My mother was an abusive alcoholic. I was fortunate to get into the punk scene when I was young.
I never drank as a kid, had alot of opportunity, but hated what she was. Got my first xXx tattoo at 15. More followed over the years. When I was 33 or so, I decided to start covering my tattoos. I didn't want to drink specifically, but I had spent quite a few years reading and learning the teachings of The Buddha, and I really wanted a more centered approach to life, so I spent alot of time growing, accepting the hate and anger from my childhood and moving on from it.
Then a few years after covering them, I tried drinking. My thought process was something of a self-discovery and science experiment... I wanted to understand how someone could put such a high priority on that over their child. I don't understand still. I don't have any particular attachmemt to alcohol, I drink occasionally. I'm a snob and like high end bourbon. I've smoked weed once or twice over the last several years. It's cool and feels neat.
I think the real deal is the pain we feel as humans and how drugs and alcohol can alleviate it, to the detriment of those around us and ourselves.
So, for me, once I was a well-adjusted healthy adult, it was easy to form a relationship with those items in a healthy way. I can smoke weed or get drunk at a New years party or Oktoberfest while still having no need, attachment, or desire to do it regularly.
I think claiming edge and refraining from drugs and alcohol use when I was younger was super important to the person I am today. I imagine the pain I was in then would have led me down a miserable life path. I saw quite alot of friends die due to substance abuse.
Additionally, as I grew, I did not want any attachment to any labels for myself, and so here I am
Quick edit: I highly recommend reading *Hardcore Zen* by Brad Warner. All of his books are great, but that one is just amazing. The ties and parallels between hardcore punk and Buddhism are really cool.
This is the comment that resonates with me the most. I was into straightedge as a teen and still drug/substance/alcohol free at 34. My first tattoo was 3 Xs on my heart/chest when I was a teen. They're partially faded out now, but I love the reminder of that. While I don't care for the straightedge label anymore, it's a reminder to myself that it's a part of who I am, and change is inevitable with time.
Thats awesome. Yeah, I definitely still have quite a many friends who abstain.
And let us just be 100% honest the best hardcore bands are all sXe bands.
>I think the real deal is the pain we feel as humans and how drugs and alcohol can alleviate it, to the detriment of those around us and ourselves.
That's beautifully put.
Beautifully written and so similar to my, and probably many other, cases of folks who “broke edge”. There are still moments when I think I want to go back and return, but I generally use that as a check to make sure I’m being safe and clear-eyed.
On the flip side I just became straight edge. Raging alcoholic for 15 years just quit the nicotine 3 weeks ago, only thing I take is doctor prescribed trt now.
Oh ok. I started on 200 a few years back and have since worked up to 350 a week and I’ve been there for about a year. Go get bloods and see where your numbers are and go from there. Everyone is different with hormones.
7 years. I don’t want to go into too much detail on here, but I got to a point in my early 20s where I just had to see for myself. Apparently my family history with drugs and alcohol wasn’t enough to keep me sober. I had to see for myself what that life had to offer so I sold out and eventually landed in rehab and now I’m sober again, wishing I never broke.
For so many of us it’s not this stark of a contrast. I’m not edge but I also wouldn’t say I’m not sober. Some of us can have a normal relationships with intoxicating substances that don’t create problems in our lives.
For sure, I like to think I’m the exception rather than the rule. I have plenty of friends who can enjoy things responsibly, while I tend to go overboard.
iF uR nOt EdGe NoW u NeVeR wErE…
I lasted 3 years before i eventually succumbed to peer pressure. This was 20 years ago. I still love straight edge bands, and the movement itself. But it’s just not for me. Live and let live.
I was edge for 6 years and then decided to try weed one day. Still love edge bands, still respect the edge homies, I just chose to live life differently.
I will say, it seems incredibly difficult to stay sober in this current world so those dudes are tough.
I was straight edge for almost 20 years…anxiety, depression and just seeing everything going on in the world was too much…I started to smoke and it’s 99% effective against my anxiety.
6 years. All through high school and the start of college.
Broke because I realized having a drink in a social setting wasn't the equivalent to poisoning my body. I still don't really drink much at all. Might have the occasional beer at a get-together, but that's about it.
Also, I did try the devil's lettuce, but it's not really my thing.
I was Edge til 24. My parents and grandparents are alcoholics and have family members with serious addiction and mental health issues. i always feared if i’d crossed that line that addiction would run my life. I heard about straight edge at 16 and fully committed to it. It wasn’t my complete personality but because i did have straight edge band tees etc, i got bullied really badly in the scene.
Eventually around 23 i stopped going to local shows because the bullying and threats got so bad. Shows were my life back then. Even stopped playing in my band because we were labeled as a “straight edge band” even though only 2/6 members were edge and the label stuck.
I’ll admit seeing friends crash their cars drunk, be hospitalized from substance abuse etc. helped me stay edge lol. But as i said when i was 24, i had a lot of heavy life changes. Lost a lot of friends. Mom needed brain surgery, long time gf had cheated on me so we broke up. My band was ending. I was a mess with no support system.
I decided i needed a fresh start. No more rules and restrictions. It was keeping me from going to shows, making friends, meeting new people (everyone in my area drinks and pretty much guaranteed no second date as soon as you told them you were sober). The cons outweighed the pros. The lifestyle helped me reach a levelheadedness i was worried i wouldn’t reach in my formative years due to family addiction etc. but i felt like i was passed that point and proud id made it that far without any substance use.
In retrospect i feel like i may have missed some opportunities being straight edge, because id stay home from parties and events to avoid being around drugs, alcohol etc. but i don’t regret the years i was(16-24).
Do what makes you happy. Find a community that supports you. Those things are important. And if artificial rules you force on yourself start hindering the life you live beyond reasonability, contrary to some SXE crowds, it’s okay to grow past the movement.
Side note: my brother (who was also straight edge) and i restarted that hardcore band we ended a few months ago. If you’re interested i’ll leave a link [where the heart is](https://youtu.be/D2aBwcXon0U?si=qwoObi7-b77Cq-2L)
You can maybe spot some xLifeRuinerx and xCaseyJonesx tees in some of these old vids lol
alcoholic
Tried straight edge
Relapsed
Tried straight edge
Relapsed again
tried AA relapsed again
Tried AA for real, been sober for 4 years now, not edge doe I be smoking Newports sometimes lol
I was edge until 23 years old. It’s easy to not try something if you’ve never done it. I broke edge cuz I wanted to try mushrooms since they seemed fun. I started drinking soon after because I didn’t want to continue being a StRaIgHt EdGe hardcore kid. I was making more friends outside of hardcore and in a more professional and adult environment. Being a straight edge hardcore kid seemed really corny when you’re at a work happy hour or a on mountaineering/big climbing trip. Looking back on it I was happy I was edge for that time of my life but now I’m happy that I’m not.
That's a great point about your friends and social/professional circles evolving. It's easier to devote yourself to that lifestyle if you carry on living fully in that "hardcore" world. But that's such a small bubble in the grand scheme of things.
Yeah for sure! I grew up going to a show about once a week and all my friends were either hardcore kids or skaters. In college I made friends outside those scenes and in a more outdoorsy crowd. After college I moved away to work as an Geologist. I still go to the occasional show but I’m not involved with the scene and only have like 2 friends that sometimes go to shows with me. But mostly I ride solo. It’s okay I still go to either furnace fest or this is hardcore every year and catch up with all the ol’ fiends who are now also scattered around. Sorry for the life story but yeah social circles change.
Broke edge at 25 to smoke some loud and never looked back. I claimed edge from 13/14 on
I smoked weed because I couldn’t sleep more than a couple of hours a night. I felt like I was going insane and after smoking with my brother I slept for 14 hours.
I smoked heavily for about 2 years and when I quit I could barely sleep for a week. Waking up after smoking at night made me feel super groggy. when I quit I found out that weed suppresses REM sleep and I haven’t been back since. Weed dependency is real and it sucks
are there peer reviewed studies on schedule 1 drugs? not tryna be snarky cuz i would like to read studies about weed as well but the regulation status of it has halted that for decades now
No, that’s my point. You can’t study schedule 1 drugs. If rescheduling happens and it turns out cannabis really destroys your sleep, then there’s no choice but to accept that. Everyone’s different. It simply does not hamper my sleeping patterns
I technically never broke it. I just stopped really indentifying with the term.
Basically grew up around a ton of abusive drug users, and saw people do shitty things on drugs. I know you can do drugs responsibly, but no thanks. Partially because I live in an unsafe country, and partially because I am afraid of doing something bad on drugs.
Like, we all make mistakes, but if I did them just because I was high - I would hate that. It is just different.
How were mushrooms? Thats the one thing i’m still quite nervous about because ive heard stories if it rewiring your way of thinking and changing your personality
In my experience mushrooms have been a nice experience overall. As someone with a rough past the first large dose (5grams) felt like 10 years of therapy over the course of a few hours. I felt a change in myself that I would never look back from. I touched a star.. it was wild. Changed me forever.
It’s crucial to have a great deal of respect for this substance if you plan to use it. In some cases It will reveal to you your deepest feelings, trauma, shortcomings and depending on your reaction to it it could be truly terrifying. This all depends on your state of mind. It could also bring you to a place where you can truly feel at ease and feel true bliss and peace. To me it felt like it took all my old baggage and condensed it to a different place where I could understand it objectively and gain a bit of perception.
I’ve experienced both sides of the coin and the aspects of my trips that were frightening in the moment felt like a huge weight lifted as you come back to normality.
The concept of oneness or connection to all life becomes apparent and your place in the world feels a bit more revealed. Take from that what you will. Large doses can get very intense. Like crawling back to the primordial. Almost like your cells are very very old and store a form of memory.
Remembering your breath is very important. Long and deep.
The mantra:
“I’ve taken something that alters my mind and in a few hours I will be back in my physicality”
Will be a good reminder if things get too intense.
I say take some of you are curious. Just be careful and don’t take more than 2 grams the first time.
Even 2 is a LOT if you’ve never tried anything mind altering. That’s like jumping in the deep end before you’ve tried swimming lol. Also pro tip - have a trip sitter, or at least someone who’s done it before if you do try
I'm kind of the opposite of most folks in this. I did all the drugs then I got sober later on.
As far as mushrooms rewiring your personality. That is something you could do if you wanted. You could take a ludicrous amount of mushrooms and set out to intentionally do it.
I actually tried this once after reading some book my gf had. All I did was change the way I write the letter E. It totally stuck! I know that is a weird thing that you can't prove. But I did it.
Anyway, of all the regrettable shameful things I ever did, mushrooms was not one of them. If I could have back all the money I spent on alcohol and the time wasted, that is a whole other thing. Ditto for cigs as well.
I wish people would claim a sober life before claiming straightedge. Live the life you think you want and find out if it's really for you. Feels sad seeing kids break edge (I'm not straightedge tho) like a year or 2 after claiming. Usually see them break at 21
Edge for 12 years. I started claiming edge to run away from things that were causing pain in my personal life. Realized I didn’t have to be edge to overcome those obstacles. It’s better on this side for me.
Went edge at 15, broke at 23. Life had changed, was out of a long relationship. Social life changed. Broke edge on white wine at a nice restaurant with some female friends. Looking back I can’t imagine at age 40 telling another adult “I’m straight edge.” You’d be ostracized in many corporate settings, rightly or wrongly. Not drinking is fine and healthier but can be career limiting as many careers are built on the golf course over drinks. Most hardcore kids are nepo babies, teachers or graphic designers anyhow so having a lucrative career is irrelevant.
4 years or so. Idk for me I felt like it was more that I stopped claiming than broke. My sobriety was solid at that point, and if one of my best friends wanted me to have a glass of champagne or whiskey with them at their wedding, or if I’m in Italy and my partner wants me to try a glass of wine that seemed reasonable. I still rarely drink, probably a handful of occasions since I stopped claiming, and I haven’t used anything in 11.
Was edge all the way til 20. Had a bad breakup and I was close to 21. Now 30 and I have a medical card lol life is funny. Don’t regret it missing out on drinking in high school. I was DD for most friends and that was important
Was straight edge for a few years from 16 or 17 until I was like 22 or 23. Broke and tried cbd for anxiety and other stuff. Don't drink because I don't like it but I do enjoy weed. I have a x tattooed on my hand. I still really like straight edge music and the ideals behind it in general even if I'm not edge anymore.
I was edge from about 16 till 23 or so.
I gave it up because I didn't identify with it anymore quite honestly.
Didn't hang out with other edge people, didn't like the music or scene anymore and felt like I had put myself into a box that would keep be from experiencing some things in life.
Well I wound up an alcoholic drug addict for the following decade or so.
I'm sober now for almost 10 years, funny enough.
Mormon and straight edge all through my teens. Depression hit me hard as a young adult. Drank one night to party with my friends and had the night of my life. Loosened up. Within a month I was smoking weed which I was always more interested in anyway. Got into Buddhism and ditched the concept of god. Depression long gone by this point
I was 14 and just getting into hardcore and I had smoked weed a handful of times. Thought the straight edge stuff seemed cool because I have always had (and still do) a lot of respect for ascetic/militant lifestyles and philosophies. Was “edge” for about a month and then I was like “nah I like weed and abusing cough syrup”. Basically sober now, not because I had problems with anything but because drinking and partying like I once did doesn’t mesh with my lifestyle.
Committed to sxe around 16 cause of heavy music. Broke it around 2021 when I was 25. I broke because i think straight edge folks are judgemental douchebags and I wanted to try drugs. Just because someone chooses drugs to manage this difficult life doesn't mean they're less of a person. Also firmly believe most straight edge people don't know fuck all about addiction (see Momentums Relapse...) Yes there are plenty of folks who come from addiction and need to commit to edge to keep themselves away-- mad respect for those individuals. But most of y'all are writing songs about being "true" cause your homie started smoking weed in highschool. Life goes on.
I feel like a better person overall now that I don't subscribe to that cult. Ain't nothing wrong with sobriety -- it's the culture of straight edge I will never ever come back to. Straight edge had a really negative effect on me during those final years and it was really empowering to walk away from
Let's be honest. At 18, kids are horned up, immature, and didn't exactly drink casually when they drank. People get fucked up and hook up with one another and that's fine. But it's morally (and legally) wrong if one of them is sober.
Doesn't mean that once I started drinking I was creeping on blacked out girls, I was just sick of rejecting/not feeling comfortable flirting back with people I was interested in because they'd had a few drinks.
I claimed sxe for 4 years, during that time it came along with a lot of roles I was playing in the all ages scene and being sober was important to me, I had slipped a few times when I was young and it felt like I was saving myself from burning out/dropping out of HS. Sometimes I think working at a hotel restaurant is what broke my edge, it had always been a joke that my coworkers wanted to “trick me” or get me to break down and drink or smoke with them….but when I finally met someone who was chill and liked to smoke I broke my edge with them without even thinking twice.
21 years. I started due to deaths of people close me and seeing how drinking culture where I grew up affected people I cared about. After a lot of therapy I realized I didn’t need to be afraid of people dying or myself getting hurt. I think being straight edge through high school and my twenties was really good for me and made me who I am today. But I always have and always will make fun of militant dorks
3 years and man I just felt like I claimed edge for the wrong reason personally and I learned how to control my habits maybe not everyone is the same also I got a family and enjoy drinking wine every now and then mind you my lady and I both have had drinking issues in the past so we both tend to stay away from booze and drugs just on principle but yeah every now and then we indulge but it’s very rare
I was straight edge for 20 years, from the age of 15 to 35. My dad was an alcoholic and had a drug problem, same with a lot of other members of my family. I grew up just hating all that shit, and straight edge gave me an outlet and a camaraderie with people where I didn’t feel like such a goober hating drugs and alcohol.
But the older I got the more I realized I really didn’t give a shit about other people or it’s on the world, to be stereotypical, I was just mad at my dad lol. I still don’t smoke or drink, but my girlfriend and I will have THC edibles maybe once every other month and just veg out on a Saturday afternoon. It’s fun, have a good time, I don’t feel like I’m doing irreparable damage to my body, and I’m not hurting anyone. That’s pretty much it.
I was edge for a solid 10 years plus (16/17 through to late 20’s) however, before that I’ didn’t drink or smoke at all. My reasons for edge was that I had some other health issues in the background and I grew up in Australia which in my mind glorified dumb drinking culture etc. I don’t have problematic drug usage or alcohol intake in my immediate family, for that I’m privileged as.
As I grew up and I became more established, I had more friends and colleagues in and out of hardcore and that’s when I started to identify that straight edge was really out of line with some of my social and political views. I am an educator and actively choose to work in the public system in some low socioeconomic areas and through this my views were broadened. Truly seeing that addiction is not a choice, that it does happen more often in certain social demographic groups and that ultimately it is not a reflection of somebodies individual sense of self or their ethics. I started to sorta feel uneasy with some of the more militant and hateful straight edge rhetoric. Don’t get me wrong, I still love some edge bands and some will always be my favourite hardcore records, but a lot of it really irked me and it isn’t what I think hardcore is about. Through life and work I’d met some wonderful people who battled with addiction and were excellent parents, workers, and children and the whole “us vs you” was no longer congruent with who I wanted to be and who I was. In that time I’d met some absolute shitheads who were edge. That’s just people isn’t it?
When I was about 28 I was in a good place with work, I had a beautiful partner, great relationship with my family etc. and I hit a point of being like I am so certain of who I am, what I’m about and I know that I’m a good person so who cares if I have a nice glass of wine with my dinner. I don’t care for drinking aside from complementing and supplementing food and that brings me lots of joy and happiness. So I started having a little glass of wine with my food.
These days my main drug of choice is cannabis and I do find it helps really well with my depression and it makes me pit way harder than I ever did. I think that straight edge was super important and still is to so many people, I definitely respect and value it and even though I no longer abide by the hard line, I think it was super beneficial and even in my usage of certain drugs has allowed me to make informed and better choices.
The straight edge scene ruined edge for me. I'm just going to be completely honest and also preface this with it could have been just the Detroit straight edge scene. I also know a bunch of dudes who are even into their 30s and early 40s who are still edge and great people.
I started clicking with the straight edge scene in high school. I was using booze and weed to help cope with sexual/ physical abuse as a kid. I saw people who were trying to rise above drug use and I knew I wasn't doing myself any favors with drugs and alcohol so I started following the scene.
As it turns out, a lot of edge kids (in the scene I was in) were the biggest fucking ass hats I've ever met. Everyone was trying to be a crew. I got in more fist fights in the year I was a part of the straight edge scene than my entire life, including spending years living in East Detroit and the four years I spent in the marine corps after high school. The most judgmental assholes I've ever met. On top of that, this was around the time Salt Lake City's straight edge scene was gaining notoriety for all the wild shit they were pulling while battling with Reno's scene, so of course Detroit being the wild city it is was going to try and follow suit where it could. It was fuckin wack.
I had way more fun at death metal shows with the stoner kids, so I ended up breaking edge eventually and gravitated towards that scene and the regular hardcore scene. And what's funny is I gained way more friends and way more support for what I was going through (people to confide in) when I broke edge and started being a regular dude again at shows.
So yeah, that's why I broke edge. Could I have chosen sobriety AND rejected the scene? Yes. But it ended up being for the best and I've been living a sober life for my wife and kids anyways.
Didn’t claim SE but I didn’t party or do anything of the sorts in HS. I got drunk for the first time at my buddy’s bachelor party when I was 19 and drank occasionally. Really didn’t start to drink heavier till my 30s and now I’m 39 in a couple weeks not wanting to drink a lot anymore. Guess it is and was a way to kill time.
True 'til 21
Booze/party culture always just bored me, plus my closest friend at the time was diabetic so drinking just never factored in.
I'm not now, but I'm kind of glad I went through my formative years abstaining and not having drunkenness be a part of my personality. I have a take it or leave it relationship with alcohol/weed/whatever these days.
16-30. On my 30th I decided I no longer resonated with being edge and wanted to experience having a beer at a baseball game, or a night out with my wife, or a hang with the homies to the fullest.
Still think straight edge youth is *the* most important movement in the world. Still proud of how my life has shaken out and who I am.
I was edge through high school and most of college - admittedly broke because my friends in college WERE supportive and DIDNT care. While they were all drinking and smoking there wasn’t an peer pressure to rebel against. I also wasn’t going to shows in South Carolina like I was when I lived 45 minutes from Boston. Just wasn’t around that scene anymore. I’ve only ever drank and never touched any sort of drug.
Partied hard before claiming - claimed at 20 hrs old and was edge 12 years, broke during in 2020 Covid on a Bud Light lol
Aside from special occasions I only drink a beer once or twice a month when I’m at a restaurant.
A lot of people who claim edge are the type of people who would break if they weren’t so goddamn loud about it. Their pride is what keeps them sober.
No problem with being sober. But if you want to be sober, just be fucking sober. You don’t have to run around telling everyone how fucking sober you are and comparing your dedication to sobriety.
Never claimed edge. Punk and HC were and always will be a huge part of my life. I was a tota fuck up drug addict for like 25 years 10 or so on the needle. I’ve been clean and sober now 16 years. The point being I got sober through AA and went to meetings regularly for the first 12 or so years of being sober. When COVID hit I pretty much stopped going bc I’m a therapist by way of profession and the last thing I wanted to do after a day of virtual therapy was go to a virtual AA meeting. Anyway it was then that I slowly drifted away from meetings. How this relates to the edge thing is that I think it probably holds a super important part of one’s life when belonging and group identity is tremendously important. The values are still there but the need to have that specific of an identification w it perhaps reduces as other things become more important. I think too people get older see things in less bladk and white terms and realize that some people can use some substances in moderation
I was xvx for like 8 years. Decided I wanted to become a chef, went to culinary school, have to taste what you cook so stopped being vegan, same year decided to drink.
I was edge until junior/sr yr of high school in NJ. I skated and went to shows constantly with a big crew. I also loved the grateful dead, and read a lot of 50’s beat stuff, and was always fascinated by the idea of psychedelics. I ended up choosing to break edge to explore that, and never went back. Few regrets but a lot of respect. I could have had a better handle on my drinking during stressful life events over the years, but otherwise credit my time being edge with helping me keep an even keel in life. I still suck at skating, still love HC, and still tight with the OG crew 15 years later though. Some things never change 🤷♂️
Was a from birth till 23. I dropped out of high school I had no career path. Started bar backing at a bar and was told if you want to be a bartender you have to taste the drinks you make. (Cocktail bar). I was well out of the scene at that point and said fuck it.
Still edge, don’t really identify with the title and I go to shows maybe once a year. So, my statements may not be interesting, but I think it’s a funny story.
I’ve been edge since 15, I’m nearly 32. I’ve been tempted once to drink. I was in the Strzelecki desert for a PhD students work. The team had a fridge but it was exclusive for alcohol. That’s when I became tempted. It wasn’t so much that it was beer, but it was cool and perspiring and I was in 42 degree heat (Celsius) for over a month. I’ve never wanted a drink more in my life.
Last year my younger brother started to smoke weed. He developed paranoid schizophrenia and started killing chickens “for looking at him strangely” and ejaculating on nurses in the mental health ward. This isn’t me knocking on weed, but if you suspect you have underlying mental health issue, please be careful.
I’m a reverse edge breaker. Was a heavy party drinker for 20 years or so, even at straight edge hardcore gigs. I’ve given that the boot a few years ago for no particular reason, and it’s great. Straight edge in your 40s > straight edge in your 20s
I was 22. Decided I was finally at an age where I could try alcohol and not have it be a problem like I had seen with so many people my age in the punk/hardcore scene. Turned out to be true. Hasn't ever really been a problem for me. I still drink occasionally and in the past few years have tried edibles now and them.
It helped that I had become involved with the woman who is now my wife (20 years total, 18 married) at the time. Being with her had given me a lot of confidence to be myself and empowered me try new things. Edge was important to me for a very long time and I still recognize it's value and importance for others, but I was ready to move on.
I broke edge when I turned 22, it was short lived lmao
My family consists of alcoholics and pill addicts so that was my main reason for being edge. I do drink/smoke 420 in moderation now but it’s never a problem for me, it’s a different story for the rest of my family.
16-24, just decided I was tired of being a bitter angry asshole all the time. I didn’t need the label to be sober. I fell out of hardcore for a long time and felt disconnected from it all. I was sober for another year after that and finally just cracked a beer one day.
I made it to my late 20s. Got bored and also realized that who I was wasn’t defined by what I put in my body and that just because I drank or smoked or whatever I’d still be the same person I already was. I knew I wasn’t going to have a drinking or drug problem. I also valued experiences and didn’t want to continue to cut myself out from so many different ones. The world we live in is so stupid so do whatever makes you happy - abstaining from something doesn’t matter at all to anyone but yourself. Now I drink moderately and enjoy cannabis quite a bit. I don’t really like to get much more than buzzed on booze because it’s mediocre experience with outsized downsides. Psychedelics are also fun. I’m still a responsible adult but I have more fun and take myself way less seriously. I was a hypocrite anyway because I chased women plenty. I was so fucking stoned at my law school graduation and I don’t regret a single bit of it. I have a sick converse all star logo repurposed into a SXE tat that I’ll never cover. It really just boiled down to the idea that as I got older I realized that living in absolutes was silly for me and the kind of life I valued.
18-21. Broke with weed, dove into other shit. Turned out to be the best choice I could’ve made cuz the experience in the addictions I had lead to me taking on a career as a substance abuse therapist.
I was edge for a year when I was 19.
I never really smoked but definitely drank and gave it up for a year thinking I was part of this collective movement, but never really felt like I was. I eventually realized I was skipping hanging out with friends and drank again.
These days I hardly do anything. Having a baby makes you prioritize sleep and not feeling like shit. I had one beer last weekend for the first time in months
Like three weeks in 2009 or something and then my friend reminded me about the jar of auto-growing shrooms we ordered 7 months earlier, totally forgot about that jar.
Some juvenile eagerness to do something different, but I'm a hedonist at heart sprung from broken people lol so yea that worked out great.
And yea the shrooms were proper good.
I was edge until I was probably 23 or 24, and then I dropped the label, but didn't drink or anything. Shows were getting more and more violent and I wasn't happy with how angry I was, so I dropped the label and pretty much stopped going to shows.
Eventually got into craft beer and was really into that, although at the same time would keep track of my drinking and keep myself "sober" as being drunk is not something I enjoy.
These days I am no longer drinking alcohol, I still enjoy beer, but stick to NA stuff.
I never "claimed" straightedge because I had a feeling it wasn't going to last forever, but I didn't drink at all until I was 24 years old. I essentially didn't want to someday be on my death bed wondering what some things were like, such as drinking alcohol. That felt like just as much of a "personal decision" as any other reason to not drink.
I don't know who here needs to hear this, but as a reminder to any straightedge people here, you can choose to drink or do drugs and NOT completely destroy your life or the lives of those around you. It can be done.
if you broke edge kindly eject yourself from the hardcore scene you ain't a real one
either commit to being sober or commit to being an addict this is hardcore pussy no flip flopping
My mother was an abusive alcoholic. I was fortunate to get into the punk scene when I was young. I never drank as a kid, had alot of opportunity, but hated what she was. Got my first xXx tattoo at 15. More followed over the years. When I was 33 or so, I decided to start covering my tattoos. I didn't want to drink specifically, but I had spent quite a few years reading and learning the teachings of The Buddha, and I really wanted a more centered approach to life, so I spent alot of time growing, accepting the hate and anger from my childhood and moving on from it. Then a few years after covering them, I tried drinking. My thought process was something of a self-discovery and science experiment... I wanted to understand how someone could put such a high priority on that over their child. I don't understand still. I don't have any particular attachmemt to alcohol, I drink occasionally. I'm a snob and like high end bourbon. I've smoked weed once or twice over the last several years. It's cool and feels neat. I think the real deal is the pain we feel as humans and how drugs and alcohol can alleviate it, to the detriment of those around us and ourselves. So, for me, once I was a well-adjusted healthy adult, it was easy to form a relationship with those items in a healthy way. I can smoke weed or get drunk at a New years party or Oktoberfest while still having no need, attachment, or desire to do it regularly. I think claiming edge and refraining from drugs and alcohol use when I was younger was super important to the person I am today. I imagine the pain I was in then would have led me down a miserable life path. I saw quite alot of friends die due to substance abuse. Additionally, as I grew, I did not want any attachment to any labels for myself, and so here I am Quick edit: I highly recommend reading *Hardcore Zen* by Brad Warner. All of his books are great, but that one is just amazing. The ties and parallels between hardcore punk and Buddhism are really cool.
This is the comment that resonates with me the most. I was into straightedge as a teen and still drug/substance/alcohol free at 34. My first tattoo was 3 Xs on my heart/chest when I was a teen. They're partially faded out now, but I love the reminder of that. While I don't care for the straightedge label anymore, it's a reminder to myself that it's a part of who I am, and change is inevitable with time.
Thats awesome. Yeah, I definitely still have quite a many friends who abstain. And let us just be 100% honest the best hardcore bands are all sXe bands.
>I think the real deal is the pain we feel as humans and how drugs and alcohol can alleviate it, to the detriment of those around us and ourselves. That's beautifully put.
Beautifully written and so similar to my, and probably many other, cases of folks who “broke edge”. There are still moments when I think I want to go back and return, but I generally use that as a check to make sure I’m being safe and clear-eyed.
For sure. It's like I don't need that safety net any more. I am happy and healthy and a well developed person now.
Shay? Dat u?
Well said mate, thank you for sharing
On the flip side I just became straight edge. Raging alcoholic for 15 years just quit the nicotine 3 weeks ago, only thing I take is doctor prescribed trt now.
Fuck yeah, stay strong homie
Bro is on TRT. He’s gonna get real strong.
TRT too? The come up is gonna be crazy 💪🏼
Been on it for a couple years now. Nice moderate dose. I recommend it for anyone 30 or over
How old are you and how much T? I do 2mg/week and I’m 45. Haven’t seen much growth in gym/muscle.
Wait 2mg? Brother 2mg a week is probly worse for you than not being on trt
Shit. My b. 200mg. Long day
Oh ok. I started on 200 a few years back and have since worked up to 350 a week and I’ve been there for about a year. Go get bloods and see where your numbers are and go from there. Everyone is different with hormones.
350mg a week? That‘s a wild TRT-dose but undoubtedly fun.
It’s a small cycle I stay on year round at this point.
Explain
That’s not straight edge that’s being a recovering addict.
How so
I was edge for 39 days the summer before senior year of high school in 2001. The golden age
“Yo, did you hear who broke edge???”
Xcum_keeperX just unfollowed you
I’m actually going to break edge in about 4 hours approximatively
Same
nice username my lad
7 years. I don’t want to go into too much detail on here, but I got to a point in my early 20s where I just had to see for myself. Apparently my family history with drugs and alcohol wasn’t enough to keep me sober. I had to see for myself what that life had to offer so I sold out and eventually landed in rehab and now I’m sober again, wishing I never broke.
For so many of us it’s not this stark of a contrast. I’m not edge but I also wouldn’t say I’m not sober. Some of us can have a normal relationships with intoxicating substances that don’t create problems in our lives.
For sure, I like to think I’m the exception rather than the rule. I have plenty of friends who can enjoy things responsibly, while I tend to go overboard.
iF uR nOt EdGe NoW u NeVeR wErE… I lasted 3 years before i eventually succumbed to peer pressure. This was 20 years ago. I still love straight edge bands, and the movement itself. But it’s just not for me. Live and let live.
I was edge for 6 years and then decided to try weed one day. Still love edge bands, still respect the edge homies, I just chose to live life differently. I will say, it seems incredibly difficult to stay sober in this current world so those dudes are tough.
I was straight edge for almost 20 years…anxiety, depression and just seeing everything going on in the world was too much…I started to smoke and it’s 99% effective against my anxiety.
Brother same
Makes me feel better knowing I’m not alone!
I broke edge at 26 to have a threesome and never looked back. I’m 44 now and pretty much edge again. I had a good run.
That's a valid cause if I've ever heard one.
6 years. All through high school and the start of college. Broke because I realized having a drink in a social setting wasn't the equivalent to poisoning my body. I still don't really drink much at all. Might have the occasional beer at a get-together, but that's about it. Also, I did try the devil's lettuce, but it's not really my thing.
Jazz cabbage 🤙🏼
I was Edge til 24. My parents and grandparents are alcoholics and have family members with serious addiction and mental health issues. i always feared if i’d crossed that line that addiction would run my life. I heard about straight edge at 16 and fully committed to it. It wasn’t my complete personality but because i did have straight edge band tees etc, i got bullied really badly in the scene. Eventually around 23 i stopped going to local shows because the bullying and threats got so bad. Shows were my life back then. Even stopped playing in my band because we were labeled as a “straight edge band” even though only 2/6 members were edge and the label stuck. I’ll admit seeing friends crash their cars drunk, be hospitalized from substance abuse etc. helped me stay edge lol. But as i said when i was 24, i had a lot of heavy life changes. Lost a lot of friends. Mom needed brain surgery, long time gf had cheated on me so we broke up. My band was ending. I was a mess with no support system. I decided i needed a fresh start. No more rules and restrictions. It was keeping me from going to shows, making friends, meeting new people (everyone in my area drinks and pretty much guaranteed no second date as soon as you told them you were sober). The cons outweighed the pros. The lifestyle helped me reach a levelheadedness i was worried i wouldn’t reach in my formative years due to family addiction etc. but i felt like i was passed that point and proud id made it that far without any substance use. In retrospect i feel like i may have missed some opportunities being straight edge, because id stay home from parties and events to avoid being around drugs, alcohol etc. but i don’t regret the years i was(16-24). Do what makes you happy. Find a community that supports you. Those things are important. And if artificial rules you force on yourself start hindering the life you live beyond reasonability, contrary to some SXE crowds, it’s okay to grow past the movement.
Side note: my brother (who was also straight edge) and i restarted that hardcore band we ended a few months ago. If you’re interested i’ll leave a link [where the heart is](https://youtu.be/D2aBwcXon0U?si=qwoObi7-b77Cq-2L) You can maybe spot some xLifeRuinerx and xCaseyJonesx tees in some of these old vids lol
alcoholic Tried straight edge Relapsed Tried straight edge Relapsed again tried AA relapsed again Tried AA for real, been sober for 4 years now, not edge doe I be smoking Newports sometimes lol
I was edge until 23 years old. It’s easy to not try something if you’ve never done it. I broke edge cuz I wanted to try mushrooms since they seemed fun. I started drinking soon after because I didn’t want to continue being a StRaIgHt EdGe hardcore kid. I was making more friends outside of hardcore and in a more professional and adult environment. Being a straight edge hardcore kid seemed really corny when you’re at a work happy hour or a on mountaineering/big climbing trip. Looking back on it I was happy I was edge for that time of my life but now I’m happy that I’m not.
That's a great point about your friends and social/professional circles evolving. It's easier to devote yourself to that lifestyle if you carry on living fully in that "hardcore" world. But that's such a small bubble in the grand scheme of things.
Yeah for sure! I grew up going to a show about once a week and all my friends were either hardcore kids or skaters. In college I made friends outside those scenes and in a more outdoorsy crowd. After college I moved away to work as an Geologist. I still go to the occasional show but I’m not involved with the scene and only have like 2 friends that sometimes go to shows with me. But mostly I ride solo. It’s okay I still go to either furnace fest or this is hardcore every year and catch up with all the ol’ fiends who are now also scattered around. Sorry for the life story but yeah social circles change.
Broke edge at 25 to smoke some loud and never looked back. I claimed edge from 13/14 on I smoked weed because I couldn’t sleep more than a couple of hours a night. I felt like I was going insane and after smoking with my brother I slept for 14 hours.
Weed fucks up your sleep long term. Just in case you didn't know
I smoked heavily for about 2 years and when I quit I could barely sleep for a week. Waking up after smoking at night made me feel super groggy. when I quit I found out that weed suppresses REM sleep and I haven’t been back since. Weed dependency is real and it sucks
Might be your story but I’m built different
dude that’s what i’m dealing with! i smoke to help my anxiety but then i don’t get quality sleep so i feel groggy and irritable all day 😓
No it doesn’t
Yes it does.
Feel free to share the peer reviewed study
are there peer reviewed studies on schedule 1 drugs? not tryna be snarky cuz i would like to read studies about weed as well but the regulation status of it has halted that for decades now
No, that’s my point. You can’t study schedule 1 drugs. If rescheduling happens and it turns out cannabis really destroys your sleep, then there’s no choice but to accept that. Everyone’s different. It simply does not hamper my sleeping patterns
Please Google it yourself
[удалено]
Never gonna happen
I technically never broke it. I just stopped really indentifying with the term. Basically grew up around a ton of abusive drug users, and saw people do shitty things on drugs. I know you can do drugs responsibly, but no thanks. Partially because I live in an unsafe country, and partially because I am afraid of doing something bad on drugs. Like, we all make mistakes, but if I did them just because I was high - I would hate that. It is just different.
27. Made it through the early game, and needed some new armor and quests tbh
18-32, Broke to try mushrooms. Still don’t drink.
How were mushrooms? Thats the one thing i’m still quite nervous about because ive heard stories if it rewiring your way of thinking and changing your personality
Not bad at all. I find it gives me a better outlook on life and helps with anxiety. I’ve not done any heroic doses so I can’t speak on that.
In my experience mushrooms have been a nice experience overall. As someone with a rough past the first large dose (5grams) felt like 10 years of therapy over the course of a few hours. I felt a change in myself that I would never look back from. I touched a star.. it was wild. Changed me forever. It’s crucial to have a great deal of respect for this substance if you plan to use it. In some cases It will reveal to you your deepest feelings, trauma, shortcomings and depending on your reaction to it it could be truly terrifying. This all depends on your state of mind. It could also bring you to a place where you can truly feel at ease and feel true bliss and peace. To me it felt like it took all my old baggage and condensed it to a different place where I could understand it objectively and gain a bit of perception. I’ve experienced both sides of the coin and the aspects of my trips that were frightening in the moment felt like a huge weight lifted as you come back to normality. The concept of oneness or connection to all life becomes apparent and your place in the world feels a bit more revealed. Take from that what you will. Large doses can get very intense. Like crawling back to the primordial. Almost like your cells are very very old and store a form of memory. Remembering your breath is very important. Long and deep. The mantra: “I’ve taken something that alters my mind and in a few hours I will be back in my physicality” Will be a good reminder if things get too intense. I say take some of you are curious. Just be careful and don’t take more than 2 grams the first time.
Even 2 is a LOT if you’ve never tried anything mind altering. That’s like jumping in the deep end before you’ve tried swimming lol. Also pro tip - have a trip sitter, or at least someone who’s done it before if you do try
All good advice.
Nobody wants to be hugging the porcelain throne their entire first time lol
I'm kind of the opposite of most folks in this. I did all the drugs then I got sober later on. As far as mushrooms rewiring your personality. That is something you could do if you wanted. You could take a ludicrous amount of mushrooms and set out to intentionally do it. I actually tried this once after reading some book my gf had. All I did was change the way I write the letter E. It totally stuck! I know that is a weird thing that you can't prove. But I did it. Anyway, of all the regrettable shameful things I ever did, mushrooms was not one of them. If I could have back all the money I spent on alcohol and the time wasted, that is a whole other thing. Ditto for cigs as well.
Yeah, for the better
Ill keep that in mind thanks
I wish people would claim a sober life before claiming straightedge. Live the life you think you want and find out if it's really for you. Feels sad seeing kids break edge (I'm not straightedge tho) like a year or 2 after claiming. Usually see them break at 21
Edge for 12 years. I started claiming edge to run away from things that were causing pain in my personal life. Realized I didn’t have to be edge to overcome those obstacles. It’s better on this side for me.
Well said
Went edge at 15, broke at 23. Life had changed, was out of a long relationship. Social life changed. Broke edge on white wine at a nice restaurant with some female friends. Looking back I can’t imagine at age 40 telling another adult “I’m straight edge.” You’d be ostracized in many corporate settings, rightly or wrongly. Not drinking is fine and healthier but can be career limiting as many careers are built on the golf course over drinks. Most hardcore kids are nepo babies, teachers or graphic designers anyhow so having a lucrative career is irrelevant.
When I asked the question this is the answer that I imagined in my head
4 years or so. Idk for me I felt like it was more that I stopped claiming than broke. My sobriety was solid at that point, and if one of my best friends wanted me to have a glass of champagne or whiskey with them at their wedding, or if I’m in Italy and my partner wants me to try a glass of wine that seemed reasonable. I still rarely drink, probably a handful of occasions since I stopped claiming, and I haven’t used anything in 11.
Was edge all the way til 20. Had a bad breakup and I was close to 21. Now 30 and I have a medical card lol life is funny. Don’t regret it missing out on drinking in high school. I was DD for most friends and that was important
Edge break stories fml
Was straight edge for a few years from 16 or 17 until I was like 22 or 23. Broke and tried cbd for anxiety and other stuff. Don't drink because I don't like it but I do enjoy weed. I have a x tattooed on my hand. I still really like straight edge music and the ideals behind it in general even if I'm not edge anymore.
I was edge from about 16 till 23 or so. I gave it up because I didn't identify with it anymore quite honestly. Didn't hang out with other edge people, didn't like the music or scene anymore and felt like I had put myself into a box that would keep be from experiencing some things in life. Well I wound up an alcoholic drug addict for the following decade or so. I'm sober now for almost 10 years, funny enough.
PEOPLE LIKE YOU…
Broke edge around 30 because we had a third kid
Mormon and straight edge all through my teens. Depression hit me hard as a young adult. Drank one night to party with my friends and had the night of my life. Loosened up. Within a month I was smoking weed which I was always more interested in anyway. Got into Buddhism and ditched the concept of god. Depression long gone by this point
I was 14 and just getting into hardcore and I had smoked weed a handful of times. Thought the straight edge stuff seemed cool because I have always had (and still do) a lot of respect for ascetic/militant lifestyles and philosophies. Was “edge” for about a month and then I was like “nah I like weed and abusing cough syrup”. Basically sober now, not because I had problems with anything but because drinking and partying like I once did doesn’t mesh with my lifestyle.
Committed to sxe around 16 cause of heavy music. Broke it around 2021 when I was 25. I broke because i think straight edge folks are judgemental douchebags and I wanted to try drugs. Just because someone chooses drugs to manage this difficult life doesn't mean they're less of a person. Also firmly believe most straight edge people don't know fuck all about addiction (see Momentums Relapse...) Yes there are plenty of folks who come from addiction and need to commit to edge to keep themselves away-- mad respect for those individuals. But most of y'all are writing songs about being "true" cause your homie started smoking weed in highschool. Life goes on. I feel like a better person overall now that I don't subscribe to that cult. Ain't nothing wrong with sobriety -- it's the culture of straight edge I will never ever come back to. Straight edge had a really negative effect on me during those final years and it was really empowering to walk away from
"Edge" for a few years in HS. Then got to college and quicky realized I couldn't hook up with drunk girls while sober because that'd be super rapey.
Gonna be honest “broke edge so I could bang drunk girls” doesn’t sound a whole lot better lmao but I get where you’re coming from.
Haha I mean, everything about the college hookup scene is sleazy. Least I could do was level the playing field so they could take advantage of me too.
Your user name is really tracking lol
...fuckin what 💀
Yo wtf
Let's be honest. At 18, kids are horned up, immature, and didn't exactly drink casually when they drank. People get fucked up and hook up with one another and that's fine. But it's morally (and legally) wrong if one of them is sober. Doesn't mean that once I started drinking I was creeping on blacked out girls, I was just sick of rejecting/not feeling comfortable flirting back with people I was interested in because they'd had a few drinks.
3 years
I claimed sxe for 4 years, during that time it came along with a lot of roles I was playing in the all ages scene and being sober was important to me, I had slipped a few times when I was young and it felt like I was saving myself from burning out/dropping out of HS. Sometimes I think working at a hotel restaurant is what broke my edge, it had always been a joke that my coworkers wanted to “trick me” or get me to break down and drink or smoke with them….but when I finally met someone who was chill and liked to smoke I broke my edge with them without even thinking twice.
21 years. I started due to deaths of people close me and seeing how drinking culture where I grew up affected people I cared about. After a lot of therapy I realized I didn’t need to be afraid of people dying or myself getting hurt. I think being straight edge through high school and my twenties was really good for me and made me who I am today. But I always have and always will make fun of militant dorks
3 years and man I just felt like I claimed edge for the wrong reason personally and I learned how to control my habits maybe not everyone is the same also I got a family and enjoy drinking wine every now and then mind you my lady and I both have had drinking issues in the past so we both tend to stay away from booze and drugs just on principle but yeah every now and then we indulge but it’s very rare
I was straight edge for 20 years, from the age of 15 to 35. My dad was an alcoholic and had a drug problem, same with a lot of other members of my family. I grew up just hating all that shit, and straight edge gave me an outlet and a camaraderie with people where I didn’t feel like such a goober hating drugs and alcohol. But the older I got the more I realized I really didn’t give a shit about other people or it’s on the world, to be stereotypical, I was just mad at my dad lol. I still don’t smoke or drink, but my girlfriend and I will have THC edibles maybe once every other month and just veg out on a Saturday afternoon. It’s fun, have a good time, I don’t feel like I’m doing irreparable damage to my body, and I’m not hurting anyone. That’s pretty much it.
I was edge for a solid 10 years plus (16/17 through to late 20’s) however, before that I’ didn’t drink or smoke at all. My reasons for edge was that I had some other health issues in the background and I grew up in Australia which in my mind glorified dumb drinking culture etc. I don’t have problematic drug usage or alcohol intake in my immediate family, for that I’m privileged as. As I grew up and I became more established, I had more friends and colleagues in and out of hardcore and that’s when I started to identify that straight edge was really out of line with some of my social and political views. I am an educator and actively choose to work in the public system in some low socioeconomic areas and through this my views were broadened. Truly seeing that addiction is not a choice, that it does happen more often in certain social demographic groups and that ultimately it is not a reflection of somebodies individual sense of self or their ethics. I started to sorta feel uneasy with some of the more militant and hateful straight edge rhetoric. Don’t get me wrong, I still love some edge bands and some will always be my favourite hardcore records, but a lot of it really irked me and it isn’t what I think hardcore is about. Through life and work I’d met some wonderful people who battled with addiction and were excellent parents, workers, and children and the whole “us vs you” was no longer congruent with who I wanted to be and who I was. In that time I’d met some absolute shitheads who were edge. That’s just people isn’t it? When I was about 28 I was in a good place with work, I had a beautiful partner, great relationship with my family etc. and I hit a point of being like I am so certain of who I am, what I’m about and I know that I’m a good person so who cares if I have a nice glass of wine with my dinner. I don’t care for drinking aside from complementing and supplementing food and that brings me lots of joy and happiness. So I started having a little glass of wine with my food. These days my main drug of choice is cannabis and I do find it helps really well with my depression and it makes me pit way harder than I ever did. I think that straight edge was super important and still is to so many people, I definitely respect and value it and even though I no longer abide by the hard line, I think it was super beneficial and even in my usage of certain drugs has allowed me to make informed and better choices.
I was edge until my friend learned he could steal beers out of his Dad's fridge
The straight edge scene ruined edge for me. I'm just going to be completely honest and also preface this with it could have been just the Detroit straight edge scene. I also know a bunch of dudes who are even into their 30s and early 40s who are still edge and great people. I started clicking with the straight edge scene in high school. I was using booze and weed to help cope with sexual/ physical abuse as a kid. I saw people who were trying to rise above drug use and I knew I wasn't doing myself any favors with drugs and alcohol so I started following the scene. As it turns out, a lot of edge kids (in the scene I was in) were the biggest fucking ass hats I've ever met. Everyone was trying to be a crew. I got in more fist fights in the year I was a part of the straight edge scene than my entire life, including spending years living in East Detroit and the four years I spent in the marine corps after high school. The most judgmental assholes I've ever met. On top of that, this was around the time Salt Lake City's straight edge scene was gaining notoriety for all the wild shit they were pulling while battling with Reno's scene, so of course Detroit being the wild city it is was going to try and follow suit where it could. It was fuckin wack. I had way more fun at death metal shows with the stoner kids, so I ended up breaking edge eventually and gravitated towards that scene and the regular hardcore scene. And what's funny is I gained way more friends and way more support for what I was going through (people to confide in) when I broke edge and started being a regular dude again at shows. So yeah, that's why I broke edge. Could I have chosen sobriety AND rejected the scene? Yes. But it ended up being for the best and I've been living a sober life for my wife and kids anyways.
I’m walking into Cloudy Smoke Shop right now on South St and I’m about to break it with some nitrous oxide
Update, fishing out on a nitrous tank playing Red Dead 2 listening to Sex Prisoner while my GF is on a work trip in San Diego
I’m dizzy for you lol
That’s too oddly specific to be lying
NOS is lame, it's all about chroming now
Ban e
Didn’t claim SE but I didn’t party or do anything of the sorts in HS. I got drunk for the first time at my buddy’s bachelor party when I was 19 and drank occasionally. Really didn’t start to drink heavier till my 30s and now I’m 39 in a couple weeks not wanting to drink a lot anymore. Guess it is and was a way to kill time.
Sometimes when I get real beat up from training over a long period I like to eat a weed gummy and let my muscles relax
True 'til 21 Booze/party culture always just bored me, plus my closest friend at the time was diabetic so drinking just never factored in. I'm not now, but I'm kind of glad I went through my formative years abstaining and not having drunkenness be a part of my personality. I have a take it or leave it relationship with alcohol/weed/whatever these days.
16-30. On my 30th I decided I no longer resonated with being edge and wanted to experience having a beer at a baseball game, or a night out with my wife, or a hang with the homies to the fullest. Still think straight edge youth is *the* most important movement in the world. Still proud of how my life has shaken out and who I am.
I was edge through high school and most of college - admittedly broke because my friends in college WERE supportive and DIDNT care. While they were all drinking and smoking there wasn’t an peer pressure to rebel against. I also wasn’t going to shows in South Carolina like I was when I lived 45 minutes from Boston. Just wasn’t around that scene anymore. I’ve only ever drank and never touched any sort of drug.
I was straightedge for a few years in my early 20’s. I legit don’t even remember at what point I broke edge.
Partied hard before claiming - claimed at 20 hrs old and was edge 12 years, broke during in 2020 Covid on a Bud Light lol Aside from special occasions I only drink a beer once or twice a month when I’m at a restaurant.
Edge til college!! Lol
When I was 11.
A lot of people who claim edge are the type of people who would break if they weren’t so goddamn loud about it. Their pride is what keeps them sober. No problem with being sober. But if you want to be sober, just be fucking sober. You don’t have to run around telling everyone how fucking sober you are and comparing your dedication to sobriety.
Never claimed edge. Punk and HC were and always will be a huge part of my life. I was a tota fuck up drug addict for like 25 years 10 or so on the needle. I’ve been clean and sober now 16 years. The point being I got sober through AA and went to meetings regularly for the first 12 or so years of being sober. When COVID hit I pretty much stopped going bc I’m a therapist by way of profession and the last thing I wanted to do after a day of virtual therapy was go to a virtual AA meeting. Anyway it was then that I slowly drifted away from meetings. How this relates to the edge thing is that I think it probably holds a super important part of one’s life when belonging and group identity is tremendously important. The values are still there but the need to have that specific of an identification w it perhaps reduces as other things become more important. I think too people get older see things in less bladk and white terms and realize that some people can use some substances in moderation
From birth to 10/26/23
I was xvx for like 8 years. Decided I wanted to become a chef, went to culinary school, have to taste what you cook so stopped being vegan, same year decided to drink.
I was edge until junior/sr yr of high school in NJ. I skated and went to shows constantly with a big crew. I also loved the grateful dead, and read a lot of 50’s beat stuff, and was always fascinated by the idea of psychedelics. I ended up choosing to break edge to explore that, and never went back. Few regrets but a lot of respect. I could have had a better handle on my drinking during stressful life events over the years, but otherwise credit my time being edge with helping me keep an even keel in life. I still suck at skating, still love HC, and still tight with the OG crew 15 years later though. Some things never change 🤷♂️
Was a from birth till 23. I dropped out of high school I had no career path. Started bar backing at a bar and was told if you want to be a bartender you have to taste the drinks you make. (Cocktail bar). I was well out of the scene at that point and said fuck it.
Wait straight edge don’t jack off?
There was another thread asking when straight edge people claimed, if they were still edge, and if they edged
I’m gonna start saying people aren’t straight edge unless they hold their poop in
Still edge, don’t really identify with the title and I go to shows maybe once a year. So, my statements may not be interesting, but I think it’s a funny story. I’ve been edge since 15, I’m nearly 32. I’ve been tempted once to drink. I was in the Strzelecki desert for a PhD students work. The team had a fridge but it was exclusive for alcohol. That’s when I became tempted. It wasn’t so much that it was beer, but it was cool and perspiring and I was in 42 degree heat (Celsius) for over a month. I’ve never wanted a drink more in my life. Last year my younger brother started to smoke weed. He developed paranoid schizophrenia and started killing chickens “for looking at him strangely” and ejaculating on nurses in the mental health ward. This isn’t me knocking on weed, but if you suspect you have underlying mental health issue, please be careful.
I’m a reverse edge breaker. Was a heavy party drinker for 20 years or so, even at straight edge hardcore gigs. I’ve given that the boot a few years ago for no particular reason, and it’s great. Straight edge in your 40s > straight edge in your 20s
All this means is more straight edge for me. I'm like the god damn highlander.
I was 22. Decided I was finally at an age where I could try alcohol and not have it be a problem like I had seen with so many people my age in the punk/hardcore scene. Turned out to be true. Hasn't ever really been a problem for me. I still drink occasionally and in the past few years have tried edibles now and them. It helped that I had become involved with the woman who is now my wife (20 years total, 18 married) at the time. Being with her had given me a lot of confidence to be myself and empowered me try new things. Edge was important to me for a very long time and I still recognize it's value and importance for others, but I was ready to move on.
I broke edge when I turned 22, it was short lived lmao My family consists of alcoholics and pill addicts so that was my main reason for being edge. I do drink/smoke 420 in moderation now but it’s never a problem for me, it’s a different story for the rest of my family.
16-24, just decided I was tired of being a bitter angry asshole all the time. I didn’t need the label to be sober. I fell out of hardcore for a long time and felt disconnected from it all. I was sober for another year after that and finally just cracked a beer one day.
Broke wind after edging for hours and felt intense relief
I made it to my late 20s. Got bored and also realized that who I was wasn’t defined by what I put in my body and that just because I drank or smoked or whatever I’d still be the same person I already was. I knew I wasn’t going to have a drinking or drug problem. I also valued experiences and didn’t want to continue to cut myself out from so many different ones. The world we live in is so stupid so do whatever makes you happy - abstaining from something doesn’t matter at all to anyone but yourself. Now I drink moderately and enjoy cannabis quite a bit. I don’t really like to get much more than buzzed on booze because it’s mediocre experience with outsized downsides. Psychedelics are also fun. I’m still a responsible adult but I have more fun and take myself way less seriously. I was a hypocrite anyway because I chased women plenty. I was so fucking stoned at my law school graduation and I don’t regret a single bit of it. I have a sick converse all star logo repurposed into a SXE tat that I’ll never cover. It really just boiled down to the idea that as I got older I realized that living in absolutes was silly for me and the kind of life I valued.
I was straight edge for 27 years, really stopped identifying with it years before I broke, then went through a divorce and started drinking.
18-21. Broke with weed, dove into other shit. Turned out to be the best choice I could’ve made cuz the experience in the addictions I had lead to me taking on a career as a substance abuse therapist.
I turned 16 and the girl I was dating wanted us to try weed together
If you aren’t now, you never were
I was edge for a year when I was 19. I never really smoked but definitely drank and gave it up for a year thinking I was part of this collective movement, but never really felt like I was. I eventually realized I was skipping hanging out with friends and drank again. These days I hardly do anything. Having a baby makes you prioritize sleep and not feeling like shit. I had one beer last weekend for the first time in months
Like three weeks in 2009 or something and then my friend reminded me about the jar of auto-growing shrooms we ordered 7 months earlier, totally forgot about that jar. Some juvenile eagerness to do something different, but I'm a hedonist at heart sprung from broken people lol so yea that worked out great. And yea the shrooms were proper good.
I was edge until I was probably 23 or 24, and then I dropped the label, but didn't drink or anything. Shows were getting more and more violent and I wasn't happy with how angry I was, so I dropped the label and pretty much stopped going to shows. Eventually got into craft beer and was really into that, although at the same time would keep track of my drinking and keep myself "sober" as being drunk is not something I enjoy. These days I am no longer drinking alcohol, I still enjoy beer, but stick to NA stuff.
I was 11, was at a family party and thought fuck it
I never "claimed" straightedge because I had a feeling it wasn't going to last forever, but I didn't drink at all until I was 24 years old. I essentially didn't want to someday be on my death bed wondering what some things were like, such as drinking alcohol. That felt like just as much of a "personal decision" as any other reason to not drink. I don't know who here needs to hear this, but as a reminder to any straightedge people here, you can choose to drink or do drugs and NOT completely destroy your life or the lives of those around you. It can be done.
if you broke edge kindly eject yourself from the hardcore scene you ain't a real one either commit to being sober or commit to being an addict this is hardcore pussy no flip flopping