It started as a shitpost: a meaningless joke thrown into the void that is Instagram in 2026. But the views kept coming – hundreds, then thousands, then hundreds of thousands. A sponsor stepped in. The algorithm had spoken. Not only was the ‘Baccy Cone Battle’ at Flinders Street Station going to happen, but hundreds would journey into Melbourne CBD for it. Those ready to put their bodies through the immense physical undertaking of sinking dozens of tobacco-filled bongs stood to gain not just glory and not just a story to tell their offspring, but $1,000 and a golden bong.
The young man behind the AI-generated fliers promoting the event agreed to meet us at his hotel the night before the Baccy Cone Battle. He and a couple of mates were waiting for us at the ground floor of the Dorsett Melbourne. As the elevator took us 52 storeys up the crystalline, glass hulk of a building, we asked if he was excited about all this.
‘Yeah,’ he replied, ‘bit nervous, really.’
The ceiling lights weren’t working in the hotel room. The space was only illuminated through the floor-to-ceiling glass walls, from which you could look down at the rooftops of lesser skyscrapers. The group looked for a lost bong while we set up. It was nowhere to be found. The receding light of a less-than-spectacular sunset made the search all the more difficult.
Jet Gunton-Pincombe is 19 years old, from Healesville, Victoria, and uploads his underground hip-hop to SoundCloud under the name TRVPPED (pronounced ‘Trapped with a V’). It was his vision that brought the Baccy Cone Battle together. We asked Jet how this came about.
‘I was just posting baccy cone memes on Instagram and someone commented saying, “1v1 me baccy cones, I’ll fuck you up” so I posted that there was going to be a 1v1 at Flinders Street.’
But the attention just kept coming. Jet played into it. The 1v1 became a free-for-all. He made fliers. Views on his page skyrocketed.
‘The posts have got about three million views all up. I was surprised how many people wanted to come, how many people all across the world, outside of Australia, were seeing it. I was dumbfounded.’
We ask how such a contest would even work. Jet tells us it’s just whoever can smoke the most cones in rapid succession. He has referees to make sure no one is packing ‘bitch cones’ and that no one exceeds 20 seconds to smoke one.
As for the sponsor?
‘Gatorbeug. It’s an Australian company that makes bongs and weed supplies. They made a custom trophy for the winner, which is a big Gatorade bong that’s golden, and the winner will be paid $1,000 from them.’
The company had simply commented under one of Jet’s posts, asking if they could sponsor the event. Their involvement also drew in Posseshot rapper Kharni Smith, who volunteered to be one of the referees. All of this, from posting jokes on Instagram.
Jet and his mates were going to a rave that night. We offered to give them a ride and ended up dropping them at an ATM in Footscray.
Then, the big day was upon us. Well before the official 4 pm start time, and under oh-so-Melbourne overcast skies, a particular flavour of buzz was palpable at the front of Flinders Street Station. The Baccy Cone Battle seemed to draw out the eshay, the teenage hipster, the underground rapper and the Frankston Line all at once. The sense of fashion was incredible.
A seemingly homeless man, not here for the event at all, strummed his guitar and shouted from the steps of the station. One person lit up a cigarette while wearing a DARE jacket. He told Loiter he’d come all the way from Brisbane for the Baccy Cone Battle.
Another attendee, Zac from Bendigo, was chopping up tobacco on the station steps with a pair of scissors.
‘I am going to win,’ the 28-year-old asserted confidently.
But Zac wasn’t alone. Contender after contender insisted that this was their game. One, called Jack, told us he was put on this earth to smoke baccy cones and that his nickname was Jacky Cones.
As the crowd swelled from dozens to hundreds, commuters began to take notice. We explained the situation to a few who were curious about the commotion and asked for their thoughts on the Baccy Cone Battle.
‘I have no idea what [that’s] all about,’ a bemused, older passer-by responded, ‘Doesn’t worry me.’
‘That’s funny. I am from Korea,’ another replied.
A few competitors started ripping unsanctioned baccy cones in front of the train station.
It already felt like a spectacle. There was an unmistakable eagerness and a bit of surreality, hanging in the air. Was this really happening? The people here certainly were ready for it.
Jet shouted from the steps for the crowd to follow him to Birrarung Marr, a nearby park where the Baccy Cone Battle could proceed in peace. The scale of the crowd became apparent as they moved locations.
