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.
Latest on Huck
Tender, carefree portraits of young Ukrainians before the war
Diary of a Stolen Youth — On the day that a temporary ceasefire is announced, a new series from photographer Nastya Platinova looks back at Kyiv’s bubbling youth culture before Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion. It presents a visual window for young people into a possible future, as well as the past.
Written by: Hannah Bentley
Analogue Appreciation: 47SOUL
Dualism — In an ever more digital, online world, we ask our favourite artists about their most cherished pieces of physical culture. Today, it’s Palestinian shamstep pioneers 47SOUL.
Written by: 47SOUL
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
Amid tensions in Eastern Europe, young Latvians are reviving their country’s folk rhythms
Spaces Between the Beats — The Baltic nation’s ancient melodies have long been a symbol of resistance, but as Russia’s war with Ukraine rages on, new generations of singers and dancers are taking them to the mainstream.
Written by: Jack Styler
Uwade: “I was determined to transcend popular opinion”
What Made Me — In this series, we ask artists and rebels about the about the forces and experiences that shaped who they are. Today, it’s Nigerian-born, South Carolina-raised indie-soul singer Uwade.
Written by: Uwade
Inside the obscured, closeted habitats of Britain’s exotic pets
“I have a few animals...” — For his new series, photographer Jonty Clark went behind closed doors to meet rare animal owners, finding ethical grey areas and close bonds.
Written by: Hannah Bentley
