Paddle Against the Flow: Lessons on Life from Doers, Creators, and Cultural Rebels

By Huck Magazine and Douglas Coupland

Nas on language, Cat Power on looking inward, Spike Jonze on loving what you do, and Kim Gordon on feeling the flow. These are just a few of the indie stars and surprising insights collected in this gorgeous book by Huck magazine. Since launching in 2006, Huck has been at the vanguard of London's thriving independent publishing scene and has grown into an internationally distributed bi-monthly, with editions available on newsstands in 20 countries worldwide. Bringing together the best insights from over 60 of the most inspiring people Huck has spoken to over the years—along with exclusive photography and art that has come to embody Huck's distinct aesthetic—this book presents a diverse range of truths, creative wisdom, and life lessons from those who paddle against the flow.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Chronicle Books Digital
• Release date: Mar 3, 2015
• ISBN: 9781452146157

Huck Magazine

Huck magazine roams the globe to document grassroots counterculture as it unfolds, seeking out freethinkers who are a wellspring of new thoughts and ideas. Based in the UK, they also have an office in San Francisco.

Book preview

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to the millions out there who have thrown out the rulebook, defied authority, and challenged the way things are to dream and try to make something different. The Huck Finns, Mos Defs, Spike Jonzes, Thoreaus, Zapatas, and Snowdens of the world. Everyone, really, who looked at the structure — restrictive, oppressive, and full of shit — and thought, Fuck this, and instead chose to make it happen for themselves, refusing to be civilized while carving their own path to expression — and, ultimately, to freedom.

Have you ever paddled against the flow?

If so, this book’s for you.

— Vince Medeiros

Founder, Huck

Copyright © 2015 by The Church of London Publishing.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

Page 146 constitutes a continuation of the copyright page.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available.

ISBN: 978-1-4521-3806-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4521-4615-7 (epub, mobi)

Designed by TCOLondon

Chronicle Books LLC

680 Second Street

San Francisco, California 94107

www.chroniclebooks.com

CONTENTS

012_ FOREWORD

016_ INTRODUCTION

LIFE

022_ Douglas Coupland

024_ Kelly Slater

026_ MCA

028_ Cheryl Dunn

030_ NAS

032_ Mike Mills

034_ Cat Power

036_ Shaun White

038_ Lance Bangs

040_ Shaun Tomson

042_ Tony Alva

044_ Bob Burnquist

WORK

048_ Rivers Cuomo

050_ Spike Jonze

052_ Geoff McFetridge

054_ Alex Knost

056_ Harmony Korine

058_ Robert Rodriguez

060_ Kim Gordon

062_ Ralph Steadman

064_ Kurt Vile

066_ Beck

068_ Henry Rollins

070_ Mark Gonzales

072_ Miranda July

074_ Julian Casablancas

076_ Larry Clark

078_ Werner Herzog

080_ Mike D

082_ David Byrne

PEOPLE

086_ Dave Eggers

088_ Thomas Campbell

090_ Ed Templeton

092_ Shepard Fairey

094_ Chuck Palahniuk

096_ Pharrell Williams

098_ Stacy Peralta

100_ Don Letts

102_ Tommy Guerrero

104_ Ben Harper

106_ Vincent Moon

108_ Ben Gibbard

110_ Alex Gibney

112_ Boogie

CHANGE

116_ Mos Def

118_ Kalle Lasn

120_ C.R. Stecyk III

122_ Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

124_ Talib Kweli

126_ Swoon

128_ Greil Marcus

130_ Penny Rimbaud

132_ Slavoj Žižek

134_ Dave Rastovich

136_ MIA

138_ Eddie Vedder

140_ Ai Weiwei

142_ Ian Mackaye

144_ Judd Apatow

146_ BIOS

154_ THANK YOUS

FOREWORD

ON ADVICE

By Douglas Coupland

Reviews for Paddle Against the Flow

[eo206 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a nice hard cover book with photographs of various actors, athletes, business people, musicians, activist, etc. with quotes and advice about life.I appreciate the author's attention to diversity. This makes a really nice coffee table book.

[sduff222 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

First off, this is a beautifully designed book. Chronicle is a publisher who really cares about their book design and feel. This book is basically a book of photos & illustrations of hip famous people paired with a quote from an interview with said hip famous person. The quotes are loosely sorted into categories, but it all starts to blend together when you're reading. The quotes are decent, but they just make me wish this were a book of full interviews, instead of single lines. However, this would make an excellent graduation present!

[modlibrary · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a well-designed little book with words of wisdom from a variety of iconoclasts and free thinkers. The photos and artwork are exceptional. A handy reference guide at the end of the book is useful to familiarize the reader with any unknown artist. This would be a great gift for a graduate to give to their parents to let them know why they are taking an untraditional path.

[swensonj-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I received this book from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.Perhaps I'm not the target audience for this collection of "lessons on life," but I don't find myself especially inspired by a headshot of someone of whom I've never heard (for example, skateboarder Stacy Peralta), illustrating the following advice:You can't skateboard well without having some sort of an open mind because the whole act of skateboarding is overcoming obstacles. (p. 99)Even though the editors have specified the moral of this story ("Break down walls"), I think my life will go along pretty much as it was before.

[mtbearded1_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

37 of 75 for 2015. This collection of aphorisms on living is subtitled “Lessons on life from doers, creators, and cultural rebels.” That pretty much sums it up. I sat down and read the entire collection in one sitting, but that’s not the way this book should be read. I would say this is a book to keep on your desk top, or next to your bed, wherever you keep those books you want to consult for inspiration on a daily basis. I had never heard of Huck Magazine before receiving this volume as part of Librarything’s Early Reviewers Program, but I will be looking for the periodical in the future. Taken from interviews that the magazine’s contributors have submitted, the texts in this volume are short, pithy, and well worth a second (or third) thought. Take this as an example, from Photographer Cheryl Dunn. “It’s good to make your mistakes while you’re young and not afraid. But you should never be afraid to make mistakes. Light moves at the speed of light. People forget the mistakes. Just keep making.” Having read that, I now want to know more about Cheryl Dunn. I would like to read the whole interview (because surely those five sentences are not the WHOLE interview). And there are fifty-nine of these bits of wisdom in the collection. Some of the people quoted are well known: Judd Apatow, Werner Herzog, Chuck Palahniuk, Dave Eggers. Some I’ve never heard of: Swoon, Boogie, Ed Templeton, C.R. Stecyk III. But all have something to say, something worth attending. There are times I receive a book from the Early Reviewers Program and I wonder what in the review caught my eye. This is one of those books, but, in a bit of serendipity, this is a book I will keep by my side and refer to again and again. Highly recommended!

[john.cooper · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I received this book as part of the Early Reviewers program, and you should keep in mind that I may not be the intended audience for this book, being neither a skateboarder, surfer, or snowboarder: creative artists whose comments and advice feature prominently in the book. In fact, I admit that I don't understand how riding a board qualifies as creative art, and so I'm confused about the presence of these people among more acknowledged creatives like Ai Weiwei, Miranda July, and (my hero) Werner Herzog. I will say that their words fit in well with the words of the others. Everybody in this book gets a sentence or two, and that's it. Some of them are thought-provoking ("You cannot change people but you can change the system so that people are not pushed into doing evil things." — Slavoj Žižek) but many of them are trite ("Everything takes time — the only way to get things done is to do it. It can be overwhelming, but the key is to set goals and take it one day at a time." — Bob Burnquist). You can flip through, see the interesting photographs, and read all the quotes in less than an hour.The problem with advice is that what worked for one person may not work for another. Too many of these quotes seem to be about the particular experience of the speaker. ("Music changed my life. It gave me a new vocabulary to negotiate my feelings." — Nas; "There's no limit to what you can do on a skateboard. It's freedom. It's independence. It's acceleration." — Tony Alva) This is a beautiful book—the photographs are fine, and the feel of the cover and pages is delicious — but it's a slight one. It gets three stars from me, not two, because it doesn't really pretend to be more than what it is: a small book of little sayings by the heros of the found of Huck magazine.

[grinningsybil · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A nice coffee table book - easy to pick up, absorb something, and put down. Each entry consists of a portrait and quote by someone Huck magazine has identified as a member of DIY culture. It is really heavy on skateboarders and surfers and is overwhelmingly male. Seriously, out of 59 entries, 6 are women. If it were more balanced, I would recommend it to everyone I know.

[hjstorm · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This collection seems like a stereotypical gift book to me, perhaps good for a graduation gift for someone who likes outdoor sports etc. The design (look and feel) is quite nice for a collection of quotes, and as with all osurces of inspiration, your mileage may vary.

[ferness_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Meh. This was a disappointment, even as a coffee table book. Even though a great many of those quoted in this book are some of my favourite entertainers and/or creative people, the execution of this publication was a yawn - I was hoping I'd at least get a couple of good quotes out of it, but no such luck. Frankly, I think this would have been better executed as a website (which may have been the original format anyway).