Not All There Is

Big fat Nike's is not all there is to this precious cause. We all love that shit, but we need to wake up to the fact: Activism > Aesthetics.

Won't Wash the X From My Hands

The edge is always questioned; that's just something every edge kid knows.

Today I hung out with an old friend; we talked about our current lives and talked about our problems and hardships. He said that he waits for the time I will change my mind and celebrate the old ways with a drink, just like it used to be.

I hope and believe from the depths of my heart, that this time will never come again. Straight Edge, baby!

One Constant

In this life, everyone needs a constant to hang on to and to use as a base and a source of strength. It can be family, friends, religion, material gratification, or even all of those things combined. More or less, most people chose the above. But strength can also come from a philospophy and a way of life. In a life where everything changes and you don't even know whether this very day is going to be your last, I am so glad I have found sraight edge to depend on. As the days, events and memories pile on, it feels awesome to have dealt with all in a sincere and unprejuidced way, with no crutches whatsoever. Shit happens of course, and not every day is filled with success, but I know I have straight edge to rely on: a bedrock of sober thought that guides the light through the dark tunnel that we call life...

Thank god for Casey Jones, representing straight edge hard in the 2010s... "I am these words so fuck you!"

Straight Edge is RnR

In a world where drinking, smoking and acting like wannabe rockstars is the norm, straight edge IS the rebellion. Some 31 years after its inception, you still can't beat this way of life... You still hate it and you can't really tell why. Maybe because you can't be it. It's all about the black sheep who gets ahead. We kept the good and we threw away the bad. Straight edge is rock n roll.

Smell Pot?

So a couple of days ago it was edge day, and we celebrated like we celebrate everyday: by staying radical and fucking sober. I am just glad that I can be here and say F*CK DRUGS and F*CK DRUG CULTURE. It's so simple and fulfilling!

The Few, The Proud & The Crucial

So today I did a bit of a revamp on this site, added a new background image and twiddled some other things here and there. I am constantly thinking of ways to better this site and make if a better medium for the vegan straight edge cause.

The above is not always easy, as I do another hardcore music zine (Take Your Shot) and I am just about to start a blog for the site of the vegan shop I am opening with my girlfriend. All that stuff can drain the amounf of things I've got to say sometimes. But still, I am convinced that a creative mind always finds new ways to use already existing things... we'll see.

As things turn out, this seems to become more of a personal blog, about how I see life being Vegan Straight Edge. For me that's ok, because I mean there are so many STRAIGHT EDGE VEGAN logos and banners I can upload up here before it gets boring. But at the same time, I am glad to know that some people have used the stuff I've put up on this site. Some people actually cared enough to distribute the VSXE message (made stickers etc) with stuff they found through Vegan Straight Edge Athens. So all that stuff is still up for the people who may want to use them, and I will continue to upload them from time to time.

What I am even more excited about is the fact that a lot people from Greece are checking this site out. I check the stats so I can verify that. Makes me think that maybe I should start writing in Greek altogether. Even if straight edge is still held in contempt in this country, people out there are at least interested and/or curious about sXe and veganism... So know that we're not going away!

Edge kids: Few and Far Between

Being away on holidays for a few days gave me a chance to reflect on what it is to be straight edge in this world. I was away from my friends who are edge and couldn't spend much time online checking out cool straight edge bands or listen to much straight edge music.

The reality of the matter is that this world is definitely NOT straight edge.. not even straight edge-friendly. We live in a world where the norm is to drink and/or smoke and that's that. And even though I know the aforementioned fact well enough, I always feel it more when I am out of context and away from my familiar surroundings.

Does this mean that I get jaded on being straight edge? Hell no!

What I realize is that people who are vegan and especially straight edge are really few and far between. I am not talking about the straight edge kid who does it for fashion or whatever, but about the true warriors who dedicate their life pledging to and promoting a clean lifestyle. Those who are really living it and are supporting it with passion.

I guess this is the reason why those "few and far between" people tend to create tight friendships no matter the distance or their background. If there is some unspoken brotherhood status to being edge, I am happy to claim it. STRAIGHT EDGE!

* by the way of the post's title I remembered (and listened to a few times) SHUTDOWN's awesome, super old school Few and Far Between album. Straight from the late 90s, real hardcore the way it should be played. If you don't have this classic and consider yourself a hardcore fan, do something to find this album! 

No Holiday Break from the Vegan Edge!

The nicest thing about being Vegan Edge in this mess age is that we take these values with me wherever we go. I feel good to have this support, to have worked on this and to be able and call it a part of myself. It's great to have strong, positive beliefs that see you through the day.... and I'm afraid most people in modern society don't go by this.  However, at the end of the day, it's our values and convictions that help us be strong - nothing else. I just feel bad for all the people who have nothing to count on aside their shallow, materialistic, empty lives, without anything to stand for.

So we might go on holidays, chill, interact with people of all kinds, but the values still remain like a diamond in the rough... Vegan Straight Edge!

Tellem

Last night we played live our new, *straight edge* song for the first time, and got a pretty good response from the crowd (250-300 drinkers and 3 edge kids). We also had an anti-drugs leaflet and A. spoke about it briefly before we played the song. He just said a few words about the fact that there are people who actually DON'T drink. Do kids even care about that stuff any more? Or do we just piss them off with our live clean stance? What we discussed with A. after the show is that even if most kids don't dig straight edge at all (for whatever reason), at least there is a presence that represents this lifestyle, that shows that kids like us are here and we are doing our thing. We're letting them know it's here. We gotta be bold, and grab the chance to tell people! STRAIGHT EDGE!

What Straight Edge Means to Me...

 

Many times I wonder what straight edge really means to me. It's not like I've been edge for such a crazy long time (compared to others) or that I haven't fallen off the edge in the past. It's nothing to be proud of but I'm human and have gone through many difficult phases like everyone else. Nevertheless, I've been edge long enough to talk about the differences it has made in my life. I try to stay connected with what made want to lead a clean life in the first place and try to maintain that without geting too carried away with what it will mean in the long run, or what it means for others, as long as I am having fun staying sober. Every day I deal with society's self destructive ways and peoples' weak, self-denying, addicitve behaviors and in a sense, it s what gives me the strength to remain clean. Maybe in that, I see a side of myself that I don't want to see no more. Every day I deal with the "why don't you drink in moderation like everyone else" and the "a beer or two can't hurt you". But then again  I realize how the stances we take are usually symbolic; they stand for something that is higher than us and this is what words like 'principles' and 'values' represent. I guess I  want to live in a way that is strong and positive and straightforward, and I want to go it all the way, not half-assed. This is just one of the many reasons I don't drink AT ALL and I remain straight edge each consecutive moment.

And this is my testimony. I'm gonna keep it clean and I am going to keep it loud and shout it out!