Wilderness and solitude have always been two things that really resinated with me. As a kid growing up in rural upstate NY I had the privilege of having the forest surrounding us and quite literally in my back yard. This is something we as kids took full advantage of, spending hours and hours amongst the thick overgrowth, building tree houses, forts made of sticks and playing army. As the years went by I put down the wooden toy army rifle but continued to spend a lot of time in the wilderness on my own, hiking, camping and exploring. My appreciation for wild places grew with every trip and experience. As I got older and moved away from upstate NY and found myself living in Dallas TX I realized I was trying to convince myself that I was a “city boy” who just happened to grow up in the countryside.
I spent a few years trying to live the city life but never felt at home. I longed for the mountains, lakes and rivers of my youth and I never lost my desire for the wild places still left untouched by man. I had to escape.
As someone who grew up in the radical hardcore punk community I learned quickly that humans are like a cancer on the earth. On an industrial scale our short term plans of conquest for our planet left me doubting whether we would have any wild places left in 50, 60, or 100 years from now. As someone who follows a strict life free of drugs and alcohol and abstaining entirely from animal products I have felt outcasted amongst society for the better part of my life. As someone who would describe themselves as one of the most social anti-social people you will ever meet I prefer the comfort of solitude away from people and feel at home in nature.
When I came up with the concept for our “Solitude” design which released this past December I had all of the above in mind. Our designs all have a meaning and we try our best to encase our beliefs in what Outcast Agenda creates. We hope that you can connect to this design and that it holds the same strong meaning for you that it does for us. Enjoy!
