A comedian who posted about his Lime Bike accident on TikTok has shared how the experience landed him a date and an AD campaign.
Australian Nathan Hugh Robért moved to London from Melbourne at the end of August 2025.
In September, he was walking back to his friend’s flat in Angel after going to a flat viewing in Bethnal Green, when he decided to rent a Lime Bike due to the surprisingly good weather, and wanting to avoid the long walk home.
Feeling confident that day, he decided to set the seat to level 3 instead of level 2.
Google Maps guided him through Victoria Park alongside the canal, which he thought would make a scenic trip.
Hugh Robért said: “I was riding through the park thinking this is incredible I’m on a Lime Bike in London, the sun was out and I was feeling on top of the world.”
When he came out onto Regent’s Canal, he remembered the early evening Friday rush with many people walking and cycling through the park enjoying the weather.
He said: “When I got onto the narrow part of the path, I recall thinking that there’s no barrier between the canal path and the canal, I could just fall in.”
Before the accident, the 30-year-old recalled how he could hear the footsteps of the runner behind him as he rode the bike slowly.
He decided that it was too risky and he wanted to stop his journey.
As he slowed down to stop, he lent towards the canal and due to the height of the seat and the bike still moving he fell into the canal.
Hugh Robért said: “I clearly remember being above the canal looking at it in the air, and I was just thinking oh my god this moment that I catastrophised ten seconds before is actually happening to me right now.”
Once he resurfaced above the water, he recalls seeing the stone wall of the canal and being confused about how he was going to hoist himself up.
Fortunately, three good Samaritans stopped to help Robért, two of which worked together to hoist him out of the canal.
Hugh Robért recalled that he did not realise the Bike had also fallen into the canal until he was looking for his phone.
The comedian said: “In my mind I assumed the Bike was at the bottom on the canal path and my phone was on the holder.
“I remember looking down and seeing a blurry outline on the bottom of the canal, thinking how am I going to cancel the ride.”
After taking a minute to ground himself, he decided to dive back in for his phone, as he was worried about the ride being charged indefinitely, depleting his savings.
Once he retrieved his phone from the lime-bike holder at the bottom of the canal, he opened the Uber app, took a picture, and ended the ride.
Feeling relieved, he turned off his phone to save the battery from water damage and walked home 45 minutes, remembering the way without Google Maps, thanks to walking to the flat viewing earlier in the day.
He added: “I just remember feeling distinctly aware that I’m soaking wet, I could hear and feel my shoes squelching as I walked.”
Robért described it as a ‘spiritual experience’ and still in shock, he did not realise the severity of the situation, instead thinking it was hilarious.
He later posted about the incident on TikTok, the video quickly went viral.
It now has over 2 million views, almost 280,000 likes, over 3,500 comments and over 45,000 shares.
Following the video going viral, Robért has witnessed both positive and negative outcomes.
As a result of going viral he received a message from a hinge match which led to a date.
He also received a job opportunity to be an ambassador for a helmet campaign by the sports brand Endura.
The positives of going viral have also brought some uncomfortable attention for Robért, with people falsely claiming to be one of three strangers who stopped to help him.
Despite the weird comments and some parasocial intrusion, he emphasised that the experience has overall been a positive one, with some people recognising him in public.
He added: “I feel really grateful, it’s cool to be invited to these events and get these kinds of opportunities, it feels surreal.”
Featured image credit: Nathan Hugh Robért
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