Growing up With the Sharpies | VICE | United States

Sharpies, or sharps, are the darlings of Australian gang fashion. They started out in the 1960s when groups of working-class teenagers in Melbourne, and to a lesser extent, Sydney, came together over cars, tattoos, fights, and “dressing sharp”. While US-style motorcycle clubs evolved around leather jackets, Australian sharpies defined themselves by Conny tops, Staggers jeans, and chiseled shoes. But like bikies, sharpies placed a similar value on loyalty asserted with violence.

Nick Tolewski was in his early teens in the late 1970s. This was when he started taking photos of the Thomastown Sharps, which was one of Melbourne’s largest groups in the city’s north. He self-published these photos in a book titled Once Were Sharps. Now, with a second book on the way, we sat down for a chat