Patrick O'Dell
- Text by Shelley Jones

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.
Number 9 is photographer, filmmaker and Epicly Later’d mastermind Patrick O’Dell.
Where did you grow up and can you describe it in three words?
I moved around as a kid, but mostly the midwest. Louisville, St Louis, Cincinnati, State College Pennsylvania. ‘Might move back’.
Who was your weirdest neighbour?
Believe it or not, nothing comes to mind.
What was the most important record you owned?
Guns N Roses, Appetite for Destruction.
Where did the bad kids hang out?
I wasn’t invited.
Biggest fashion faux pas as a teenager?
Fuct Jeans.
Who was your first celebrity crush?
Princess Leia.
Describe your first kiss.
On a ramp, in the dark.
What happened the first time you got drunk?
I learned how to high five.
What is the naughtiest thing you did as a suburban youth?
Skinny-dipped, lit things on fire.
What was the best party of your teenage years?
I tried to ollie off a garage on shrooms.
What’s your most embarrassing suburban youth memory?
Every time I was mean to someone, I always think about the times I wasn’t as kind as I should have been.
What was the greatest lesson you learnt during that time?
Don’t be a bully, though I was almost always the one that got bullied.
Who would you most like to see at a reunion?
Dodge skatebpark locals.
What was your first car?
Acura Integra.
What was your food of choice?
Doritos with hot salsa.
What was the biggest fight you ever had with your parents?
I had a party and was drunk and my mom caught me, I yelled at her, though I was in the wrong.
What book/film changed your teenage life?
Rediscovering Star Wars.
What posters did you have on your bedroom wall?
All skateboarding, Gonz, Hensley.
Any hobbies you didn’t give up?
Skateboarding.
What smell reminds you most of the suburbs?
Mowed lawn.
See other interviews in the Suburban Pop Youth Quiz series and buy the Ed Templeton issue at our online store.
You might like

Remembering New York’s ’90s gay scene via its vibrant nightclub flyers
Getting In — After coming out in his 20s, David Kennerley became a fixture on the city’s queer scene, while pocketing invites that he picked up along the way. His latest book dives into his rich archive.
Written by: Miss Rosen

On Alexander Skarsgård’s trousers, The Rehearsal, and the importance of weirdos
Freaks and Finances — In the May edition of our monthly culture newsletter, columnist Emma Garland reflects on the Swedish actor’s Cannes look, Nathan Fielder’s wild ambition, and Jafaican.
Written by: Emma Garland

Why Katy Perry’s space flight was one giant flop for mankind
Galactic girlbossing — In a widely-panned, 11-minute trip to the edge of the earth’s atmosphere, the ‘Women’s World’ singer joined an all-female space crew in an expensive vanity advert for Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. Newsletter columnist Emma Garland explains its apocalypse indicating signs.
Written by: Emma Garland

Katie Goh: “I want people to engage with the politics of oranges”
Foreign Fruit — In her new book, the Edinburgh-based writer traces her personal history through the citrus fruit’s global spread, from a village in China to Californian groves. Angela Hui caught up with her to find out more.
Written by: Angela Hui
Meet the hair-raised radicals of Berlin’s noise punk scene
Powertool — In his new zine, George Nebieridze captures moments of loud rage and quiet intimacy of the German capital’s bands, while exploring the intersections between music, community and anti-establishment politics.
Written by: Miss Rosen

We are all Mia Khalifa
How humour, therapy and community help Huck's latest cover star control her narrative.
Written by: Alya Mooro