it's bad. Occasionally 'chunt' is just as good. Or 'egg.' 'Egg' is the worst thing you could possibly call a man."

Fungbunger isn't for the faint of heart, and tweets about his "lewdly flailing tongue," spitting on people, and various sex acts might ward off some that aren't in Twitter's inner circle. "To me, there is no greater word than anus," he says. "Search anus and you have my favourite tweets."

Fungbunger has already been noticed by those high atop Australia's media ladder. "I was briefly followed and retweeted by Wendy Harmer. She then deleted the retweet and unfollowed me immediately. I think that experience deeply affected me... But I do spit on people."

Only one person, according to Fungbunger, knows his true identity - and he plans on keeping it that way. "I can't even tell my family. The shame would ruin them. He [the person who knows who Fungbunger is] is the only bloke to carry that heavy burden." Fungbunger is glad people are actively trying to figure out who he is, though: "If anyone has tried, I'm definitely aroused."

Fungbunger only decided to follow people a short while ago, and chose the select few because he likes "stupid humour."

"They're all idiots," he says, probably before smashing his skull into an empty VB can. But it's not all dark, with each level of recognition stacking up for Fungbunger and opening new doors to Australia's online community.

"Behind Wendy Harmer unfollowing me, the day Wil Anderson followed me was the most significant moment of my life."

For now, Fungbunger remains his followers' Tyler Durden - destined to live the life and say the things many Australians wouldn't dare do.

You can follow Fungbunger @Parsface. Don't say we didn't warn you.