Matt

City of Residence: Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Age: 20

Length of time in the scene: 2 years

Occupation: "Graphic designer/web designer"

Education: "Graduated from high school, attended Duke University for 1 ½ years. I decided abruptly in the middle of my third semester that I was bored with college, so I stopped going to class. In January, I packed up everything I owned and moved to Florida to become a full time computer geek. I now design web pages for a living."

Musical taste: "Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, Orbital, Sisters of Mercy, Skinny Puppy, Legendary Pink Dots, The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Smashing Pumpkins."

Distinctions in appearance: "No piercings, no tattoos, no cape. My hair is dyed a pretty unobtrusive shade of red. I dress differently than most people, but I don't subscribe to the overdone, Victorian ubergoth style that that people imagine is goth."

Hobbies, activities, interests: "Computers and everything computerized. Music, reading, pondering, trainspotting, clubbing (dancing, drinking, people watching, etc.), sulking."

Spiritual, philosophical, religious affiliation: "Born again atheist, full time nihilist. I spent most of my young life thinking constantly about religion, philosophy and spirituality. Then I realized it was all basically a lie, got bored, and stopped worrying about it."

Goals, dreams: "Enough time and space to think for long enough that I can actually figure out what it is I need to be happy. I want to taste everything, sample as much of the world as I can, and figure out just what the hell is going on."

Do you consider yourself gothic?: "Basically, I guess. Goths are characterized by a pessimistic outlook, warped romanticism, open mindedness, and an almost homely, honest sense of their own place in the universe. That's me to some degree. Plus, I like the style. It's largely who I am. I have something in common with these people. It's not like I just woke up one day and decided for some arbitrary reason that I wanted to be a Goth"

8/27/97