The coffee cart King of Comedy brings a whole latte laughs
Wednesday, 8 October 2025
Here’s a joke for ya. How do different tradies order their coffees?
A bricklayer orders a short black - then pours whisky in it. A painter orders a Coke, then asks for cocaine. An electrician gets a strawberry matcha then skips away. A road worker orders a large mocha with extra chocolate and 10 sugars, and a plumber says he just ripped off “these old folks” for $10,000 - then asks for the cheapest coffee on the menu.
Offended? Don’t be. This is a skit created by Petrie Apostolakis and posted across social media.
On Instagram, the video has nearly 180,000 likes. Far from being enraged, tradies seem to love the video.
Apostolakis owns the Kosmos coffee carts in Oriental Parade and next to the Railway Station. He will soon be opening a deli on Arthur St selling coffee, sweet treats, and handmade focaccia sandwiches.
The 27-year-old is the son of Sophie and George Apostolakis, who own the Greek Food Truck.
In addition to his coffee cart business, Apostolakis has a sizeable following across Instagram and Tiktok, for his humorous skits that gently rib at the various types who can be seen across New Zealand.
One of his most popular characters to spoof is the tradie - inspired by his bricklaying days as a teenager - as well as the customers he meets on the job.
The videos’ views are high - 30 million per platform - and he’s gathered a bit of notoriety around New Zealand and Australia.
Now, Apostolakis has close to 100,000 followers across Instagram and TikTok. Before that, he didn’t even like getting his photo taken.
People have even asked him to sign things, but “I’m so bad at doing my signature”, he says.
His online following started by accident, he told The Post. Initially, he started posting videos on his business’ Instagram page as a way to promote Kosmos, just joking about his Greek heritage - even though he’s a “born and bred” Kiwi.
Four months ago, Apostolakis said he started acting more like himself in the videos - and his follower count exploded.
“It kind of accidentally happened.”
His skits are playful, and definitely not PG, Apostolakis jokes. It’s all in good fun, similar to comedians riffing with the audience.
Being an influencer is good fun, he said, and he’s got a few brand deals through it. Apostolakis would one day like to do it full-time - but that’s in the future.
What does hist family think about his social media stardom? His father doesn’t even know how to work a phone, Apostolakis said, but he’s proud of his son’s fame.
Raised in Kilbirnie to parents whose heritage comes from Cyprus and mainland Greece, Apostolakis attended St Patrick’s College before dropping out in year 11 to work as a brick layer.
“I just went to school to eat my lunch,” he said.
He moved on after three years of brick laying, working for his parents at the Greek Food Truck.
His dad had made an application to open a food truck on Oriental Parade, Apostolakis said. When it was granted, his father offered it to him, telling him he should open a coffee cart.
Apostolakis bought a cart, and outfitted it with freezers knowing that people would want ice cream during summer.
He didn’t even know how to make coffee at that point, he said, slowly learning behind the scenes, and picking up the skills that came with running your own business: managing staff and doing taxes among them.
The business has done well, he said - even though the country was going through a rough point. Most of his friends have moved to Australia but he stills loves the capital, and believes in its potential.
Being semi-famous is interesting, Apostolakis said. People have reached out to him, saying his videos were the highlight of their day. That’s pretty cool.
“I like making people laugh and putting smiles in people's lives. I've always been like that.”