It feels comfortable to ‘grow older’ because you can look back on previous trends, brands, and miscellaneous stuff that u once found ‘meaningful’, and u can say ‘fuck that shit.’ It’s kinda weird to grow up, and see teens + tweens who are still utilizing the same branding techniques of 5-10 years ago now that retail outlets like hot topic exist. Even if some of the clothes + accessories change, there are still core components of the tween branding decision making process which will never change.
Did yall have an authentic brand during High School, or were u just trying to ‘find urself’ utilizing the resources at your local mall? Do u think it is ‘bad parenting’ if ur parents let you ‘express yourself’ before the age of 18?
If u could only choose 1 brand to utilize during ur high school years, which 1 would it be?
Brand #1: The Zany Bro who wears bright stuff & tshirts that reference nostalgic tv shows/brands
Photos by Every1isFamous
or
Brand #2: The alone bro, thinking about important life issues.
I feel like both of these brands were strategies that non-alphabros would use to ‘get attention’ from females. It was often difficult for ZanyBro to make a girl find him to be ‘date-able.’ He was more of a ‘jester’/'joker’, and wasn’t meant to be taken seriously. By cultivating attention for himself by replicating the stereotypes associated with ‘bein all zany’, he made it impossible to create meaningful relationships with people. ZanyBro is sometimes fun 2 b around, but might not have the ability to ’shut off zany mode’, making it hard for him to find consistent bros. A life without consistent bros seems like a ‘desolate prison.’
The LonerDeepBro was able to forge connections with ppl, but you were often let down by how ’simple’ the lonerbro was. Girls would think that the has an understanding of beauty which no1 else could recognize, but then you talked to him, and he was just ‘a bro who had a really weird perspective of himself + the world.’ I think it might be more difficult to be an authentic ‘loneBro’ because of online social networks, but most lonebros will have a ‘minimal profile’ that just has some dumb quote on it, or maybe that his fave author is Edgar Allen Poe.
Both of these brands are searching 4 meaning, and are only temporary personal brands on the personal branding timeline of your life. However, it is important to understand that if you are a zanyBro, part of you will always be a zany bro, because people will remember ‘the real you’, even when you grow up and your brand matures. Not sure which 1 I would pick if I had to live my life all over again.
Which 1 would yall choose?
What is a good alternative brand to have during high school?
Some1 who is into ‘punk music’ like Green Day?
R u ashamed of the person u used 2 b?
Are u ‘relieved’ that u didn’t go to high school during the Napoleon Dynamite era?
Is Am Appy going to become a ‘parody brand’ when the tweens of this generation grow up, sorta like Old Navy?
What were u like in hi school and how did u change when u went away 2 (community) college?
Loading ...
IAmCarles.com
38 Comments
Thrust
Reply
//////////Reply by nink
//////////Posted July 28th, 2009 at 7:30 pm
@blip*, http://losingitin27days.blogspot.com/
Reply
I wanted that firsty.
Reply
//////////Reply by blip*
//////////Posted July 28th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
@Alex, I always arrive when it’s like 23 comments or something, but i got 2 out of the last three. I realize it is sad, but also pure coincidence. I now have a stronger connection to the concept of ‘fate’. My life is 33.3% more meaningful.
Reply
//////////Reply by Alex
//////////Posted July 28th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
@blip*, I too generally arrive late, but today I refreshed and saw a golden opportunity, only to realize I was a mere 4 minutes late. Maybe the universe hasnt noticed me yet because I am not meaningful enough, maybe I need to listen to anco more.
Reply
//////////Reply by jjj
//////////Posted July 28th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
@Alex, gotta make love to the every 5 second rss.
just chugged large iced coffee
main feeling is that i’m going to ‘feel depressed’ in 30-45 minutes
Reply
//////////Reply by tao
//////////Posted July 28th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
@tao, so kewl 2 post on ur friend’s blog all teh time, Team USA 1992 All Stars
Reply
//////////Reply by daffy
//////////Posted July 28th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
@tao, fascinating
Reply
i was such a mainstreemer when young. fitted into no clique.
NOW I’M POSITIVELY HIP. Take that society!
Reply
my vintage dresses and kute bangs and ironic glasses went unnoticed and misunderstood because my high school is full of ‘fucking rednecks’
Reply
//////////Reply by heartsofhearts
//////////Posted July 28th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
@musical chains, That quote was meant for a t-shirt.
Reply
//////////Reply by gnar sesh
//////////Posted July 28th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
@heartsofhearts, i second that
Reply
firsttt.
i figured out where u got carles from. its what sam calls carly on icarly.
Reply
//////////Reply by JT
//////////Posted July 28th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
@fredMS, lulz the bigbro is the only thng ‘good’ on that ’show’
Reply
//////////Reply by fredMS
//////////Posted July 28th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
@JT, he’s like the ultimate altbro. he’s an engineer living in a loft in seattle, he even had a cameo in donnie darko
Reply
I was a wigger and I still am.
Reply
in high school i smoked weed every day and wore sweatpants + sweatshirts + new balance sneakers 2 school every day. i was ‘unkempt stoner bro’
Reply
//////////Reply by honestly
//////////Posted July 28th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
@bro dude lol,
same
except i had nikes
and held my nuts
now i dress a Caucasian version of the same relaxed style
embarrassed? fuck ya.
Reply
//////////Reply by don't worry about it
//////////Posted July 28th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
@bro dude lol,
so you’re telling me you wore a sweatsuit to school.
o_O
Reply
//////////Reply by BlipsterCambridge
//////////Posted August 1st, 2009 at 7:40 am
‘Chavs’ 4 Lief.
Reply
clearly, lone bro is just chillin and lookin at the donk on the chick on the left with the ‘tetris’ hoodie.
wanna smack that/cum on it
Reply
//////////Reply by laffy
//////////Posted July 30th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
@555, thats a bro
Reply
in hikeschool i was the bro who wore novelty jimi hendrix shirts found in your local JC penny.
shoulda commitied ‘alticide’ and burned all my clothes
Reply
@don’t worry about it, 2 sweat in.
Reply
I wore uniforms to high school [via private Catholic skewl] because they didn’t want us to make sillie branding decisions. Ammy Eagle outside of school. I don’t really feel ashamed, but more ‘behind schedule’ now.
Reply
//////////Reply by jjj
//////////Posted July 28th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
@skybread, except for girls who branded themselves as ‘lil sluts’ with too short skirts. The more pink slips the ‘lil slut’tier
Reply
I was the goff wannabe.
trenchcoats,raccoon eyes,army boots and shit
Reply
I am a latin that wanted to connect with the indigenous but dressed up like caucasian
Reply
yall is us
Reply
i dont know why but i just want to stomp on that zany bro’s nuts
Reply
I was a bit of a class clown bro without a real brand. was ‘funny’, an ‘underachiever’, ‘unmotivated’.
h8ed every1 at my suburbia school. was ‘judgmental’
Reply
i started out as ZanyBro – transitioned to LonerBro – transitioned further to AlphaBro – then gave up and became some sort of hybird of all three bros like Jeff Goldbro and the Fly.
Reply
//////////Reply by jacksfork
//////////Posted July 29th, 2009 at 12:20 am
@boards, word bro
Reply
//////////Reply by boards
//////////Posted July 29th, 2009 at 1:20 am
@jacksfork, bro, bro. ha.
Reply
twas definitely a mild zany bro, i think you hit the definition right on brah. Wish i could go back in time and slap the shit outta myself
Reply
Zanybro’s going to grow up, get married and make one of those “surprise wedding dance” videos.
Reply
had a crush on a girl in high school
my brother had a crush on the same girl
she had classes with him
i went to a different high school
she came over today and fell asleep on my brother’s bed,
while he was doing laundry
i was downstairs
writing this poem about her
i road my brother’s bicycle to seven-eleven
bought a pack of CAMEL LIGHTS
came back
she was still asleep
and my brother was folding a pair of pants
i tickled her foot and she said ‘both of you are assholes’
i made espresso and steamed milk and put sugar in the raw and NESTLE CHOCOLATE POWDER into it
chocolate powder spilled on my slacks and on the floor
my dog licked it off the floor
i fed him some coffee beans
why is she here?
Reply
//////////Reply by mz. dibs
//////////Posted July 28th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
@buttercup, suga in the raws (:
Reply
//////////Reply by toby
//////////Posted July 28th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
@buttercup, broken lines don’t make a poem, buttercup, sucks. sorry 2 hate
Reply
hey I am alone bro @ PFork, wtf carles?
Reply
//////////Reply by HOTCHICK6969
//////////Posted July 28th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
@Ja3on, hey dont worry youre cute. and whats more probably cuter than carles. i mean hes the one sitting at his cmoptuter blogging about u. who wins in this situation, you.
Reply
i was a ‘fashion doesn’t define me’ bro. stupid.
Reply
m the alone bro masturbating to albums with p4k ratings of 9.8 and above
Reply
thinkin i might tug one to tetris hoody
thinkin on close inspection its a dude
grant jr is pretty confused rite now
Reply
I was free t-shirt bro. Pre-ironic bro.
Reply
remember when they used to call it “alternateen” in high school? I do. :)
My new Michael Jackson jacket makes all the pain go away.
Reply
in hs, i wore a catholic school uniform.
now, i use it to spice up my sex life.
Reply
the nice thing about being a loner bro is getting fucked by girls that actually believe you are mysterious. a year later when no longer in high school.
Reply
was never accepted even in my uniform(via catholic school), so i hung with stonerbros and ate lunch in the library. shopped at various stores including totes confused urby behaviour now attacked by catties. ashamed(still am) moved on to am appy and urban outfitters accepted only by my graphic design and advertising class who branded me as ‘unique’. moving forward and now i’m CULTURED/HIP.
Reply
i have a minimalist profile because i ‘read hro’ and ‘think about branding’ too much, not because i am a lonerBro
Reply
//////////Reply by Anon
//////////Posted July 29th, 2009 at 7:08 am
@neuroticsterrunoff, i can relate bro, no one is going to ‘label’ me
Reply
i was party bro. ralph lauren bro. then i left the midwest. now when i go home i’m the bro sf ruined. and now i never want to go home.
Reply
//////////Reply by boards
//////////Posted July 29th, 2009 at 1:22 am
@jacksfork, word bro.
Reply
holy crap crls, i was totally a zanybro in high school w/ lonerbro undertones
Reply
I was somewhat zany, but my sister was always super alt so she’d tell me no you’re not wearing the bright pants and neck tie by junior year I was fully lonebro but the only chicks tht talked to me were the couple of younger altchicks that thought of me more like an older bro than someone to tug, but now I’ve got that shit down and highschool girls now love me as that older hipster they thought was hot and mysterious the good thing is I get older they stay the same age yes they do ( via mcconabro)
Reply
neither.
alonebro would be alone, not social at all
zanybro would be too “zany” for the mainstream highschool and too outdated for the progressive highschool.
both bros are doomed.
Reply
Will you marry me?
Reply
you totally forgot so many brands.
Reply
I was the alone bro but knowing that I stuck out was the only thing that made me feel good or like an individual. I really did think about those “important issues” and was constantly churning inside and very unhappy. This is in the early 90s so we didn’t have these social networks that let as connect with others all over the world, if you were lonely or isolated, you were stuck with no one to talk to.
People that don’t fit in and are creative are very often great artists themselves and change culture. I guess today it’s hard to tell which is legitimate, or which is “emo” or whatever the sensitive boy thing is these days… but that real pain creates plenty of creative fuel.
But if I could go back I probably would have traded all my alone time buying “alt” records at record stores and reading poetry books and had some real friendships and not be so self-aware all the time and in my head.
But the trade off is I have impeccable taste now.
Reply