So, I was in the paper on Sunday...
Here it is for those that missed it, minus the TOUGH photo of my RAD head!
Oh yeah, this was printed on my birthday, I am now 25.
Punks who shun booze and sex
DANIEL KNOWLES
Sunday Mail
21 December 2003
THEY don't drink, don't smoke and believe in relationships rather than casual sex.
"Straight-edgers" are an off-shoot of early 1980s punks, and believe in clean but not necessarily religious living.
Formed in the US, the movement has slowly gained a foothold in Queensland.
Ipswich musician Troy Chandler, better known by his stage name of Troy Destroy, has had "the straight-edge" since October 1999.
"I used to drink and do the marijuana," Chandler said. "I wasn't enjoying it."
He took up being a straight-edger because it was easier than saying he did not drink or smoke at parties.
"You can still be yourself and have fun," he said.
"When I started, saying I had a straight-edge was a rarity."
Chandler said straight-edgers were still a minority in the city but more came from the Sunshine Coast and Byron Bay.
"They are drawing on Salt Lake City and Utah where it is much more militant."
Chandler said some of these kids talked about beating up young people who drank and smoked.
While most of the threats from Queensland straight-edgers were "empty talk", he had seen some violent dance-floor clashes.
Chandler said one group on the Sunshine Coast had formed the Violent Dance Crew, with dance moves such as "kickboxing" and "flaying".
But it was unfair to label all straight-edgers as bad.
Along with straight-edgers, some more traditional youth tribes roam Brisbane's streets. From black-clad "goths" to brightly clad young surfers, Brisbane's youth have formed their own subcultures.
Goths would seem the least suited to the city's steamy summers, but that hasn't stopped them forming an active social group.
Also popular are rappers, punks and skaters.
Queensland University of Technology researcher Joshua Green said it was all part of trying to belong. "They are searching for identity."
He said Australia more often imported youth cultures than created them, with the only genuine Australian groups being the bodgies and widgies of the 1960s.
And Australian groups were more fluid than those overseas.
Brisbane metal music fans Twitch, Phaedra Cat and Voit Starr said most people borrowed from different backgrounds.
"I love spikes and I love leather," Twitch said.
Oh yeah, this was printed on my birthday, I am now 25.
Punks who shun booze and sex
DANIEL KNOWLES
Sunday Mail
21 December 2003
THEY don't drink, don't smoke and believe in relationships rather than casual sex.
"Straight-edgers" are an off-shoot of early 1980s punks, and believe in clean but not necessarily religious living.
Formed in the US, the movement has slowly gained a foothold in Queensland.
Ipswich musician Troy Chandler, better known by his stage name of Troy Destroy, has had "the straight-edge" since October 1999.
"I used to drink and do the marijuana," Chandler said. "I wasn't enjoying it."
He took up being a straight-edger because it was easier than saying he did not drink or smoke at parties.
"You can still be yourself and have fun," he said.
"When I started, saying I had a straight-edge was a rarity."
Chandler said straight-edgers were still a minority in the city but more came from the Sunshine Coast and Byron Bay.
"They are drawing on Salt Lake City and Utah where it is much more militant."
Chandler said some of these kids talked about beating up young people who drank and smoked.
While most of the threats from Queensland straight-edgers were "empty talk", he had seen some violent dance-floor clashes.
Chandler said one group on the Sunshine Coast had formed the Violent Dance Crew, with dance moves such as "kickboxing" and "flaying".
But it was unfair to label all straight-edgers as bad.
Along with straight-edgers, some more traditional youth tribes roam Brisbane's streets. From black-clad "goths" to brightly clad young surfers, Brisbane's youth have formed their own subcultures.
Goths would seem the least suited to the city's steamy summers, but that hasn't stopped them forming an active social group.
Also popular are rappers, punks and skaters.
Queensland University of Technology researcher Joshua Green said it was all part of trying to belong. "They are searching for identity."
He said Australia more often imported youth cultures than created them, with the only genuine Australian groups being the bodgies and widgies of the 1960s.
And Australian groups were more fluid than those overseas.
Brisbane metal music fans Twitch, Phaedra Cat and Voit Starr said most people borrowed from different backgrounds.
"I love spikes and I love leather," Twitch said.