Once again, it was a fantastic month for reader mail. Missives came in all shapes and sizes from all corners of the globe. Some arrived in tubes from Portugal, others were scrawled on crushed milk cartons sent from Canada. Mostly, though, they came via email because, as we all know, email is the most convenient way to ask for free stuff.
Regarding the letters-to-reply-to selection process, I always look for genuine questions about the culture, interesting stories, and mail from people who are salty about something. This month’s mailbag didn’t disappoint.
Dear POSSESSED,
I see the overlords of Satisfy and, by extension, POSSESSED, making frequent references to DIY/punk/hardcore when describing the origins of and their vision for the brand. These references to our punk forebears is hard for me to swallow—whatever the musical equivalent of charging me $310 for a T-shirt is, I could not see Ian MacKaye doing that. I get that an ethical supply chain comes at a cost, and I have heard that Brice drops lots of company money to make races and events good for the crowds, but none of that changes the fact that Satisfy is a brand for the rich kids cosplaying as punx, or the broke ones fast enough to get sponsored.
Michael
Utah, USA
Hey Michael, let me ask you this: Is it ‘punk’ to buy a $50 t-shirt made from unsustainable fabric and manufactured in a questionable way? And by questionable, I mean children with bandaged fingers in a sweatshop. To quote the mighty Fugazi, ‘Never mind what’s been selling—it’s what you’re buying.’
—Ed
Dear POSSESSED,
I’ve been a runner for nearly fifteen years, and I’m really enjoying seeing running become so popular recently. But what I am not enjoying is seeing runners making every run into content for their socials. Whatever happened to just going for a run? Why is everyone suddenly making all this ‘content’? They’re turning my passion into a circus.
Olivia,
London, UK
Hey Oliva, I know what you mean. It’s getting pretty weird. But this is how trends go, right? Everyone jumps on board until everyone jumps off again. I guess the thing with running is that not everyone will jump off, but it will cool down eventually. For the moment, maybe you should take a ‘can’t beat ‘em—join ‘em’ approach and start runfluencing your nuts off too?
—Ed
Dear POSSESSED,
I have a problem where if I see another runner ahead of me on the street, I have to speed up and pass them. And heaven forbid someone should pass me because I just end up running as fast as I can to get in front of them again. I don’t know why I do this, but it’s unsuitable for my training because every run invariably becomes a tempo run. I’m not competitive in other parts of my life, but for running, I am a psycho. What’s wrong with me?
Filippo,
Perth, Australia
Hey, Filippo, maybe instead of passing people, you should catch up to them and try starting a conversation. This will ensure that you slow down, and you might make some new friends! Break the ice with opening lines like, ‘Hey, great pace you got there, guy’ or ‘Hi, I’m Filippo. Do you run here often?’ or ‘Hello. Would you like to be my friend?’
Good luck!
—Ed
