Age: 27, New York
The Leader
Nathan has been an Outlaw Trendsetter for four years, participating in various clothing studies and sitting on several Gen Y panels for us at conferences. He is a serious young man, exuding a level of independence and confidence that makes him extremely aspirational to his generation. Here are selections from a 2008 interview with Nathan:
 
Job “I’m getting my PhD in Political Science at the New School, and working as a personal trainer at a gym to pay the bills. I like it because it’s flexible and pays well.”
Hobbies “I was never really into fitness but I then I got into track bikes. Track bikes are fixed gear road bikes with no brakes – they started among bike messengers but now it’s a whole culture, my girlfriend and I both have one. You really need to be in shape to ride them because you control the whole machine yourself – no gears, no brakes. I was attracted to it because it’s difficult but at the same time very basic. Track bikes basically define what I’m into right now: very rustic, simple, no frills.”
Favorite Brands “Levi’s. It’s classic, tried and true. A couple years ago I was all about buying super expensive jeans – first it was Seven, then it was Citizen, then we all needed to have Loomstate. Now it’s just like, screw it – gimme a pair of Levi’s. I think it’s a very soul-searching time, almost a revival of the early 90’s. People want what’s authentic rather than commercial.”
Past experiences “I got my masters in PoliSci at NYU, then began teaching at a high school in the Bronx through the Americorps program. I did that for a few years before deciding to go back to school.”
On new music “Searching for new music to listen to actually takes up a lot of my time. I mostly use the internet, looking at really obscure blogs to find bands that influence other bands. The big blogs like Pitchfork Media have been pissing me off so much lately, I can’t even read them anymore. They’ve taken so much good original music and made it mainstream. Everything on MTV now is a commercialized version of something that two years ago was on Pitchfork.”
Current trend in his world “A lot of my friends are turning to 16-year-old passions. Metal is suddenly big – we were all about indie music, dance kinda stuff, but now this very diverse group of people my age is rediscovering metal. Not just guys, either. Video games are also getting huge, especially since the Wii came out. Friends who I’d never expect to be into video games are suddenly into it. And me too – I actually went to the freaking launch of Grand Theft Auto. I couldn’t believe it.”