The true story behind Hyko may never be fully told or even understood. It’s to be expected when even the company’s founders are not clear on the circumstances that gave rise to South Africa’s first Padel brand and manufacturer.
What we do know is probably nothing more than myth and legend … and what we don’t know … is what we still don’t know … which is good for me … the writer of this piece Dear Reader … because it means that I can make things up as I go along.
What is most certainly known is that HYKO was formed by adding the letters “H”… “Y”… “K” … and … “O” together.
And what we also know is that this happened entirely by mistake.
What isn’t perfectly clear are the events that occurred immediately before and after that earth-shattering event.
As I understand it … it went a little like this:
Two Vaalies were knee-deep in the sweltering heat of some small town on the outskirts of the Karoo … The streets were alive with the sound of hyenas and the stench of diesel fumes … It turns out that these conditions are a perfect breeding ground for the unprompted formation of meaningless words.
It was the year 2022 and two boys from Pretoria were just about coming terms with the fact that they were on the wrong outskirt of a completely different town than the one whose outskirts they were meant to be on … all the while being in custody of a new word that they had thought up all by themselves … and… which up until now … had no real meaning … and no real purpose.
“What the hell is a HYKO?” one of them screamed into the night.
“I can’t use this word in a game of scrabble?” the other spat into ground.
The word meant nothing … and yet, somehow … it seemed to mean everything … all at the same time.
It sounded Japanese … but it also had a Finnish twang to it … beyond that … it could easily be a Polynesian swear word … perhaps even a Malagasy term of estrangement. Who the hell were they offending … whose mother were they insulting … which culture had they just appropriated … entirely by mistake??
God damn it!
“I’m too young to get cancelled!” … they both shouted at each other.
Had they created the equivalent of a Chinese finger trap … but for the … for the brain!?
For their own brains …
Had they just trapped their own … brains? Who does that?!
What on God’s great green earth can you call a “Hyko”?!
“It’s no good for a car! It’s too close to Hyundai and we don’t have anywhere close to the budget required to build the type of facilities needed for the manufacturing of modern automobiles.” One of them intelligently surmised.
“It’s terrible for Pizza! Hyko Pizzas … you can have any pizza you like as long as it’s a pineapple and anchovy pizza!” The second of the two rationally hypothesized.
… this carried on for hours … or at least that’s how the story goes.
They trawled through lists of services, products and gimmicks. Everything from novelty Tupperware, to bamboo garden furniture, to useless desktop electronic gadgets, to solar powered lawn-mowers was considered … but nothing seemed to fit.
And so, they searched, deep into the night … They didn’t know what they were looking for, but they knew they’d find it in the end. Because somehow, that’s what Hyko seemed to be all about: the thrill of the chase, the rush of the unknown. It was going to be a wild ride, and they were along for the trip.
Fast forward to the year 2023…
For your sake Dear Reader … and for mine … I’ll leave out everything that happened between that bizarre night in the Karoo and the time of me sitting down to write this document.
As will have figured out by now … our two intrepid Vaalies decided that the best thing to attach Hyko to would be a Padel racket … sure … why not.
Now, there’s not much that I can say about the word Hyko … but what I do know is that the team at Hyko … they are a strange breed.
Engineers, visionaries, madmen. They have a mission, a dream … to create something that will change the world …
for ever!
The word Hyko is literally meaningless until you collide headfirst into something built by the madmen at Hyko. Hyko means strength, reliability, durability.
It means power.
It’s as South African as a Highveld thunderstorm …
the buzz of a vuvuzela …
the beat of Kwaito music
or pap and braaivleis …
and rugby …
and matric jol at Plettenberg Bay …
springbok shooters …
or watching Chiefs playing Pirates at Joburg Stadium.
Hyko stands for everything that makes South Africa blerry amazing …
all rolled into one … very odd … invented word.
