Ramsgate Hotel going viral on social media for dancefloor milk challenges

It was home to Adelaide’s most infamous footy brawl – but now the Rammy has reimagined itself for Gen Z. What are your memories of the Ramsgate?

As a remix of Fergie’s Glamorous plays in the background, a young man in a puffer vest stands in the middle of the dance floor – sculling a two-litre carton of milk.

While the Ramsgate Hotel opened its doors at Henley Beach in 1879, it’s hard to imagine its first publican – George Albert Wyld – conceiving the Friday night scenes it would play host to more than a century later.

One of Adelaide’s most infamous pubs, the Ramsgate has reimagined its social media presence in the hope of securing a new generation of patrons.

It appears to be working. The pub’s TikTok account, TFIF Ramsgate, has amassed 124,700 likes since its launch in 2018.

With footage taken at the pub’s Friday night party, Adelaideans are going viral for “straight-arming” obscure drinks and showing social media followers their best dance moves (and mullets).

One video, which has upwards of 100,000 views, shows a young patron pouring an entire milk carton down his gullet.

Young partygoers are sculling milk on the dance floor at the Ramsgate Hotel. Picture: TikTok

@tfiframsgate

Anything is possible on a Friday 🤌 #adelaide#club#pub#dj#party

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The challenge appears to have stemmed from a viral video of Brisbane Lions legend Jonathan Brown downing a 1.5 litre bottle of milk in roughly 30 seconds.

Another, featuring a young man with a glorious blond mane, shows patrons performing Simpsons-inspired “krumping” (*Note to Gen Z – that’s dancing).

With Covid restrictions all but gone for hospitality venues, the Ramsgate appears to be winning the youth vote thanks to its content-driven social media presence.

A young Ramsgate regular, who parties there every two to three weeks, told The Advertiser she had friends asking to hit up the beachside pub after seeing the videos on TikTok.

“I feel like since they’ve really activated their social media, it has definitely got busier,” she said.

“That’s how you get your name out there – you see all the extravagant stuff happening and it stands out from other pubs and clubs.”

The Ramsgate has long been a favourite of Henley Beach locals. Picture: Morgan Sette

A Friday-night institution for Henley Beach locals, the Ramsgate has been an enduring success of Adelaide’s hospitality scene.

After a renovation in 1999, the pub took a comical approach to promoting itself, using Max the Merino, the star of the old West Beach Woolshed Function Centre educational stage show, in a series of posters.

In 2002, the pub was thrust into the limelight as the scene of the now-infamous brawl between Crows and Power players.

The 15-minute fight outside the hotel happened the day after a Showdown clash, with up to 10 players from both teams involved.

The fracas – in which two hotel staff were hit while they tried to intervene to stop the fighting – is now part of footy folklore.