“I like style,” says Kuzmack. “I appreciate sort of standing out a bit, putting a bit more effort into what you’re wearing rather than wearing cargo shorts or something like that. I appreciate the sharpness of it.” Photo: Tyson Call
Every month, SLUG Style features a distinct and unique member of the community and asks them why they do what they do. Exploring more than just clothing, SLUG Style is an attempt to feature the people who give Salt Lake City flavor through personality and panache.
Nick Kuzmack has been a contributor with SLUG Magazine for the last two years. He’s a writer, journalist, marketer and self-proclaimed shitty bassist. He can often be seen haunting Salt Lake City’s record stores, and standing at above six feet tall, he is hard to miss. His sleek mod/rocker hybrid style caught the eye of SLUG, so we sat him down and made him talk.
Thanks to The Mandate Press for letting us use their beautiful building for these photos.
Click images for captions
“I like style,” says Kuzmack. “I appreciate sort of standing out a bit, putting a bit more effort into what you’re wearing rather than wearing cargo shorts or something like that. I appreciate the sharpness of it.” Photo: Tyson Call
“There is a perception that if you’re into this or you dress a certain way, you’re not professional, you’re just wasting away,” says Kuzmack. “I do marketing and I’m a journalist, but I still, you know, play hard.” Photo: Tyson Call
“There are always going to be those purists [in subcultures] who are like, ‘If you don’t look this, or you don’t listen to this music or you don’t do this thing then you’re not ______.’ I think that’s bullshit, that just feeds into a stigma—a narrow focus,” says Kuzmack. Photo: Tyson Call
“I think [my English heritage] is very much a part of me,” says Kuzmack. I was born in the States, but I’ve always gone back and forth between the UK and here. I very much feel like I was raised in an English house with English expectations. I mean—English breakfasts, a cup of tea every morning—even though that is a very generic … whatever, but it’s true. It’s what I do, and it is how I go about my everyday routine. I am very influenced by the music that came from there, and I’m interested in the style.” Photo: Tyson Call
“I’d say [my style] is a mix between mod style from the ’60s, with a mix of rocker and greaser style from the ’50s and ’60s and a lot of that ’70s punk look,” says Kuzmack. “I got these influences from the past, and that’s what influences how I dress. Granted, I don’t think everybody has to do that kind of thing—to each their own—but I definitely appreciate dressing up. I think it looks better.” Photo: Tyson Cal
“I got into punk when I was in high school and stuck with it,” says Kuzmack. “When I was 18–19, I went to England again but went to the Rebellion Festival and met a lot of different punk rockers and skinheads, many of whom were very professional back in their home countries or home towns. They did things that were important, like getting a master’s degree, or they were writers or artists or whatever. As I was always into it, that sort of made it like, you can be into this but be a professional at the same time.” Photo: Tyson Call
“You see it in punk; you see it in rock and roll—you see it in any real subculture,” says Kuzmack about defined clothing styles in music. “It is something that signifies, ‘That person is into that; I’m into that.’ That sort of thing. It is like record collecting as well. I collect records, and you see somebody at the shop buying the same thing, and you are like, that person has good taste—I want to be friends with that person.” Photo: Tyson Call
“Foremost, I’m a journalist,” says Kuzmack. “I do a lot of writing. I write for SLUG Mag, and I also write for a British publication called Heatwave. They’ve put me in their masthead as their senior U.S. correspondent, so that’s kind of fun. I do some marketing. When it comes to music, I DJ and I also am a really shitty bassist.” Photo: Tyson Call
“I think, if at all possible, buying secondhand is the best way to go about it—it’s the most ethical,” says Kuzmack. “I mean, obviously not everything I own is secondhand, but I do make it a point to try and get it secondhand. I think there’s an excess of stuff out there, and a lot of that stuff is cheap and not very good, You can get that stuff from Forever 21 or Urban Outfitters or whatever, and the quality of their material is crap, so I think it makes more sense to go to a thrift shop and get something of quality for less, than buying into a big corporation that most likely gets its stuff from overseas and pays its workers pennies on the dollar.” Photo: Tyson Call
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