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
Jesse Glazzard’s messy portrait of queer friends, lovers and chosen family
The Sound of Dirt and Beauty — The photographer’s debut monograph explores tender, unpolished moments shaped by the people who he surrounds himself with, while offering a window into the UK’s working-class LGBTQ+ community.
Written by: Sunny Sunday
Behind the curtain at Alternative Miss World 1981
Olympia glamour — Running a subversive take on the traditional beauty pageant, the Andrew Logan organised event prioritised underground creativity and invention. Photographer David Corio went behind the scenes at its biggest edition.
Written by: Miss Rosen
New exhibition highlights British radical living over 200 years
Earthly Paradise — Taking place at the William Morris Gallery, it explores the homes and lives of artists, writers, musicians and more, as well as the conditions that allowed them to thrive.
Written by: Isaac Muk
What life on the Strait of Hormuz is really like
Southern Winds — Bandar Abbas based photographer Morteza Niknahad has been capturing the diverse communities and stories of his local region since he first picked up a camera. His new series highlights the human impact of war.
Written by: Isaac Muk
Nick Haymes’s intimate portrait of his family’s life
Chronograph — Over 25 years, the photographer documented his son’s lives as they grew into adults. The resulting photobook is an exploration of the passage of time, as well as the optimism of youth.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Kristina Rozhkova’s scatty, confronting portrait of captivity
Gut Feeling — The Russian artist’s 2024 arrest and subsequent detention opened her eye towards the omnipresent dynamics of power and control. Her new photobook is a stark exploration of being trapped.
Written by: Isaac Muk
