Patrick O'Dell

Patrick O'Dell
Suburban Youth Pop Quiz #9 — Photographer, filmmaker and Epicly Later'd mastermind Patrick O'Dell on skinny dipping, lighting things on fire and taking shrooms during his suburban youth.

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

This erotic zine dismantles LGBTQ+ respectability politics
Culture

This erotic zine dismantles LGBTQ+ respectability politics

Zine Scene — Created by Megan Wallace and Jack Rowe, PULP is a new print publication that embraces the diverse and messy, yet pleasurable multitudes that sex and desire can take.

Written by: Isaac Muk

As Tbilisi’s famed nightclubs reawaken, a murky future awaits
Music

As Tbilisi’s famed nightclubs reawaken, a murky future awaits

Spaces Between the Beats — Since Georgia’s ruling party suspended plans for EU accession, protests have continued in the capital, with nightclubs shutting in solidarity. Victor Swezey reported on their New Year’s Eve reopening, finding a mix of anxiety, catharsis and defiance.

Written by: Victor Swezey

Los Angeles is burning: Rick Castro on fleeing his home once again
Culture

Los Angeles is burning: Rick Castro on fleeing his home once again

Braver New World — In 2020, the photographer fled the Bobcat Fire in San Bernardino to his East Hollywood home, sparking the inspiration for an unsettling photo series. Now, while preparing for its exhibition, he has had to leave once again, returning to the mountains.

Written by: Miss Rosen

Ghais Guevara: “Rap is a pinnacle of our culture”
Music

Ghais Guevara: “Rap is a pinnacle of our culture”

What Made Me — In our new series, we ask artists and rebels about the forces and experiences that have shaped who they are. First up, Philadelphian rap experimentalist Ghais Guevara.

Written by: Ghais Guevara

Gaza Biennale comes to London in ICA protest
Activism

Gaza Biennale comes to London in ICA protest

Art and action — The global project, which presents the work of over 60 Palestinian artists, will be on view outside the art institution in protest of an exhibition funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Written by: Cyna Mirzai

Ragnar Axelsson’s thawing vision of Arctic life
Culture

Ragnar Axelsson’s thawing vision of Arctic life

At the Edge of the World — For over four decades, the Icelandic photographer has been journeying to the tip of the earth and documenting its communities. A new exhibition dives into his archive.

Written by: Cyna Mirzai

Sign up to our newsletter

Issue 81: The more than a game issue

Buy it now