To celebrate Huck 45, curated by artist, skateboarder and chronicler of teenage California Ed Templeton, we are having a Huck website summer takeover dedicated to Ed’s longtime muse, suburbia.

In this regular series, the Suburban Youth Pop Quiz, we ask characters from our world what their suburban youth meant to them.

Sixth up is photographer and filmmaker Angela Boatwright whose next-level ability to capture underground subcultures – NYC skateboarding and hardcore kids in the ’90s, recent hip hop in Cuba, contemporary backyard punk in East LA, heavy metal across the States – has made her a guardian of youthful rebellion and countercultural expression the world over.

Suburban Youth Pop Quiz #6

Where did you grow up and can you describe it in three words?
Columbus, Ohio Three words? Flat, boring, safe.

Who was your weirdest neighbour?
Haha, well when I was a teenager the guy to our right had a son. I can’t remember his name but he was a few years older and he was obsessed with Eddie Van Halen. As a teenager I was head over heels for anything Guns N’ Roses so we would always get into arguments about who was better, Eddie Van Halen or Slash. Hahaha, I mean the answer is obvious, of course, but at the time I was so convinced it was Slash. He also carved ‘Aerosmith’ into wet cement on the curb by his house, I thought that was way cool. It’s probably still there today.

What was the most important record you owned?
I have two Ozzy LPs autographed by Jake E Lee. Getting to meet him recently was mind blowing! Those are definitely my favourite.

Where did the bad kids hang out?
There was a liquor store right by the train tracks and if you were lucky someone older would buy you beer. Other than that, 7-11. Classic scenario, right?

Biggest fashion faux pas as a teenager?
I’m still committing fashion faux pas’. I guess maybe my choice to wear funky ‘Jams’ on the first day of Seventh Grade?

Who was your first celebrity crush?
Haha, Kirk Cameron.

Describe your first kiss.
A total mess.

What happened the first time you got drunk?
My first kiss (see above).

What is the naughtiest thing you did as a suburban youth?
I asked my mom what she thought and she reminded me of the time that my best friend Meagan and I accidentally set the bathroom of a pizza restaurant on fire when we were thirteen. That’s a long and stupid story :).

What was the best party of your teenage years?
Haha, one thing comes to mind – my best friend Meagan, her sister Amy, and our whole friend crew, including myself, had tickets to see Metallica on the ‘Justice’ tour in 1989. We got drunk beforehand and maybe I smoked weed for the first time?? Amy got so drunk she never made it to the show. I tried unsuccessfully to make out with this cool boy in the car on the way there. I had on brand new slouch boots so I felt really cool. When we arrived an older girl gave us some clove cigarettes which was again, sooo cool. We had nosebleed seats but it didn’t matter.

What’s your most embarrassing suburban youth memory?
I can’t remember anything grand, lots and lots of small moments. I told my teacher to shut up in Sixth Grade and he completely chewed me out in front of the whole class. In hindsight I totally deserved it but it was mortifying at the time!

What was the greatest lesson you learnt during that time?
My teenage years were actually pretty difficult for a variety of reasons – my parents divorced, my mom moved away, returned, got into a car accident and went bankrupt all in the period of two years. My best friend and her sister became my family so I suppose I acquired a broader definition of family. Friends as family is a concept that has stuck with me to this day.

Who would you most like to see at a reunion?
I’m still in regular contact with my best friend, we’re incredibly close and I see her every time I go back to Ohio. Other than that, there were a small group of hilariously sarcastic guys that shared a science class with me all four years of high school. It would be great to see those guys!

What was your first car?
1980 Dodge Colt, bright blue.

What was your food of choice?
Peanut butter and jelly.

What was the biggest fight you ever had with your parents?
Probably when I told them I wanted to move to NYC.

What book/film changed your teenage life?
Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years.

What posters did you have on your bedroom wall?

Any hobbies you didn’t give up?
I started shooting photos at age 15, so yeah photography stuck.

What smell reminds you most of the suburbs?
The smell of cheap lipstick, seriously.

See other interviews in the Suburban Pop Youth Quiz series and buy the Ed Templeton issue at our online store.

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