Audience Profile

"The ethos of the Tribe resolves around two core values – self-expression and individuality. Hardcore Kids are passionate about the Hardcore sound, a screaming genre of punk with severe tempo changes, double bass in the drums, and dirty chords from the guitarists (heavily distorted, tapping into any feedback and harmonic noises available!)  Tribe members will actively support independent record shops and local, homegrown bands.

Image is key to the Tribe, and the look is not so dissimilar to the Hipsters – think turned up skinny jeans, tight fitting band tees, plaid shirts and Vans. Tribe members will often have tattoos, showing their creative side through full-scale sleeves or individual flash pieces.  As Skin Deep columnist Paul Sweeney says, “Nothing shows commitment to self expression like custom tattoos and body modification.”"

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Influenced by the likes of Odd Future’s Tyler The Creator, it’s an aspirational Tribe for many young people – a lifestyle choice that touches on music and fashion. The explosion of skater brands on the high street, from Vans to Nike SB, has made the skater ‘look’ easy to access: think five panel caps, windbreakers and Emerica shoes. Documenting is an important part of the Tribe – filming skate sessions and uploading the footage on to high quality video sites, like Vimeo.

Local facilities play a role in supporting the scene, where councils invest in skateparks such as in London, Bristol and Northampton. As a result, Skaters will often have stronger ties to their local community and will actively support the scene – from local pro-skaters to independent skate shops. Older Skaters are very influential in the Tribe, telling younger members about the latest decks and clothing brands."

Emo is a Tribe defined by its music – short for ‘emotional’, the word ‘emo’ first appeared in NME in 1995. With origins in Washington DC’s 80s hardcore scene , big bands like Fall Out Boy, Bullet For My Valentine and My Chemical Romance now typify the scene. The latter’s recent break up has only served to cemented their legendary status amongst Emos.  Emerging Emo talent dominates the Kerrang! tours of today, with the likes of Black Veil Brides and Fearless Vampire Killers keeping the Emo ethos in chat rooms and the charts alike.

Typically a younger (16-19) tribe, the Emo look is familiar to even the least-youth-savvy. A distinct mix of Goth and Indie, think dyed black hair, eyeliner (for guys and girls alike) black clothing and Dr Martens. However, Emos aren’t restricted to the ‘Daria’ aesthetic; their proximity to other Alt Tribes like Scene Kids means hair dye jobs in red, blue and purple are huge – as are Skater brands.
Horror and darkness have long been associated with Emos – Buffy The Vampire Slayer anyone? However the popularity of magic, zombies and vampires over the last decade means Emos are now in close quarters to other young Tribes like Nerds and Fan Girls – Twilight in particular made it suddenly cool to like the dark side…

The focus on ‘dark’ music, fashion and outlook on life has meant Emos often receive ridicule from other Tribes and adults who deride Emo as an ‘attention seeking phase’. However self-harming and suicide is a real, lasting issue in the scene – forum usernames like ‘xXSilent-SuicideXx’ ‘Princess-of-Pain’ and ‘xSuicideBloodx’ are common. Emos are very active online and have a strong sense of community, and a new generation are successfully raising awareness of mental health issues, promoting movements such as ‘SIAD’ – Self Injury Awareness Day.



All information is from UK Tribes.