Like Hip-Hop-The Messenger Image has become a sad self-parody. By my count and definition there are at least six sub-genres from the traditional bike messenger (those of us still doing it for a living).
Hipster(enger)-Used to be a purely musical animal with tight black pants and colored raybans. Add fixie-bike,beard,chrome bag and cap--instant hipsterenger!
Posenger-An offshoot of the hipster, these people look the part but haven't done a lick of work. They religiously attend all alleycats, if only to add to their spokecard collection.
Snobenger-An actual working messenger that has forgot that they belong to the larger human race. They only hang out with people who ride fixed gear bikes, have matching girl/boyfriends, and act like the rest of us take up too much room on their road.
Protestenger-Started out as a critical mass rider and devolved into an individual or "mob" who does stupid shit that makes motorists hate us even more.
Smugenger-An offshoot of the protestengers, these people actually believe they are saving the world by riding a bike. Avoid these people like the plague, they have the ultimate justification for everything they do.
Trustenger-A trust-fund subsidized messenger or collective only in it for the social status. They are willing to work for fees so low as to skew the industry standard below a living wage. Not to be trusted with your documents, they don't really need the work.
Don't let these cliques represent our profession.
My only consolation is that you can only ride so many miles on cool points. Those of us that love the job itself and get up to feed our kids and pay the rent will be around long after this flavor of the month bullshit is over.
Rick Graves
Clutch Couriers
SC/NYC
Friday, July 25, 2008
Save Our Profession
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
6 comments:
You forgot "fakenger" in your list :-)
hey man you think ur not a posenger cuz ur from ny or something but ny is an over priced petree dish of human bacteria and if you like it so much why dont you go back. i bike in santa cruz for the fresh air and beautiful scenary us messengers in sc are tryin to save the world one bike at a time man ur just tryin to make a point. your also a snobenger becuz u sit around and make little immature nicknames for people you think ur above like are we in 6th grade or wat.oh yea and bro ur talking shit about the hip hop industry and the bike community yet you have to put urself rite in the middle of both well we dont need you here to sit on ur high horse and look down on everyone else. you need to mellow out brah and get your chi inlined or somethin stop hatin.
Hey Anonymous-
If you really are a messenger in SC I'd love to meet you, and I promise not to ride a high horse. For the record I've lived in SC for 20 years, raised kids here, and I'm not going anywhere, and I feel totally chill (see you in Beekram, Brah). If you feel slighted or disrespected by me or my comments, do me the honor of identifying yourself as a fellow messenger and we can talk over a beverage and hopefully understand each other better.
As far as going back to NYC, I'd suggest a trip there for you.
Really meet the people there as equals, and it might open your eyes to other ways of thinking and living just as legit as your own.
Peace, Rick
Clutch Couriers
I have to say this is quit amazing. question; what would you call someone that isnt a messenger, wouldnt mind being one, rides a fixie and works for all his "bike gear" and happens to own a chrome bag, because they are superb?
I'd say they are a superb human being, just cuz.
"I have to say this is quit amazing. question; what would you call someone that isnt a messenger, wouldnt mind being one, rides a fixie and works for all his "bike gear" and happens to own a chrome bag, because they are superb?"
hazzah, man. I love my bike. And put any money I can spare, and some I probably couldn't, into it. And I love my chrome bag!
Post a Comment