You know, if Spider Punk gets people interested in punk, good. We all have to start somewhere and Hobie is a damn good representation. If he is what makes a person go “hey, this seems cool, I should check it out.” good. That’s one more person interested in punk and wanting to get into it.
That being said, if you are new to punk(hi baby punks!) some things to keep in mind
1. Punk philosophy is largely anti-authoritarian. Individual and even punk communities differ on specifics, and some are more political than others, but the core themes tend to be resisting those who would control and oppress us, and supporting and including people in your community
2. Punk fashion SHOULD NOT BE EXPENSIVE. A lot of fashion companies will try and sell you jackets for a couple hundred bucks, but that’s just corporations trying to cash in on a subculture. A big part of Punk and its history is DIY because Punk should be open to everyone and putting that behind a fashion paywall is just not punk. You don’t even need to be dressing punk to BE punk, but thrift your clothes. Make stencils and use spray paint or bleach to give it a pattern. Use old jeans to make patches. Buy your spikes and studs in bulk and go wild. Turn your old t shirt that doesn’t fit anymore into a back patch. Go crazy with some safety pins. You can make more with $30 than you can buy from a designer for $300. And skill is not needed, frankly if it looks a little wonky it makes it look more punk
3. Dental floss makes for good thread for sewing on patches. It’s good for thick, stylistic stitches and is both cheap and durable. Don’t know why I made this its own point but it’s one of the most common tricks for punk DIY besides taking paint to scraps of fabric to make a patch. Honestly, if you want to know how to do more, just ask other punks how they made their vests and jackets, they’ll probably be happy enough to tell you
4. Punk philosophy and music is closely related. The communities evolved around the music scene so it is closely linked. Give some punk bands a try if you haven’t already. There’s a bunch of subgenres so you’ll probably find something you like. From OG “proto punk” where the sound was still developing into what we call punk, to pop punk, anarco punk, and folk punk. There are people who say you can’t be punk if you don’t listen to the music, and there’s a whole conversation to be had about all that, but it’s just a good idea to try listening to some punk music
5, Nazis fuck off
6. Seriously, nazis fuck off. There’s a whole history behind it and why we associate skinhead punks with neo nazis. Largely we’ve made it clear we don’t want nazis in our community and the street punk music scene that nazi punks became associated with has made strides to separate themselves from that.
7. Be cool and respectful of people regardless of religion, ethnicity, race, sexuality, gender, background, etc. Solidarity with our community is important and all sorts are welcome. Gatekeeping isn’t cool and frankly women and minorities have done a lot for punk as a whole. Respect for everyone
you punch nazis!
(requested by anonymous)
realized I forgot to make this post oops....
featuring advice beyond "call your representatives"
for a lot of people, and especially for disabled people, being on the ground at a protest is risky, difficult, or downright impossible. this discourages a lot of people from getting involved in offline political activism because they don't know where else to go and what else to do. activism-and especially direct action-require a whole lot more than just bodies on the ground.
[US centric but may apply elsewhere] Involve yourself in jail support. when your comrades get arrested they need support upon getting out [and sometimes with getting out, depending on your state]. organize or participate in getting support to those people. show up for the arrestees in your community.
victims of police brutality and their families need support! sign up for or organize meal trains to keep people fed while they/their family recover from traumatic experiences. work to fundraise to pay rent while people are out of jobs.
get involved in the community-focused side of the activism. get involved in free markets, unhoused outreach & solidarity, free meals, etc. it's community, not charity.
graffiti, y'all, graffiti. make stencils if you need to be fast, wheatpaste, sticker bomb, these are all important parts of sending a message. graffiti artists are valuable and you can become one!
if you can't do graffiti (or you can but want to do more) create materials so other people can do graffiti. create and print flyers for wheatpasting, design & print stickers, create stencils.
protests and actions often require materials that need to be bought, created, or assembled. getting involved in any part of this process is hugely helpful.
Car support- if you are capable of driving and/or own a car you can get involved in car support for marches and other actions. many actions require car support to protest activists, whether that be by blocking traffic for a march or participating in holding a roundabout while barricades are set up
Be the extraction plan- also requires driving and/or a car. when people leave actions they need a way out. sometimes they need a fast way out. sometimes they need help driving home because they have a chemical weapon in their eyes. being on standby to pick people up is a hugely important role in activism.
the relevant direct action in your area is going to depend on where you live so unfortunately I cannot give you specific recommendations but I can tell you that you are capable of participating in direct action. direct action looks like so much and does not have to be a rally or march or other protest. you can find a way to participate that accommodates you.
I am definitely forgetting a lot so additions are welcome
Alright folks, gather around and I’ll tell you why we need to overthrow the government!
Climbed this thing with platform boots on because I don’t believe in risk 😎
Yeah so basically this is the vibe of 2025 🫡 tysm for working with me on this, it turned out so cool!!
Commision for @spideypunx they’re so real for this and it was so fun to work on
Us punks gotta stick together, yeah?
THIS IS FUCKING GORGEOUS ILY
Y'all I finally finished it and I had WAY to much fun
I had to make the flag and background both different like styles cause inconsistency do we like that orrrr
Also color optionssss
Thanks for letting me use you as a reference @spideypunx it was perfect an you're so cool hun
Here’s my Spider-Punk playlist 😊
YES!!!!!! This is SO cool I love it
literally forgot to do this omg it’s so embarrassing of me @spideypunx
here’s it :) our household takes cosplay seriously
One of my favorite vendors this year!!!
I bought a pin early in the con, and then later I wanted to buy more things from them, but I couldn’t remember their booth location or shop name, so I spent probably a couple hours going through all the aisles trying to find them again lol. Totally worth it.
Some of their pins are definitely going on another Spider-Punk cosplay I’m working on… 👀
All set up at Awesome Con 2025 - I'll be at table K-31 all weekend!!