Austin Hedges
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Austin Hedges is a notable member of the Straight Edge movement. Some of his works can be seen in the films Dark Planet: Visions of America and "I've got the Straight Edge". He is also a well-respected Mixed Martial Arts fighter and musician.
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[edit] Straight Edge
During his sophomore year in high school in the small town of Santa Maria, CA, Austin found himself in a crowd of people involved in a counter-culture that he had never experienced before. This counter-culture was Straight Edge. Austin had been a long-time member of the "hardcore" scene, and many of his older friends had preached to him about living a clean lifestyle and being a part of an underground movement that had been born in the late 80's with some of his favorite bands. Years later, Austin is now considered to be one of the more influential members of the Straight Edge movement, especially in California and New York. He has been known to be very open about his feelings towards Straight Edge, and has often preached a Straight Edge lifestyle. While in high school, Austin got into many confrontations over Straight Edge. He was quoted as saying,
"When I was in high school, there were always those stupid kids who thought they were tough, and for some reason found it necessary to harass me about my Edge. It didn't really matter what else the kids said about me, but when they got into dissing Edge, things changed."
These situations with people who are anti-Straight Edge often turned violent. Austin felt that Straight Edge was looked down upon as a cop-out or weak culture by other people, but that changed nothing about his own personal feelings about Straight Edge, and possibly even made him more proud to be part of the counterculture.
"I flaunt my Straight Edge, and I'm proud of it. I wear it, I write it, I sing it. I really love Edge, it's plain and simple. Its a personal decison not to drink, smoke, or do drugs. To me its not a scene, its a lifestyle and a brotherhood. I personally dont do that stuff because I'm an athlete, and that stuff really slows you down. Oh, and it kills you... yeah... almost forgot that."
[edit] Controversy
Although the claims have never been supported or denied these claims, there is reason to believe that Austin has been involved in what is considered "militant Straight Edge" groups, AKA Straight Edge gangs. Austin has been known to associate with leaders of such Straight Edge "gangs" as FSU (Friends Stand United) and CXC (Courage Crew). Even more to suggest that Austin might be a leader of a Straight Edge "gang" were comments he has made in the past. He has been quoted as saying,
"I will do whatever it takes to end the drug trade in my neighborhood. I support the people, my friends, who also do whatever it takes. I grew up with some of those guys, and they never failed to impress me. People like to call us (Straight Edgers) 'pussies' or 'faggots', but that all changes when I introduce them to guys like ******* from FSU. Most of the ignorant kids I grew up with had no idea that there are things like Straight Edge gangs. I mean, the guys I know that are in Edge gangs are some of the scariest guys I've ever met, and if you disrespect them, you're in a world of hurt."
Austin has always advocated the idea of Straight Edge gangs, and stood by his friends who were associated with them. The Reno, NV police department classified Straight Edge as a gang after acquaintances of Austin's killed a teenage boy who was selling drugs.
"I personally don't think that my Edge brothers should be out beating people up because they are smoking or drinking. I think that we should let those people continue doing those things so they die quicker and we can move on, we want them to die, so let them kill themselves. What I do agree with is my Edge brothers removing drug dealers and pushers from their neighborhoods. I'm sick of seeing new kids every day get addicted to drugs that are going to kill them. We need to stop this, no matter what."
[edit] Films
The most famous of the media attention of Austin Hedges is the film "Dark Planet: Visions of America". This independent film was made to reflect 4 different subcultures in American life. Those cultures were the skinhead, black metal, Zealot, and Straight Edge movements. Illuminati Pictures approached Austin about doing the film, and at first he was skeptical. He felt that the film might portray Straight Edge as "just another violent gang, even though most of the Edge kids today have nothing to do with the few that are in 'gangs'."
Austin did eventually agree to be in the film. After the making of that film, another group of independent filmmakers approached Austin about doing another film. This one entitled "I've Got The Straight Edge". This film failed to reach the cult following like the Dark Planet films have, but has been given some minor praise in independent film festivals.
[edit] MMA
Austin has held an impressive MMA (Mixed martial arts) career. Starting from many street fights, Austin brought his talent in the ring. He fights in the Lightweight Division, and at over 6 feet tall, his reach advantage is tremendous. His fighting styles are Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Taekwondo, and freestyle Wrestling. His earliest competitions in martial arts began in the 7th grade, where Austin won numerous Taekwondo tournaments. He began BJJ sometime in the middle of high school. During his senior year, Austin sustained a broken hand playing football, which prevented him from doing high school wrestling his Varsity year. Austin has continued training in such things as kickboxing, boxing, and Muay Thai. Austin is yet to have a professional MMA career, but has made statements about having one in the future.
[edit] Style
Austin has a quite unique style that has set a trend for many of his friends. Typically, Austin can be found with similar outfits. He tends to wear: a New York Yankees New Era hat, a dog tag necklace that reads "Straight Edge", a band or fighting shirt, Kr3w jeans, and a relatively new pair of shoes. Austin is a collector of Yankees New Era hats and nice shoes. Although he is labeled as "hardcore", Austin owns many items G-unit and Eckō apparel, especially shoes.
[edit] Music
Austin says his "life has a tendency to revolve around two things: Straight Edge and music." Being known for having over 13,000 songs on his iPod, and his vast knowledge of music.
"I guess I mainly listen to things under the 'punk' genre. When I was younger, I was really into your typical punk bands like theSex Pistols and The Ramones. I really started to get into hardcore music in 8th grade with bands like Minor Threat and Sick Of It All. That true hardcore is what really helped me get into Straight Edge to begin with."
He began to fall in love with bands like Throwdown and Converge. He also had a time in his life where he was obsessed with the psychobilly genre (bands like Tiger Army, Nekromantix, and Mad Sin), but that phase passed. Austin is a devout AFI fan. Now, Austin mainly listens to the many different styles of hardcore, claiming that "Mathcore just might be my favorite genre."
Austin plays music himself. He started playing guitar when he was five. He moved over to bass when he was 13, and has continued to play both. Austin has an impressive collection of musical equipment. Some of the highlights of Austin's collection are: a 2001 Fender Jazz bass ("metallic sage" with upgraded DiMarzio pickups), a Prima upright bass, and a Gibson Les Paul. His amps are: 700-watt SWR Sound Corporation full stack, 400-watt Marshall Amplification full stack. His entire setup has been appraised at near $10,000. Austin is also a vocalist. He does some clean singing, but mainly is a screamer for hardcore bands. He is not currently involved in any bands or musical project, after having only minor success with projects like Altopuck and The Suspects.
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[edit] Note
This page is a collaborative effort, put by Team Empire and other outside sources. The information provided on this page was taken from an interview of Austin himself, his peers, and the people he has influenced. Austin Hedges does not run this page, so please do not contact us to talk to him. To add or remove something, please contact user: Straightxedge first. Thank you.
