Kiwi fitness star Josef Rakich's elaborate Eden Park marriage proposal

This was one of Lifestyle's top stories in 2018

A Kiwi man has dropped to one knee in what could be the most elaborate marriage proposal New Zealand has ever seen.

Reminiscent of Kanye West's proposal to Kim Kardashian, fitness mogul and social media sensation Joseph Rakich has set some seriously high standards for other Kiwi men.

Rakich boasts more than 740,000 Instagram followers and made his fortune in the online fitness arena. In 2014, after being discharged without conviction over the sale of class-C pills, the Auckland High Court heard his company, Josef Rakich Fitness, made over $800,000 in sales that year.

And it appears his financial success has continued. An Eden Park spokesperson confirmed to the Herald that on Sunday Rakich and his girlfriend Maryam Matti landed a helicopter on the sports ground where he had an elaborate surprise waiting.

Captured by a film crew and live-streamed on Snapchat, Rakich is seen lifting his lady out of the chopper and walking her blindfolded towards a giant pink box in the middle of the field.

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In a helicopter 🚁 && about to propose to @maryammattii! 💍❤️ Go watch it happen live on my snapchat: 👻 (Josef_Rakich) Feel free to message her because I already took her phone off her hahaha. 😊

A post shared by Josef Rakich - Online Coach (@josefrakich) on Jun 16, 2018 at 10:28pm PDT

Together the pair tug on a white ribbon to open the gargantuan gift. As the sides fall away and balloons bubble out, Matti appears thrilled to find a custom pink Range Rover inside.

But that's not all: "Will you marry me?" is stamped across the pricey car's windshield and footage shows Matti turning back to her partner, who has swiftly gone down on one knee to present her with a ring.

Quickly saying yes to her buff bae, the couple are filmed sharing their excitement with surrounding friends as fireworks explode in the background.

It didn't take long for the special moment to go viral either. Matti, who has over 64,000 followers on Instagram, posted the video and in just 24 hours it's had more than 3.5 million views.

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I said YES to the man of my dreams. I love you so much Josef ♥️💍 An unforgettable proposal of all time. - Landed in Eden Park blind folded in a Helicopter and then walked over to a huge pink box. - Thank you for everything you do for me. You are my King 👑 Here’s to the future! 🙏🏼 @josefrakich I LOVE YOU!!! - Thank you to everyone who got involved and kept the secret for so long! I had absolutely no idea. Thank you to the camera crew, Woman’s Day and The Project NZ for being a part of our special day 💋

A post shared by Mimi (@maryammattii) on Jun 17, 2018 at 5:38am PDT

Matti shared her joy with her followers, writing: "I said YES to the man of my dreams. I love you so much Josef. An unforgettable proposal of all time.

"Landed in Eden Park blindfolded in a Helicopter and then walked over to a huge pink box.

"Thank you for everything you do for me. You are my King. Here's to the future!"

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yes forever and ever 💖

A post shared by Mimi (@maryammattii) on Jun 17, 2018 at 7:22am PDT

It's not the first time Rakich has showered his wife-to-be with a lavish display of love. He bought her 1000 red roses for Valentine's Day and a gift from Louis Vuitton. She shared a video of the generous presents noting her partner puts "the 'Man' in romantic."

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Josef. I don't even know where to begin. You put the "Man" in romantic. I love you so much but even words don't express how much you mean to me and how much I adore you. - He took me out for breakfast. Then he blindfolds me when we get home and tells me he has a surprise gift for me inside. He even organised a drone and our two camera guys to come and capture everything and every emotion 😭❤️ - 1000 red roses all scattered around the lounge with balloons and a new gorgeous handbag. - You are my world and everything in it. I can't wait to do life together. Here's to our third Valentine's Day and so many more to come 🌹👑 - Ps. Shoutout to the florist who came through and managed to get him all these roses! - Happy Love Day 💋 @josefrakich

A post shared by Mimi (@maryammattii) on Feb 13, 2018 at 6:13pm PST

Matti later shared that she took some of her Valentine's Day roses to a rest home for residents to enjoy. How they all fit in Rakich's Lamborghini remains unclear.

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off to give some of my Valentine's Day flowers to the beautiful people at rest homes ❤️ #1000roses 🌹 i love you @josefrakich

A post shared by Mimi (@maryammattii) on Feb 15, 2018 at 3:54pm PST

She also credits her fitness fanatic husband-to-be with helping her make a safe and healthy body transformation in which she lost 6kg in just 12 weeks on one of his plans.

Matti wrote: "Josef you are just amazing at what you do. The results speak for themselves. Thank you for guiding me and teaching me something new every day."

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I have completed the JRF 12 week program. Earlier this year I gained some weight and I became very unhappy. I made a goal. Dedicated myself to my diet and training. And I achieved that goal. - Left pic. 3 September 2017. 61kgs Right pic. 3 December 2017. 55kgs - Josef put me on around 1800 calories to boost my metabolism and then decreased it as time went on so I don't hit a platue. Near the end, I was eating around 1500 calories. I was training weights 5-6x a week and started with cardio in the second month only. 20 mins only about 3x a week. If it's one thing I learnt, don't use all your tools at once. Keep your body guessing because it adapts so damn fast! - Girls. Please do not starve yourselves and go on these ridiculous 800-1000 calorie diets with hours of cardio a day. You will do nothing but damage your metabolism and gain weight. Eat correctly and eat according to your goals. Make it a lifestyle. Thanks for everyone's support. I documented most of my eating and training on snapchat and I had so many people follow this mini journey 🙏🏼 - Josef you are just amazing at what you do. The results speak for themselves. Thank you for guiding me and teaching me something new every day. - Goal now is to lean down just that little bit more, maintain and then reverse diet/increase my calories. - #TeamJRF ❤️

A post shared by Mimi (@maryammattii) on Dec 6, 2017 at 11:39am PST