Meet the Mancunian whose hilarious ice skating video went viral

Going viral used to be a term reserved for brands and celebrities who’s online antics received lots of attention from the public. But now, when we open our social media apps we’re bombarded with viral content from everyday people just like you and me.

Thanks to the powers of the internet, there is a constant stream of new viral content keeping us entertained. But when supermarket worker Nathan Knowles and his film student girlfriend Mollie Haq set out on a romantic trip to visit Manchester’s Christmas Markets, little did they know they were soon to become a viral hit themselves.

After having a look around the Christmas stalls and getting a bite to eat, the couple decided to stop by the Ice Village’s skating rink on Cathedral Gardens to have a look at the skaters – and after seeing how much fun it looked, decided to give it a go.

With neither of the pair having skated before, Oldham-born Nathan was in for a huge shock when he stepped out onto the ice to discover it isn’t as easy as it looks.

Luckily, Nathan’s girlfriend Mollie was on hand to film the ordeal – and the hilarious 31 second clip which she shared on twitter has so far been viewed over 409,000 times and has amassed over 21,000 likes and 2,500 retweets.

why is this my boyfriend pic.twitter.com/yKB1crOOcv

— Mollllll (@HaqMollie) November 16, 2018

Struggling to find his balance as he attempts to skate around the ice rink, 20-year-old Nathan can be seen with his arms flailing around in the air as he battles to find his balance on the ice, swaying back and forth like a classic You’ve Been Framed moment.

Fellow skaters can be seen smiling and skating past him while he attempts to navigate the icy terrain, with one or two passersby attempting to help him find his footing – before he inevitably falls flat on the ice.

“I’ve never been ice skating before, so I didn’t think it would be that hard,” said Nathan. “People make it look dead easy. I was very nervous but excited at first because it was my first time.

“When I first stepped on the ice I held onto the side straight away. I told Mollie I’m going to have a go without holding on, then I just couldn’t stop slipping and I couldn’t get my balance at all.

“I was trying to grab onto people skating past but I just fell on the ice. I tried it for the second time, which Mollie caught on video, and the same thing happened again.”

Not being able to skate in front of a ice rink full of people is one thing – but to have your video shared thousands of times online is a whole different level. But Nathan tells us he’s not the slightest bit phased by it, finding the whole scenario hilarious.

“Our family and friends told us to put the video online because they thought it would go viral – but we can’t believe that it actually did. We only went for a laugh, and now it’s got over 410k views.

“Mollie is a bit embarrassed but I’m just finding the whole thing funny. At first I thought it was only going to get about 80 views but then it just kept getting more and more.

“I don’t think I’ll be looking to ice skate again anytime soon. Even if Torvill and Dean offered to teach me – skating just isn’t for me.”

Since his girlfriend Mollie shared the video online, Nathan tells us his friends and family have given him the nickname ‘Bambi on ice’.

“All my friends have been joking about it, calling me a legend, but also taking the mic calling me Bambi on ice. In work today I’ve had so many questions about how I managed to fall, with load of people re-enacting the video.

“At the time, nobody really commented – they just pointed and laughed! When I was skating everyone was just looking and some people were trying to hold me up, but I couldn’t grip on to them.”

“As soon as I fell over everyone around me was asking if I was ok, which I thought was really nice!”

Nathan thought that he’d take to the ice like a duck takes to water, but girlfriend Molly told us that she knew straight away he wasn’t going to be very good at it.

“I knew he was going to be bad the second he put the skates on as he couldn’t even walk on normal floor with them – and he’s is really clumsy anyway,” said Molly.

“We saw his friend Jack and his girlfriend Lucy – and because Jack kept skating off into the middle, I knew Nathan was going to try it sooner or later. Even though he could hardly stand up, he just said, ‘right I’m doing it’ and let go of the side.”

“After I shared the video on Twitter it just began getting more and more popular – I was in shock. At the time everyone in the ice rink was staring and laughing – even some people outside the rink were watching us skating and videoing us. Nathan’s not bothered though, he’s loving the attention.”

“I really wanted to go rollerblading, but I guess that one’s out of the window now!”

Set under magical twinkling lights, the Ice Village’s ice rink is located next to Urbis, and is priced at £11 for adults and £9 for children – if you’re brave enough to step onto the ice.