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    Now reading: newcastle’s coolest kids, straight up

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    newcastle’s coolest kids, straight up

    As we continue to explore what it mean to be northern in 2017, we meet the cool kids of Newcastle to find out what makes them tick.

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    Newcastle youth photography: a couple in front of a carousel

    Callum Casey and Sarah Nessfield, 19 and 20

    What do you do?
    Callum: I’m always up to something, be it music or having a bath.

    How would your friends describe you?
    Sarah: Odd.

    What is the best thing about being young today?
    Callum: Pretending to have been young in the 80s. Seems to be something people enjoy about 2017.

    What is the best thing about being young today?
    Sarah: Being able to learn about anything I want from a little rectangle in my back pocket. It can also make pizza appear at my door. Incredible!

    @postmodern_hell / @sadghost

    Newcastle youth photography:a couple together

    Callum Andrew Lowden and Chloe Robb, 28 and 22

    What do you do?
    Callum: Scent-maker, semi-enthusiastic baker, doodlist, cat therapist, firm believer.

    How would your friends describe you?
    Chloe: A fucking dreamboat.

    Who inspires you?
    Callum: Heathens and heretics.
    Chloe: FEMALES!

    What do you do for fun?
    Callum: Creation. Fornication. Howling.
    Chloe: I like surrounding myself with my nearest and dearest, plus a Long Island ice tea or two.

    @clowd_n / @cloeribb

    Newcastle youth photography: a white woman with short hair and a fringe

    Jade Sweeting, 30

    What was the last song that got stuck in your head?
    Cher, Turn Back Time.

    Who inspires you?
    Depends on my mood but… Corita Kent, Robert Rauschenberg, Patti Smith, Annie Sprinkle, Honey Lee Cottrell, Tee Corinne and Phyllis Christopher.

    What is the best thing about being young today?
    BMX, skateboards and Push Pops.

    @jadesweeting

    Newcastle youth photography: a couple standing and sitting on concrete walls

    Jem Beaman and Lilly Thompson, 15 and 16

    How would your friends describe you?
    Jem: An alien.
    Lilly: A freak in the best way possible.

    Who inspires you?
    Jem: @fkatwigs @babi__boi @sadsalvia @sweetielucifer @godzdntdie @femme_enfant — after I saw these people it just showed me it was okay to be weird, it was okay to like weird things, and there are other people out there like you.
    Lilly: The French poet Arthur Rimbaud is my main inspiration, especially throughout his rebellious runaway teenage years in 19th century France.

    What’s the best thing about being young today?
    Jem: I like the fact that we are all connected through social media and that, although we are separate through distance, we can still communicate with others like ourselves who are out there.
    Lilly: How accessible it is to display and discover different art forms online.

    @geikoxen / @lillyy_pad

    Newcastle youth photography: a white woman smiling and sticking her tongue out

    Merran Tanith Steed, 21

    Where are you from?
    The 80s.

    What do you do?
    The romantic answer is that I am a visual artist called Sad But Rad, that makes satirical lo-fi clothing as self-portraits, and an aspiring model, but really I work in a tiki bar to fund half-baked ideas.

    What was the last song that got stuck in your head?
    Kane Strang, My Smile is Extinct. It’s candidly miserable.

    What is the best thing about being young today?
    Why today? Is it not just supposed to be great to be young?

    @merrantanithsteed

    Newcastle youth photography: a man sitting on a chair in some rubble

    Samuel Frame, 21

    How would your friends describe you?
    A real piece of shit.

    What was the last song that got stuck in your head?
    Cool answer: L’ImpĂ©ratrice — Sonate Pacifique
    Real answer: Gus Dapperton — I’m Only Snacking

    Who inspires you?
    Most people inspire me, as long as they’re not despicably mean. Or, Bob Dylan/ Dylan Rieder/ Julian Casablancas.

    What do you do for fun?
    Skateboarding and playing music are my main ways of staying happy. I enjoy good conversation.

    @_telegramsam

    Newcastle youth photography: a woman with curly hair and a choker

    Shay Ross, 18

    How would your friends describe you?
    “You’re a fucking unicorn!” and, “You must be an alien!” Both statements are indeed correct.

    Who inspires you?
    Alone time inspires me. We all need it. Taking time to listen to yourself, look at your own footprint, who you are within it, why you represent what you do.

    What is the best thing about being young today?
    The coolest thing about being young today is that I’m being accepted. Not necessarily by everyone, but by people I admire, the people who I love and vice versa.

    @dragon__dreams

    Newcastle youth photography: a woman with a beret and red lipstick

    Stephanie Kate Grieve, 22

    What was the last song that got stuck in your
    Come on Eileen — Dexy’s Midnight Runners!

    Who inspires you?
    Vivienne Westwood — she’s a real pioneer of British style. One of her most famous quotes reminds me a lot of my own style, ‘I try to start without colour and then add to it. I think I am quite English when it comes to colour. It’s like our weather, I like to build an atmosphere.’

    What’s the best thing about being young today?
    Being able to travel. We can go literally anywhere at any time and we aren’t afraid to take advantage of that.

    @Stephaniekgx

    Newcastle youth photography: a man sitting on a fire escape with a skateboard

    Theo Akpofure, 23

    What do you do?
    My life revolves around skateboarding — has done for over 10 years and always will.

    Who inspires you?
    My friends and family, and anyone I know who has a dream, a business or a goal and shows the drive to want to succeed in life. Also pro skateboarder Rodney Mullen who inspired me to start skating.

    What do you do for fun?
    I like to take myself out for a hard skate and a chill cruise with the brothers, and between skating and working, hit the occasional funk and soul night for a bit of a boogie! I also produce music and I’m working on getting some new material for an album soon.

    @theoakpofuremodelling

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