The DIY of Lifestyle Design

Mohawks, spiked leather bracelets, screaming lyrics, and a stiffly raised middle finger… oh yeah, lifestyle design is so fuckin’ punk!

The same DIY ethic that powers punk rock is also behind the lifestyle design movement. Folks want a life that’s infinitely more fulfilling than the ones dealt by conventional society… and they’re doing something about it. Oi!

Get a haircut and get a real job

Go to college. Get your degree. Get a job with a pension and benefits. Work hard so you can be happy when you retire.

Despite being the “sensible” thing to do for generations we’ve already realized this path is a crock of shit.

Facing this harsh reality though is what created a culture of slackers.

If there’s no pot of gold at the end of that rainbow, why should I even bother? I’ll just play my Xbox until I have to put on my Mr. Cluck’s uniform and go to work.

Where we went punk

Now listen up, especially the sniveling bitches (read: slackers) in the crowd. Here’s a quick crash course on punk…

Flashback to the 70s. The country was full of hippies disillusioned with the state of being. The curtain had been pulled back and for the first time folks got a good look at “the man” and they didn’t like what he was selling.

Rather than cinch up a tie and tote a briefcase they decided to turn on, tune in, and drop out.

So, on one hand we had the tarnished promises being peddled by “the man” and on the other we had a bunch of folks who rebuked the system by “making love, not war”.

But, there was this third group of people who came around. They were like “Fuck the fat cats and their system. And fuck those hippies who waste their time with love-ins.”

Discontent, non-conformist, individualist, free-thought. This is punk. And their music, their words, their dress and lifestyle reflected this ideology.

They refused to buy into a system they didn’t believe in, and they didn’t sit down waiting for someone to hand them a new one. Instead, they rushed the stage, elbows swinging, and did things their way.

They published their own zines, started their own record labels, distributed their own music, promoted their own gigs. They spoke out about things they believed in. They did it DIY. And they still are…

Do. It. Yourself.

DIY. It’s an ethic based on being self-reliant. That the ordinary joe can do things never thought possible. Joe ain’t one to wait around for someone else to fish the fly out of his soup… he’ll get that damned fly himself.

What Joe lacks in professional training he makes up for with moxie. He seeks out and gains the knowledge and skills for himself so he doesn’t have to rely on some “expert” to feed him.

DIY is about being self-reliant, taking charge, and being personally accountable.

The DIY of Lifestyle Design

Today it’s painfully apparent that job security, like social security, is a myth. Folks have also wised up to the real definition of “cubicle worker” – wage slave.

These folks know that a fulfilling life is a hell of a lot more important than slaving away at something you’re not passionate about in exchange for valueless green pieces of paper. True to the DIY ethic they’ve made themselves personally accountable… they took back stewardship of their happiness and quality of life.

These are today’s lifestyle designers… can we call them lifestyle punks?

For some it means going location independent, traveling beyond boundaries and borders. Others have started their own businesses and are calling their own shots. While still others are turning their backs on crass consumerism and living a life of minimalism.

DIY. Punk. Life.

If you’re a “lifestyle designer” then you choose to live life your way, on your terms, and fully accept all the joys and hardships that come your way because of it.

If you are one of us shout Oi! and keep on rockin’.

If you’re not DIY then I have one question, “Who are you waiting on to take care of you?”

Related Topics

lifestyle design, punk, resistance