Alex Knost
- Text by Shelley Jones
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.
Third up is pro surfer, Tomorrows Tulips frontman and champion of the shaggy blonde bob Alex Knost.
Suburban Youth Pop Quiz #3
Where did you grow up and can you describe it in three words?
Costa Mesa. Table and sea.
Who was your weirdest neighbour?
I can’t remember.
What was the most important record you owned?
Velvet Underground box set.
Where did the bad kids hang out?
Across the street.
Biggest fashion faux pas as a teenager?
Bad hygiene.
Who was your first celebrity crush?
Liv Tyler in Empire Records.
Describe your first kiss.
Under the water at the beach so our parents couldn’t see.
What happened the first time you got drunk?
I can’t remember.
What is the naughtiest thing you did as a suburban youth?
I used to steal my Grandma’s cigarettes.
What was the best party of your teenage years?
The entire month of March when I was 14, I got to travel unsupervised to Australia.
What’s your most embarrassing suburban youth memory?
I kinda always felt embarrassed.
What was the greatest lesson you learnt during that time?
Disregard judgment and try to remain respectful.
Who would you most like to see at a reunion?
My art teacher.
What was your first car?
1988 Oldsmobile station wagon.
What was your food of choice?
Nachos.
What was the biggest fight you ever had with your parents?
My parents were really open-minded, the first time my dad caught me sneaking booze he was pretty pissed, he tried to make me saw my surfboards in half to teach me a lesson.
What book/film changed your teenage life?
A Light In The Attic really turned me on, I also had a book of poetry and short stories by Richard Hell.
What posters did you have on your bedroom wall?
The Clash – Combat Rock, Nirvana – Nevermind, Joel Tudor.
Any hobbies you didn’t give up?
My hobbies have turned into my life.
What smell reminds you most of the suburbs?
Water on hot asphalt or pavement.
Huck 45 launches at Arcana Books, LA, this Saturday August 2, 4-6pm.
Latest on Huck
Tbilisi nightclubs to reopen for New Year’s Eve after 40-day strike
Dancefloor resistance—Georgian techno havens including BASSIANI and Left Bank have announced parties tonight, having shuttered in solidarity with protests against the country’s government.
Written by: Isaac Muk
Why did 2024 feel so unreal?
Unrest & Stagnation—With unending mind-boggling news stories, the past 12 months have felt like a spiral into insanity. Is AI to blame or a hangover from the pandemic? Newsletter columnist Emma Garland digests the mess.
Written by: Emma Garland
The party starters fighting to revive Stonehenge’s Solstice Free Festival
Free the Stones! delves into the vibrant community that reignites Stonehenge’s Solstice Free Festival, a celebration suppressed for nearly four decades.
Written by: Laura Witucka
Hypnotic Scenes of 90s London Nightlife
Legendary photographer Eddie Otchere looks back at this epic chapter of the capital’s story in new photobook ‘Metalheadz, Blue Note London 1994–1996’
Written by: Miss Rosen
The White Pube: “Artists are skint, knackered and sharing the same 20 quid”
We caught up with the two art rebels to chat about their journey, playing the game that they hate, and why anarchism might be the solution to all of art’s (and the wider world’s) problems.
Written by: Isaac Muk
The Chinese youth movement ditching big cities for the coast
In ’Fissure of a Sweetdream’ photographer Jialin Yan documents the growing number of Chinese young people turning their backs on careerist grind in favour of a slower pace of life on Hainan Island.
Written by: Isaac Muk