From Hipster to Hipster Doofus. The latest essay by Breakaway GM Andrew Young

FROM HIPSTER TO HIPSTER DOOFUS:

Examining recent demographic trends through the lens of the bike messenger

Here at Breakaway I spend a lot of time hiring, firing, and otherwise poking fun at a group of young, educated New Yorkers I call the “hipster doofus” demographic. Since this term is being bandied about so much and used as a catch-phrase for viewers of the Travel Channel series “Triple Rush” I think a closer examination might be needed in order to define and place this group in its proper context.

Firstly, where does this crazy term come from? The first time I remember hearing the phrase was in a Seinfeld episode when Elaine referred to Kramer as a “stupid hipster doofus”… it was the episode where she thought she had acquired rabies and was foaming at the mouth.

The term stuck in the back of my mind for years but really crystallized in the middle of the last decade when a parade of twenty-something messenger applicants started streaming into our office straight out of the new messenger culture scene that sprung up under our radar. They were usually covered in ink and uttering ironic intonations as a cover for what I perceived as their deeper vulnerabilities as a group.

I started referring to them as hipster doofuses. For me the moniker was an affectionate, yet mocking term of derision. But as I thought further about it over time, I realized, who was I to mock them? Wasn’t I a hipster doofus when I moved to New  York and became a messenger? And wasn’t I still a 40 year old man-child myself, and really, what is a hipster? What is a doofus? And who then becomes a hipster doofus? What is special about this current generation of young New York arriviste that makes them worthy of such gentle, yet real scorn?

Let’s pivot now into a more serious examination of the issue by breaking down the term into its component parts and placing this demographic into the firmament of the broader cultural moment.

A hipster in its original incarnation in the post-war period might be defined as person of transgressive, culturally edgy taste, who is alienated from the American mainstream and wears his outrage on their sleeve. We might think of the “Beat” poets, or writers such as Jack Kerouac as hipsters as well as the partisans of the early folk scene. They were makers, not followers of trends. A hipster lived in Greenwich Village when that choice said something about you and although the term as applied to them by contemporaries contains a whiff of condescension it also had a dose of fear and envy. The point is that however they were viewed by their peers the hipsters themselves were unconcerned, Indifferent and did not take it as an insult.

However, over the last ten years the term has morphed into a generic rubric to tag young, upper middle class urban denizens as a type of lightweight phony artistic wannabe who will soon have to face reality and “grow up”.  These modern hipsters might self-consciously deny the name when called on it. The application of hipster has become an insult.

A doofus by contrast, whatever the obscure origins of the term, has clearly always been pejorative in intent. I take it to denote a rube, or a hick, a person with no self awareness of their backwoods demeanor, ripe for the picking once spotted lost in the big city. Is it now possible to assign to this person, even in the hyphenated sense, the name hipster? It is surely a doubling dammed invective. For the purposes of this essay though and in the world of the bike messenger I make a distinction in my usage between hipster and hipster doofus.  

Let’s try to explain these graduations by taking note of one long-term, and one more recent societal trend. Since the 1980’s and particularly over the last 10 years there has been a striking, and growing inequality in American society between the wealthiest one or two percent and a fast shrinking middle class. How many of us in our 40s and 50s have said to ourselves, “I don’t know if my children will do better or even as well as me”. This disturbing notion is now coupled with more recent and even direr phenomena: Here is a quote from Paul Krugman’s blog at the New York Times explaining recent research by the San Francisco Fed, “…showing that recent college graduates have experienced a large rise in unemployment and sharp fall in full-time employment, coupled with a decline in wages.” How does a bike messenger in New York fit into this story and why would it make him or her a hipster or a hipster doofus?

New York in my lifetime has become a much more expensive place to live for young recent graduates or artists. The cost of living for a working bike messenger 20 years ago compared to wages was much lower enabling an artist/messenger or a musician/messenger to easily earn a living while maintaining an outlying cultural status.

Today this same artist or musician is squeaking by in New York by working more hours at low wage work or more hours as a messenger. But they are just as often being subsidized by their parents into their late 20s and early 30s. Who can blame these parents? Who would not do the same? The cost of living versus the available jobs does not add up anymore. And what will happen to them when this cushion finally is drawn down?

The riddle of the hipster doofus is thus solved: A hipster may be an artist manqué but if they are supporting themselves they are no doofus. A hipster doofus is a person who may be culturally transgressive but whose sense of self awareness and independence has atrophied by their reliance on family at a later age. This is a societal construct and not a personal flaw.

By this logic I absolve them of their perceived innocence since I would be riding their bike under different circumstances.  

Interesting study shows athletes can focus brain better then non-athletes

This easily applies to the world of the bike messengers

How Sports May Focus the Brain

By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS

Thomas Barwick/Getty Images

Who can cross a busy road better, a varsity wrestler or a psychology major? That question, which seems to beg for a punch line, actually provided the motivation for an unusual and rather beguiling new experiment in which student athletes were pitted against regular collegians in a test of traffic-dodging skill. The results were revelatory.

For the study, published last week in The Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, researchers at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign recruited 36 male and female students, ages 18 to 22. Half were varsity athletes at the university, a Division I school, and they represented a wide variety of sports, including cross-country running, baseball, swimming, tennis, wrestling, soccer and gymnastics. Some possessed notable endurance; others, strength and power; and still others, precision and grace.

The rest of the volunteers were healthy young collegians but not athletes, from a variety of academic departments.

All showed up at various times to a specially appointed lab, where a manual treadmill was situated amid three 10-foot-square video screens. One screen stood in front of the treadmill, with the others at either side. Donning goggles that gave the video images on the screens depth and verisimilitude, the students were soon immersed in a busy virtual cityscape.

When the immersive video began, the students found themselves plopped into an alley between buildings. From there, they were instructed to walk toward a busy street and, once they’d arrived, gauge oncoming traffic. The virtual cars whizzed by in both directions at daunting speeds, between 40 and 55 miles per hour.

When it felt safe, the students were to cross the road. They were told to walk, not run, but had a limit of 30 seconds from the time they left the alley. In some attempts, they had no distractions. In others, they listened to music through headphones or, emulating a common campus practice, chatted on a cellphone with a friend. Each volunteer attempted 96 crossings.

Success varied. “Over all, there was an 85 percent completion rate,” in which students made it to the other side of the road without incident, said Laura Chaddock, a graduate student at the university and lead author of the study. Failure meant impact — thankfully virtual.

The student athletes completed more successful crossings than the nonathletes, by a significant margin, a result that might be expected of those in peak physical condition. But what was surprising — and thought-provoking — was that their success was not a result of their being quicker or more athletic. They walked no faster than the other students. They didn’t dash or weave gracefully between cars. What they did do was glance along the street a few more times than the nonathletes, each time gathering slightly more data and processing it more speedily and accurately than the other students.

“They didn’t move faster,” said Art Kramer, the director of the Beckman Institute and a leader in the study of exercise and cognition, who oversaw the research. “But it looks like they thought faster.”

René Marois, the director of the Human Information Processing Laboratory at Vanderbilt University, who was not involved with the experiment, said, “This is a very interesting study.” The fact that the athletes displayed no outsize physical coordination during the crossings “was surprising,” he wrote in an e-mail. Upon reflection, he added that the finding did have a certain intuitive logic. “To the extent that athletes, in their sport, must routinely make split-second decisions in often very complex environments (e.g., whether to pass or kick the incoming soccer ball), it would make sense to me that they would have superior skill sets in processing the fast-paced information to successfully cross the street.”

Interestingly, though, until this study, no experiment had looked at whether being adept at sports would translate into success at a real-world everyday task like crossing the street. Most studies have more narrowly examined whether and why expert athletes are good at athletic things. A study published last month by researchers in China, for instance, found that professional badminton players, when shown video clips of a match, could predict with uncanny accuracy where the shuttlecock would land. While watching the videos, they also displayed considerably more electrical activity in brain areas associated with attention and memory than recreational players did. Playing elite badminton had made them better able to anticipate what would happen during badminton play.

Would the badminton pros also be capable of navigating crowded city streets better than the amateurs? The new Beckman Institute study would suggest yes — and quite possibly because of similar brain responses. Although the Illinois researchers did not directly measure electrical activity in the volunteers’ brains, it seems likely, Ms. Chaddock says, that the constant multitasking and information processing demanded by athletics increases both the capacity of the athletes’ mental information processing systems and their speed.

Of course, it’s also possible that sports didn’t make the athletes better at information processing. Instead, they may have been blessed with naturally fine processing abilities and, as a result, became accomplished athletes. “I’d guess,” Dr. Kramer said, “that to some degree it’s both.” But, he added, the athletes handled the crossings better than the nonathletes, regardless of whether their sport required exquisite timing and tactical thinking — which strongly suggests, he said, that physical training does reshape the brain.

The researchers hope at some point to study that issue in more depth, but even now, the takeaway seems clear. Practicing a sport, whether it’s running, swimming, tennis or perfecting a back flip, may sharpen your concentration and increase your ability to dodge through a busy intersection without incident.

One caveat, though: keep cellphones pocketed. Listening to music didn’t increase the number of accidents, but chatting on a phone did, even for athletes. No amount of sports training, Ms. Chaddock said, seems likely to make walking and talking in traffic a wise move.

Breakaway Racing Team burning up the road in spring racing!

The Breakaway Courier Cycle Racing Team is off to a impressive start On March 5th Steve Kang won the CRCA Cat 5 race in Central Park. On March 12th Mike Hughes took two second places in the Branchbrook NJ spring series. Amazingly, Mike then got up early Sunday morning and took a win in the Cat 4 in the Bethel CN spring series.

Breakaway News Volume No. 16 Issue No. 3 March 2011

March Observances

As far as we can tell, this March is chock full of observances, religious and otherwise. Among them are: Purim, Ash Wednesday, and St. Patrick’s Day. On St. Patrick's Day please note that the parade down Fifth Ave. becomes a great barrier to cross for our couriers; not to mention wanton packs of teenagers cheerfully oblivious to the rhythms of commerce.

Mad! Mad I Say!

The tension is building. Partisans are meeting. A political revolution? No, it’s only March Madness coming. Like some seasonal fever that descends every year, March Madness infects our staff here at Breakaway HQ and results in endless arguments over who can shoot, dribble, coach, etc. Occasionally, during this time, we get some work done.

Le Package!

Breakaway leader RK has just come back from a trip to Paris, where he had a tête-à-tête with his French courier counterparts at Coursier. Last October, a French courier from Coursier, worked at Breakaway for a week and learned our best practices. RK visited Coursier and learned their best practices. It looks like a good business alliance, with a possible exchange program for our dispatchers and theirs. Sorry, we’re not taking any applications for dispatching now. Also, Coursier graciously declined our croissants from our local deli on 8th Ave.

Reality Bytes

It’s official; Breakaway’s stint on reality TV is slated to air in June on the Travel Channel. If you ever wanted to know how a messenger company operates but were too afraid to set foot in a messenger compound, now’s your chance. All you need to do is tune in to the Travel Channel. Check your local channel for times and listings. Popcorn is on you.

Weekend Work

In this economy people are working harder than ever and we’re no exception.  If you are burning the midnight oil and have to get that urgent package delivered on Saturday or Sunday, fear not, we are open on the weekends.  Our veteran weekend dispatcher Chris, aka Mr. C, awaits your call or web order.

Potholes a Go Go

One consequence of this brutal winter’s snow has been the proliferation of potholes. Formed more rapidly during times of low temperatures and picked open by plows, these urban booby traps have been responsible for many a pinch-flat by our couriers, not to mention a broken axle or two. Watch your step out there.

Stump the Band

Last month we asked why several countries banned the mailing of Valentine’s Day cards during the late 1800s. Answer: The cards were too racy and risqué. The U.S. Postal Service in Chicago rejected more than 25,000 cards during this period, saying they were not fit to be delivered via U.S. mail.

T-Shirt Question

Everyone associates the croissant with France, but what is its true origin? The first person to call Gil Ortiz with the correct answer will win a coveted Breakaway t-shirt.

Breakaway News Volume No. 16 Issue No. 2 February 2011

Love Is In The Air  

Red hearts, and pink balloons are starting to appear in Hallmark stores around the city, and that means only one thing: Valentine’s Day is coming. Nothing says love better than a gift of chocolate; except a gift of chocolate delivered by Breakaway courier! We’re not called Cupid’s deputies for nothing. Call us.

Post Filming Blues

A strange type of malaise hangs over Breakaway HQ. It’s the letdown that comes after the film crew leaves. When the Travel Channel was here filming us, it was a real rush. Let us tell you, having a crew filming your every move and recording your every utterance is incredibly self-indulgent. Now, they’re gone, our egos have deflated, and we are back to being mere messengers, dispatchers, and, well, mortals. We’ll have to settle for the rush of delivering your packages on time.

Comfort Food

Recently, a Five Guys Burgers opened up near Breakaway HQ. On the one hand, this is great, because it’s convenient. On the other hand, this is terrible, because it’s convenient. We find ourselves going there too much! They even have free peanuts. You can walk in, grab a bag of peanuts, and walk out. How about them nuts?!

Missing Out

Breakaway always prides itself on riding our bicycles to work. However, we do miss some stuff doing it. For instance, we missed out on Pants Optional Day last month, when hundreds of straphangers dropped trouser last month and commuted in just their skivvies. Of course, as we commute by bicycle, trousers are always optional for us. Show some leg!

Breakaway News Volume No. 16 Issue No. 1 January 2011

Happy New Year!  

2010 is in the rearview mirror, and 2011 is here. We hope everyone out there a joyous and safe auld lang zyne. We are happy to continue to be your service of choice as we enter the second decade of the millennium. Hard to believe we’ve been at this for close to twenty-five years! Thanks everyone!

Not Crazy; Eccentric

Often times, people think of messengers as grimy, poorly educated, down-and-outers who got a job riding their bicycles for lack of other skills. Nothing could be further from the truth. Breakaway is proud to have been the temporary employer of many people who’ve gone on to other things: art restoration, acupuncture, law school, book writing, Outward Bound, etc. That guy who delivers your next rush delivery could be the next Dr. Salk. Hey, we all have to start somewhere!

Do It Yourself

Cargo-bicycle messenger C.T. did something that a great many people have done; he dropped his keys down a sidewalk ventilation grate. Unlike most people, however, he did something about it. He lifted two 85 lbs grates, and jumped down the eight feet to retrieve his keys! Then, he lifted himself back up, replaced the grates, and was on his way in under 15 minutes. Now that’s what we call resourceful!

Opera on Wheels

Aside from being a hands-on, take charge kinda guy, C.T. is also an accomplished opera singer. He practices his arias and solos everyday while he’s out there on his cargo bike. If you ask him nicely, maybe he’ll perform a little snippet for you when he delivers.

Reality Bites

Ever really wonder what it’s like out there on the mean streets, pedaling for a paycheck? Now you can find out! The reality series (_______) is being filmed and is on the air, so now you can see what it means to pedal ones bicycle through the rain, snow, and pedestrians. Get the popcorn ready.

Get Organized

Well, you’ve survived the holidays, and are enjoying post New Year’s bliss. Only problem now is that you have a ton of stuff to store, and/or get rid of. No problem; call us to help out! Rent a messenger for the day to help sort, call our logistics center to help you store stuff, and use our truckers to help move the big ticket items. 

Breakaway News Volume No. 15 Issue No. 12 December 2010

Santa’s Li’l Helpers  

Ohhh…the weather outside is frightful! So, it’s really soooo delightful…to let Breakaway handle all of the heavy lifting this holiday season! Okay, okay, so the weather really isn’t all that frightful right now, but hey, who wants to do heavy lifting? If you need that roast ham, last minute toy, and or home-workout gym delivered, we’ve got you covered better than Rudolph has Santa’s way lit up.

Very Pavlovian

While trying to teleconference recently, we came across an interesting phenomena. Using the telephone headset a la Suzie the Time Life operator, made us lose our train of thought. We’re used to cradling the phone between our head and shoulder while typing up job orders! Although easier on the neck, the headsets made us feel like something was missing, and that shortwired our thinking a bit. Verrryyy interesting!

Log This!

According to Wikipedia, logistics is: “…the management of the flow of the goods, information, and other resources in a repair cycle between the point of origin and the point of consumption in order to meet the requirements of customers.” Hey, we thought we were just handling stuff! If you’d like us to handle your stuff, and maximize your repair cycles and points of maximum consumption, give us a call. You’ll be glad you did.

Smart Alec Phone

Modern cell phones may have become smart, but they still lack common sense. Our phone alerted us to a text message, then said it could not retrieve content, try again later. Might as well have said, “Yeah, I received your message, but I’m not going to give it to you, so there!” Silly  phone…

Dose of Reality

Now, for the first time ever, on a major cable network, reaching 100 million homes, it’s Breakaway Reality TV! For the next six weeks, a couple of Hollywood dudes are here filming us, because they thought we’d make, “Interesting” reality TV. Well, duh! We’re looking for customers intrepid enough to allow them to film our couriers making pick-ups and drop-offs at your premises. If you think that’s you, please call either Robert Kotch or Andrew Young. Be sure to present your better side. It’s your left.

Today's Reality Lyric

“Up on Housing Project Hill/It’s either fortune or fame/You must pick up one or the other/Though neither of them are to be what they claim…”

 Stump the Band

Last month we asked what infamous person ran in, and won, the Boston and New York marathons, only to be disqualified from both? Answer: Rosie Ruiz

 T-Shirt Question

Who is considered to be the last religious martyr in United States history and why? The first person to call Gil Ortiz with the correct answer will win a coveted Breakaway t-shirt.

Breakaway News Volume No. 15 Issue No. 11 November 2010

Whoops!  

Sharp eyed readers might have noticed that last month, we printed the answer to the trivia question right under the trivia question. Well, these things happen. Really, we just wanted to see if you were awake and on the ball. Yeah, that’s it, yeah…

Oven Stuffer   

November is here, and that means it’s that time of year when we commence stuffing ourselves silly (starting with Halloween’s candy). We want to wish all our customers a happy, safe, and pants-tightening holiday. Remember, if you have a last-minute emergency need for an extra can of cranberry sauce, we’ve got you smothered…er…covered.

Transparency

Fee, fi, faux world. It’s hard to believe anything these days, whether that be a politician or even your own eyes. Photoshop has become as much a verb as a noun, and CGI makes even film suspicious. Meanwhile, newspeak has crept into our national dialog, while propagandists pose as actual journalists. The only thing left to believe is that the Breakaway courier at your door, is actually taking your package, and will really get it there. We are real.

Overheard

Twenty-something #1: “I loved him, and we’re still friends, but something was missing, and we were moving in different directions.”

Twenty-something #2: Yeah, I know what you mean. Adam and I are still friends, but something was missing.”

Yet another true conversation heard by our messengers on the street every day.

Stow It, Willya?

It’s getting more popular, and we couldn’t be more proud. We’re talking about our warehousing and logistics service. We’ll take in your pallets, store your deliverables, and distribute them around the city by messenger, vehicle, and transporter beam. The last one still has kinks, though, so for now, stick with the first two options.

Phony Phone System

We doubt anyone noticed (how would one?) but we have a new phone system in place, that’s allowed us more flexibility than ever before. We can now take calls virtually from anywhere. For instance, we took all of last week’s calls while at the craps table in St. Tropez. So, call us for a run already, so we can justify this new-fangled system!

Stump the Band

Last month we wanted to know what the black and orange colors of Halloween signified. Obviously, we knew what they signified because we gave you the answer! As a result, we’ve fired W as our intern editor, and are sending him back to Texas.

T-Shirt Question

What infamous person ran in, and won, the Boston and New York marathons, only to be disqualified from both? The first person to call Gil Ortiz with the correct answer will win a coveted Breakaway t-shirt.

Breakaway News Volume No. 15 Issue No. 10 October 2010

Halloween  

Here’s hoping all of our customers, and their children, have a spooky and ghoulish Halloween this year. Our army of zombie messengers will deliver your dead flowers in as ghastly a manner possible, and can even bring you that extra gigantic box of candy for all the little creepies that will trick-or-treat your neighborhood. Boo!

The New Porsche  

Once again, Breakaway has been waaaaayyyy ahead of the trend. Need evidence? The New York Post reported recently that guys in their early forties aren’t dating supermodels and buying Porsches anymore. They’re buying expensive racing bikes to impress their wives. In many cases, the racing rigs have saved both marriages and waistlines. Heck, we could’ve told them that.

Fitness Equation

Alarmingly, the divide in this country between those who are fit and those who aren’t is widening precipitously. This can be expressed with the following equation:

Ph+it²/Ph+at² x BiKE/PedRev = (PH)it * (PH)at = it/at

                                  Spin * 4

(it/at)² = ia (intelligence artificial).

See? These things are understood better using quadratic equations.

Logical Logistics

It is a big thing and we rock at it. We mean, of course, logistics. We can store skids-worth of your materials on site, and help to distribute them around the city when the time comes, either via lift-gate or bicycle messenger, saving you time, space, and money. Logically, it makes the most business and money sense. Our team of Vulcans in logistics are the best. Klingons need not apply.

Leaf Peeping

We love fall. The air turns crisp, the soggy, dog-day heat is gone, and best of all, the leaves catch fire. There’s nothing better than riding along (insert city appropriate path here) and enjoying the leaves turning color.

Streets to Suites

There was a time when being a bicycle messenger was the Job of Last Resort. You were down and out, you owed your buddies money, whatever, you had two choices: crime or messenger. Not so anymore. People move here from plush backgrounds in other states specifically to ride for Breakaway as a messenger. We’ve arrived, as they say. Now call us for a delivery, and help us give these kids something to do!

Stump the Band

Last month, we asked what sparked the most violent riots on the White House grounds in U.S. history? Answer: President John Tyler vetoes the creation of the Second Bank of the United States, sparking Whig riots.

 T-Shirt Question

 What is the significance of the colors orange and black for Halloween? The first person to call Gil Ortiz with the correct answer will win a coveted Breakaway t-shirt. (Orange = harvest, black = death)

Breakaway News Volume No. 15 Issue No. 9 September 2010

Back To School  

Times are tough, no doubt about it. Used to be, all you needed to bring to school were a notebook, and an apple for the teacher. Now, all you need is an "Apple notebook", and a whole slew of cleaning supplies so your child won’t bring home germs. However many supplies you need for your child, Breakaway can deliver them either by bicycle or lift-gate truck. How do you like them apples?! Oh, and if you need the lift-gate, try the next PTA meeting.

Fashion Wink 

September is here, and that means Fashion Week. Many of the biggest designer names unveil their spring collection in the early fall. This year marks a break with tradition, as Fashion Week will be moving from its traditional home at Bryant Park for Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center. Need a piece of fashion in a hurry? Our messenger will deliver it. Tastefully accoutered, with shaved legs, mauve bike shorts and polished body modifications, of course.

What’s In a Name?

We’ve had it. We’re done, through, and so over it! We’re talking about the new standard of addressing people by their first initial, and then a supercilious shortening of their family name. We’ve gone from admiring Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Wolf Mo for instance) to gossiping emptily about J Lo, LiLo, J Woww, A-Rod, K-Rod, and NimRod. We at Breakaway are taking a stand, right behind our leader RK, office manager AY and… uh, never mind.

The Big Scoop

It isn’t the most glamorous scoop, but one of our messengers was interviewed by Anderson Cooper recently, for a piece that will air on CNN (360?). Don’t know why they haven’t come sooner, as everyone knows Breakaway couriers are the most articulate and erudite, period.

City as Test Bed

Kudos to Breakaway mechanic and bicycle whisperer James Lao, who managed to fix our custom-built cargo bike frames with steel plate, some aircraft quality epoxy, twine and some strategically placed bubblegum. In all seriousness, the manufacturer in Montana called us to express their gratitude that we tested them to failure, saying that it would provide valuable data. After all, what do Montanans know about pot-holes?

Blech! This is Coffee?!

We went to Italy recently for vacation, for our own little Eat, Pray, Love, although in our case, it was simply Eat. One thing stood out to our addicted palates: the coffee was phenomenal! The coffee at Starbucks tasted burnt by comparison. So much so, that we swore Charbucks off. That lasted for all of about a week. We’re back on the sauce already.

Stump the Band

Last month we asked which Boston-born astronaut was the last of the Apollo era astronauts on active flight duty to retire. Answer: Story Musgrave.

T-Shirt Question

What sparked the most violent riots on the White House grounds in U.S. history? The first person to call Gil Ortiz with the correct answer will win a coveted Breakaway t-shirt.