Goth Life: Connor Sanders

Founder of York metal night Northern Extremity, President of the Uni of York’s metal society and student historian, Connor knows his style. And it’s metal, […]

September 16, 2016
5 min read
Founder of York metal night Northern Extremity, President of the Uni of York’s metal society and student historian, Connor knows his style. And it’s metal, in case you hadn’t noticed.

Who or what are your style inspirations?

I’m not sure if I could name one definitive inspirational person. Obviously, a lot of what inspires myย style are metal musicians and the style that goes with being a fan of metal music. I like to customise aย lot of my clothes and will often cut off sleeves, sew onย patches and shove spikes through it to make allย of my clothing a little bit more unique.

Whatโ€™s your favourite go-to outfit?

To be honest, it completely depends on the weather. As I’mย writing this I’m wearing a Sathamel t-shirtย which I’ve cut up and customised, some Metal Militia shorts and Doc Marten boots. That’s a standardย “it’s too fucking hotโ€ย outfit. Generally I will wear combats or ripped up jeans, some chunky militaryย boots and a band t-shirt. If the weather is a bit shitย I’ll wear a band hoodie and a ripped and spikedย cut-off patch jacket if I’m feeling especially metal. I customise a lot of my own clothes and like makingย things sleeveless so itโ€™s not as hot in the summer (also lets me show off my tattoo sleeves, which isย always fun).

Which brands are you loving at the moment?

In all honesty, I don’t really pay that much attentionย to alternative clothing brands. The majority of theย t-shirts that I own are some form of band merchandise usually from some underground band, orย merchandise from the UKEM Records store. I’m a big fanย of UKEM as it promotes the Britishย underground extreme metal scene and has a lot of decent bands on its roster. I do however, have aย fair amount of Killstar and some Blackcraft clothing,ย which is not only comfortable but looks sexy asย hell. Misanthropy Clothing and Lambs of Rot also have some really nice stuff which isnโ€™t as clichรฉ asย the other two. Apart from that, the majority of my clothing is entirely band t-shirts or hoodies. Iโ€™mย really just not a stylish person.

How did you get into booking bands and organising Northern Extremity?

I’ve always been into supporting local or underground bands. Having previously been in bands myself, I know how annoying it can be to put in time and effort to write music which is good, but not have theย place to showcase your music to anyone. I always sayย that every big band that people listen to onceย started out as a local band, and I think that the underground scene in the United Kingdom is goingย from strength to strength, but suffers a lot because people donโ€™t necessarily know about gigs orย attend local gigs anymore. As President of the University ofย York metal society, I thought that theย metal scene in York was pretty dire (the only other guysย I know who organise local and undergroundย metal nights are the wonderful folk over at Jorvik Underground) and I wanted to do something toย improve it and give the people who want to listen to extreme and local bands the chance to do so atย least once a month.

How do you feel about the state of alt menswear at the moment?

Itโ€™s all pretty much the same with the big alternative brands. Pentagram this, Oujia board that, maybeย an ironic cat t-shirt or a quote about burning churches. That or it just looks like someone vomited anย entire occult grimoire of esoteric symbols onto a shirt. There is certainly a lot more which can be doneย with womenโ€™s clothing in regards to differences between stylesย โ€“ย I feel that men are somewhat limitedย in what they can realistically wear. That being said, Iโ€™m quite happy to go around in combats, a t shirtย and boots and prefer wearing clothes which are more subtle and not as in your face, so it doesnโ€™tย really affect me too much.

Do you think more could be done?

Definitely. Especially in terms of formal wear. I love wearing suits but it would be interesting to see aย more alternative take on them, apart from the usual Victorian-esque gothic clothing or Steampunkย style stuff. Donโ€™t get me wrong, I absolutely love both of those styles,ย but I think a more modernย interpretation wouldnโ€™t go amiss, something which one could actually wear to a formal event and notย lookย tooย amiss.

Do you ever struggle with body image? If so howย do you deal with it?

I would love to be able to say no I don’t but that would be a lie. I think that the dominant presentationย of masculinity within the mainstream media (and indeed, even in some more alternative circles) as aย muscular, bearded beast puts a lot of pressure on guysย to try and live up to these expectations. I’veย got a rather more athletic than muscular build, but every time I catch myself in the mirror I think aboutย how my arms and chest could be a little bigger or myย abs a little more defined. I think that any guy (orย girl) who said they didn’t feel under any sort of pressure with regards to their body would be lying.

The rise of social media and the way that these “ideal bodies” are always present within day to day lifeย through advertisement is unhealthy for our mental wellbeing; as not everyone has the time nor theย means to go to the gym and dedicate themselves to achieve these goals when other things are goingย on in their life, and they can often be generalised as lazy or weak and undetermined for not doing so.That being said, to deal with these body image issues Iย just think, there is so much more to life thanย gaining muscle mass, and at the end of the day we all only live once, so just embrace the body youย have, and if youโ€™re not happy with it, work on it until you are!

Does your interest in Vikings/history in general influence your style at all?

An interesting question. I am studying predominantlyย Anglo-Saxon and Viking history at the Universityย of York and I’m looking to continue my studies and complete an MA and PhD eventually, so it doesย have an influence on a lot of aspects of my life. Likewise,ย my involvement with the Thegns of Merciaย means I have a whole medieval set of clothing hanging upย in my wardrobe.

I would say that it definitely does, my first tattoo sleeve is based upon the Norse myth of Ragnarรถk,ย where the Gods shall die and the Earth will be burnedย and drowned, and within my sleeve you can seeย various references to Odin, Huginn and Muninn, Jormungandr, Fenrir and Viking symbolism. Likewise,ย my other sleeve is based upon Anglo-Saxon history and features the Sutton-Hoo helmet, anย interpretation of a Saxon mead hall and a lot of warriors and forests. Finally, my chest-piece isย primarily made up of Anglo-Saxon futhorc, the writing style used before Old English was developed, andย spells out “Hold the Heathen Hammer High”. My chest alsoย contains the ร†gishjalmur, which is a 16thย century Icelandic sigil meant to inspire terror in your enemies.

Apart from my tattoos, I very rarely wear anything medieval based outside of a living historyย environment. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love dressing up and re-creating an Anglo-Saxon or Viking warrior, but I think if I was walking around York in chain mail and furs all the time I’d get some rather funny looks. I always wear a non-historically accurate Mjolnir (Thorโ€™s Hammer) pendant around my neck, but that stems from a religious perspective rather than a historical one.

You can follow Connor’s Instagram here, and the Northern Extremity Facebook Page here.
DarcieRae

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