Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Another Stinky, Green Jacket with Florian Dümpelmann
82 Plays1 year ago
This week, our man in Werl, long-time booster of Apocalypse Duds, Florian Dümpelmann. We talk the connotations of military clothing, radical underground music, ICE CREAM, learning from the past, and much more.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Show Motivations
00:01:16
Speaker
Hi, good afternoon. I'm Connor Fowler. And I'm Matt Smith. Welcome to Apocalypse Duds. Today we're going to be doing something a little different. We thought it would be good, well, maybe bad to give you a view into our minds to see what we are thinking about and the sorts of things that motivate us to do the show and what have you.
00:01:41
Speaker
Uh, so this would be a brief, pretty unstructured discussion between me and Matt, and then we'll get started with the show, uh, with Ward.
Challenges of Remote Recording
00:01:49
Speaker
Yeah. We basically had to, uh, you know, had to show that we are a clown and a curmudgeon, even though we may not come off that way in certain times, but yeah, we- Well, and we wanted to, we wanted to also like talk about the, like,
00:02:07
Speaker
the process of recording the show. I mean, we had a show that we were supposed to do yesterday that like totally failed by no fault of our own. And so it really has been a struggle to get things together. So hopefully this recording for the show that is on tomorrow will work and you will hear it just fine.
00:02:33
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. We, uh, realized yesterday that in the year 20 fucking 23, it's really difficult to record a conversation via the internet.
00:02:48
Speaker
in a new way, shape, or form. Yeah, remotely. Remotely recorded. We're literally just speaking into microphones and hoping that something fucking works out. And yeah, if you're interested in starting a podcast, just be warned that every platform mostly sucks. So yeah, here we are. They do not.
00:03:15
Speaker
they do not work as well as they should and they like they are paid platforms also so yeah yeah we're paying $30 a month and getting something that does not actually work consistently and this has been our our struggle since we launched this but i digress connor how you doing today
Connor's New Camera and Late Start
00:03:42
Speaker
we're hanging out. I woke up late today, which I never do. I got out of bed at like noon. Yeah, I mean, I'm off until summer school starts. So I just got this new camera, which is a Sony camera. And Sony is like an insane
00:04:07
Speaker
an insane company, I guess. So it's like very, very small. It's like very, it's very dainty. I don't know if it will work out for me and my like dumb, clumsy hands or not, but it is like extremely elegant. It has like a flash and a viewfinder that are both like pop out. So it's really like slim line. What a model is it? I don't know shit about cameras. Maybe somebody listening.
00:04:39
Speaker
This is the RX-107. I think Connor, if he is out there listening, knows this camera. It's basically like everyone's review of this camera is like, this thing is a masterpiece, but it's extremely expensive. Like that's the only con that anyone can come up with is it's extremely expensive. And because I'm an idiot, I bought it. Sometimes you gotta treat yourself, you know?
00:05:08
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, I did, you know, I finished the school year, and so I thought, uh, why not? And you know, strangers are telling me that my photos are good, so I'm like, I must be doing something, right? Dude, yeah, fuck it. Fuck it. If, uh, you know, if you spend the money and enjoy the thing, then why not?
Matt's Thrift Shopping Reflections
00:05:28
Speaker
Exactly. What about you? How was the thrift? Uh, today was, um...
00:05:36
Speaker
Yeah, not worth spending the time that I went to through the stores, but you know, it's just, it'd be like that sometimes. Sometimes it's, I don't know. Well, how many hours? How many hours? I mean, I only went to like closed stores today, so I only spent like two hours going to like full stores. But you know. Because you have like a loop, right, that you do.
00:06:04
Speaker
Yeah, I have multiple loops that I try to do, like, usually once a week. Okay, excuse me, excuse me, multiple loops. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I have an area that is pretty broad. I mean, I would say, like, on an average week, I probably drive at least 500 miles. But, you know, there's probably third stores in this relatively, like, fine,
00:06:34
Speaker
area so you know it's I don't know with anything like this it's it's feast or famine and that's fine but I mean even if I don't find shit I still enjoy going to the store and like getting into the house you know you don't you don't find it if you don't look for it so yeah if you are not if you do not seek you will not find and it's also like
00:06:57
Speaker
the many listeners, many listeners of this show know what it's about to go to the thrift store. That whole process of going to the thrift store is like, for me, is stress relief. Yeah, totally. It's therapeutic. Yeah, it is my happy place. Very therapeutic.
00:07:20
Speaker
thrift with headphones in and listen to music while I was doing it, I'd probably be a happier person. But I feel so disoriented when I do that. Then it's like... Why can't you... Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Why don't you listen to music? I just can't. I don't know why. And the other side of this... Because you're like Willem Dafoe in...
00:07:44
Speaker
I wish dude, I fucking wish. Because I also, on the other side of this coin, I cannot fucking tune out what is playing and being in... So you gotta listen to the thrift store sound? I gotta listen to the shittiest fucking contemporary Christian music you've ever heard in your goddamn life. Do you know song titles?
00:08:13
Speaker
I don't. I know the songs from hearing them. Yay for thee and there is lord. I mean there's plenty of that shit from like my upbringing that I probably have buried in my brain somewhere. Sadly, one chain that I go to that has like six or seven stores. It's like a pretty decent shop and like I've been shopping in a couple of the locations for
00:08:42
Speaker
almost 30 years at this point. They have the exact same playlists across all the stores. So like on some days I will hit three or four of these and here, like I can figure out where the fuck in the playlist I am because I know what I heard at the last door and I know what I'm hearing at this one. But yeah, if anyone ever needs waterboarding material for me, contemporary Christian music is probably
00:09:11
Speaker
very, very, very high on the list, if not number one. Amen. Yeah. Yeah. Amen. Yeah. Because everyone has like a nightmare playlist, right? Oh, totally. Totally. I mean, I'm not one to enjoy pop music either.
00:09:34
Speaker
So it's like I get the shittiest of both worlds all the time when I'm going into thrift stores. It's either like really terrible Christian music or really terrible like pop music that just wants me or makes me want to drive an ice pick into my ears. I don't really. It doesn't occur to me like I like I would like to listen to something. But
00:10:03
Speaker
whatever is happening in the radio inside of the store is like secondary to my little sorting, you know? I mean, I try, but I just don't, I just, yeah, I'm just not one of those people that can tune shit out.
00:10:21
Speaker
Like if there's a song playing, like I'm a musical person, I'm, I'm, if you have followed me or the apocalypse does account, like nearly everything in my life is impacted by me because that's how I've been. That was my, my second love after baseball cards. So, uh, yeah, still the, to this day I'm insane. Right.
Opposition to Atlanta Police Facility
00:10:44
Speaker
Right. But, uh, but yeah, other, other than that, um, you know,
00:10:51
Speaker
I have been following a lot of stuff in Atlanta about the stop cop city movement and Yeah, it's just I don't know I was up till fucking 3 30 in the morning like keeping up with the council meeting Yesterday morning Which was wonderful and a fucking course the idiot guy
00:11:18
Speaker
But yeah, it's... Well, could you clue the listeners in to this copsity thing? Yeah, so Copsity, as it's been dubbed, is... I'll give everyone the brief version of this. It is a police training facility that was proposed, I believe, in late 2020.
00:11:47
Speaker
So kind of like, kind of the heart of the pandemic. And basically Atlanta and the organizers here and the people here have been organizing against this bullshit for nearly three years at this point. It is supposedly a quote unquote public safety facility. But Atlanta is one
00:12:16
Speaker
Among, if not the highest surveilled city in the entire country, Atlanta Police Department does not give a shit about anyone that isn't a wealthy developer or a wealthy human being. I mean, we've been in the streets here for, you know,
00:12:37
Speaker
forever and like it being the quote-unquote home the civil rights movement is Talented out by all these idiots all the time including elected Democrats Who I'm sorry are not on the people on they are not on the people's side
00:12:54
Speaker
um so no one could say that the democratic party is on the side of the people period no certainly not certainly not um also the the reason why it is dubbed quote unquote cot city is because there will be a mock urban warfare uh training area at this fucking thing which i mean if you've ever gone to a protest in a major city uh
00:13:23
Speaker
you can absolutely see that the people in power and the stormtroopers that represent them do not give a fuck about civil rights. They do not give a fuck about constitutional rights. They are there to protect property and to protect capital. And yeah, it's just, it's a really fucking like,
00:13:51
Speaker
insane scenario. So getting a pass that people in Atlanta have been organizing against this for almost three years. The first public comment in 2021 for the city council, it was all virtual at that point still. The first public comment period was around 17 hours. I can't tell you how many people that I know and myself called
00:14:21
Speaker
and gave comment against this fucking facility and then it still ended up getting approved. Um, so this is what we're up against. And then, uh, the council meeting that I referenced on Monday, that is for the, actually, sorry. Uh, so initially we were told that this would cost $30 million in public funds and we were like, go fuck yourself. Uh, so now it has,
00:14:50
Speaker
more than doubled in estimated costs. And on Monday, the city council had another meeting that was open to the public about allocating the additional funds for it. So around $60 million is the estimate, but I can imagine that it's gonna be fucking higher than that. I don't know. That's conjecture. So the city council listened to
00:15:18
Speaker
About 400 speakers out of the maybe thousand or so people that attended the meeting 14 almost 15 hours worth of public comment which ended at 3 30 in the morning Four of those public comments spoke in support of cop city the rest were vehemently against it and Yeah
00:15:44
Speaker
I recommend anybody to look up some of this shit. Twitter is a good place, but the nation, an Atlanta writer today, put out a good piece that's kind of like a succinct primer on the whole thing. But I don't want to sound hyperbolic, but this should scare the shit out of anybody that isn't a white wealthy person because it's basically the state. The furtherance of military
00:16:13
Speaker
Yeah. It's, it's militarizing the police force. Um, it is rubber stamp. It is a, like, I'm sure they would do this kind of thing in Baltimore. Like they want to, I'm sure they already do have huge training facilities here. Yeah. Well, uh, we don't need this kind of stuff. Exactly. We also have a training facility that yeah, maybe needs some improvements. I don't give a shit whether they improve it or not, but it's like,
00:16:40
Speaker
you're building this in a forest which is called the quote-unquote for the four loans of atlanta because atlanta is a city in a forest uh... so they want to chop the ship down which is in a predominantly black lower lower in working-class neighborhood uh... you know because of course it is like if this was proposed in the
00:17:05
Speaker
Northern like wealthy suburbs they would be fighting tooth and nail just like we are But they would actually get listened to and then it would be moved to a place like this so yeah, it's just it will never be built Atlanta is absolutely against it as far as the majority of the citizens and Yeah Welcome to Welcome to Democratic leadership folks
00:17:36
Speaker
And that has been a dim city for pretty much my entire lifetime. We've had many, many black mayors almost exclusively since I think like the early eighties or so. And this is still what they're doing. But yeah, welcome to welcome to hell, everybody. Today, we welcome machinist Rad Dad, heavy, heavy music enthusiast, masochistic runner,
Guest Florian's Background and Style
00:18:04
Speaker
the consonant cap collector, someone not at odds with camouflage, but don't call him Flo Rida, Florian Dumplma. Welcome to shit. I gotta say, that's probably one of the best... Oh, go ahead. Sorry, dude. I always wondered what my intro would be and... Because what separates you from all other podcasts I listen to?
00:18:33
Speaker
the intros Thank you, thank you, I if I do You know if we're patting ourselves on the back. This one's pretty fucking good. I think It is it is Yes, so Florian to get us going here Can you tell us? Where you're from where you live now, and if you want to how old are you?
00:19:01
Speaker
Yeah. Um, I'm from the city of there. It's in, in Western Germany. I was born in that exact city where I still live in. I never moved out of my hometown. Um, there was a phase where I wanted to, but never got the opportunity and I'm now I'm kind of glad I'm still here.
00:19:27
Speaker
Nice. Is it kind of a mid-sized city or a small place? Compared to US cities, it's tiny. Okay, gotcha. And in Germany, I'd say it's in the mid-range. Okay, okay. How many people are we talking, like, population-wise?
00:19:55
Speaker
Yeah, that's the wrong question Any numbers in my head no Okay, no problem. No problem Just I know nothing about Germany outside of obviously fucking Berlin. So I know nothing about the other Cities that are that are actually known so I was just curious. I
00:20:22
Speaker
So we ask usually what you are wearing, right? So you work today. What did you wear to work? And what are you wearing now? Actually, today was a day off. It's some weird Christian holiday. And all the Christian stuff means we don't have to work somehow. What is it even? Is it really a holiday? Yep. It's one day off.
00:20:52
Speaker
I took a day off tomorrow too, because then I have four days weekend and that's always great. I had some different outfits today. I stood up in the morning, went to the gym. Then I used for the way to the gym, I wear sweatpants and a t-shirt.
00:21:20
Speaker
because dressing up just for the way would be done some way. In the gym I wore my Peplor camouflage trousers made from 1960s Italian camouflage material and what shirt was it?
00:21:49
Speaker
Yeah, it was a cheapo Bronson shirt with a CB insignia on it. Nice. Even in the gym, I keep the team running. Totally. I was going to ask, I was going to say, you wear camo to the gym. Always. My shorts are always mostly camouflage.
00:22:17
Speaker
Um, and I wore a pattern we kept like every day. Sure. Sure. Yes. Yes. After, after the gym, I, we, we strolled around the city, um, went for some ice cream. And then I wore Mitchell pet on trousers, not original. What is the ice cream scene like?
00:22:42
Speaker
where you are. You and I had this conversation where it was like, I said, oh, well, of course, Hagen-Dazs, the German Hagen-Dazs, and you were like, no. No. Yeah. For those listening at home, Connor is a ice cream fiend. So, of course, this fucking conversation came up.
00:23:11
Speaker
but so right so what's the so what's the deal yeah I'm getting like small batch ice cream from a local whatever are you going what is the ice cream shop look like the our ice cream shop is it's almost a cafe I nice they
00:23:38
Speaker
They're based in the city center. It's a small shop and they make all of the ice cream themselves from natural ingredients and everything is handmade there. Beautiful. From the cones to the ice cream, the toppings and it's by far the best I've eaten in my whole life. Oh wow!
00:24:06
Speaker
Today I had my usual black coffee and a Coke, like always, and some hazelnut ice cream with, I believe, different toppings like roasted nuts and cream and stuff. Sophisticated. Yeah, that sounds like a salad.
00:24:32
Speaker
Banana ice cream in my little ice cone that comes with a coffee. Oh Hell yeah, this is it kind of it sounds you're a little spoiled. I Love that place totally Stuff is super super nice Even with the kids they are they are totally cool best place in the city Yeah, what's it? What's the name?
00:25:03
Speaker
It's Kofz Eisbachschule. Shout out Kofz Eisbachschule. They also offering like to teach you how to make ice cream. Oh. You can cook courses and they teach you. What?
Florian's Career Transition and Passion
00:25:24
Speaker
Like in their space, like come to our ice cream fortress and like make ice cream with us.
00:25:29
Speaker
Exactly. And in their shop in Berlin, they have a second one, like in, in Berlin. Wow. So they're expanding. I don't know if they are expanding like crazy, but, but it's, it's quite the jump from, from there to Berlin, like two different worlds.
00:26:00
Speaker
Right. I've got to say that I'm a big fan of the coffee and Coca-Cola combination. I feel like that sums up who you are as a person so well. It's actually the best combination. I think the tastes are going very well together.
00:26:21
Speaker
Yeah, I personally have never tried mixing them, but Coca-Cola did, or maybe still does, a drink that's basically black coffee with a Coke. And I have other friends that make coffee drinks with them, too. I don't mix it. Like I said, respect. I don't mix it. Oh, you just drink them separately. OK. Yeah. I could see that thing. Like sip of coffee, sip of Coke.
00:26:50
Speaker
to double fisting the coffee in the coke. That's beautiful. That's really beautiful. With the hazelnut ice cream, amazing. So, for Ian, we said you were a machinist in the intro. Can you kind of just tell us what you do? Of course.
00:27:14
Speaker
First of all, I'm not a machinist by trade. I haven't had any job training, official job training. I worked in youth welfare for most of my adult life now, but the working conditions there are not optimal if you have two kids on your own.
00:27:38
Speaker
And I got the opportunity to start in my brother's machine shop and I took the opportunity and now I'm operating the manual lathe and CNC grinder. Like not round grinding, it's a surface grinder. I just grind parts down in thickness to a
00:28:07
Speaker
specific hate. Okay. Within pretty as tight tolerances. Like it's always just a few thousand, thousands or millimeter I have. Okay, gotcha. I leave it to you to convert it in interest.
00:28:29
Speaker
That's totally fine. Dude, side note, I'm really bummed that after the conversation you and I had about Imperial versus metric system, really, really bummed that we did not include that in the show. We were just talking about, I mean, it really is just a idiot. One of the many
00:28:55
Speaker
many, many hideous things about America is that we use this weirdo measurement system. Oh, yeah, dude. I will die on the Hill. Of course, it's British in the origin. The moratorium also will. Yeah. The metric system is so much easier and so much more accurate. It makes sense. Anyway, so basically, you want
00:29:24
Speaker
Yeah, I like that you die on this hill. Absolutely. What you're doing on the job is basically making various metal components out of essentially raw material, correct? That's what a machinist does. Yeah. My job is to make parts round and make parts flat. That sums it up.
00:29:53
Speaker
Solid, solid, solid. And so to the clothing. So we were going to ask you, what is the first kind of clothing thing that you can remember?
Florian's Military Aviation Interest
00:30:11
Speaker
The first thing, it's funny because my memory usually goes not so far back. Like I don't remember
00:30:23
Speaker
most of my childhood really, but I remember one year in, I was six or seven years old and my grandparents actually just retired from the jobs and my grandpa wanted to visit his sister in Canada. She went over there
00:30:53
Speaker
after the war with a Canadian soldier, married him and stayed there for the rest of her life. And my grandparents visited them in Canada and brought bags, some souvenirs. And for me, there was a shirt with some print on it, I don't remember. And some like shorts with like a
00:31:23
Speaker
check pattern and that's stuck in my head. That's really the only clothing memory I have from my childhood. I think because it was the coolest thing in the world that my grandparents
00:31:40
Speaker
brought me clothing from a country that far away from us. Right. Right. Right. Yeah. I'm sure it was probably some very 1990s souvenir-y North American clothing. But that sounds awesome. It probably was. Yeah. It was 1997, I believe. Yeah. OK. Yeah. Yeah.
00:32:06
Speaker
very much in the 90s souvenir boom. So how did you start on your path to becoming a military collector in a, we should say, not that long ago demilitarized state? I think it goes far, far back. I always had an interest
00:32:37
Speaker
starting in in kindergarten really early like with four years old five years old in military aviation okay and um there was planes for me to always wanted to become a pilot in the german air force um too tall didn't nah too late
00:33:06
Speaker
and always had this interest in all things military. It took a break when I hit my teenage years and was very into subculture, namely punk, hardcore, you name it. And in all things, military are
00:33:32
Speaker
not that accepted in the German left scene. Right, right. So I kept it pretty, pretty low then. But as I grew older, my late 20s, I rediscovered that. And because I was in my late 20s and
00:33:58
Speaker
didn't give a shit what anybody thinks. I just did my thing and started collecting, seriously collecting. Yeah, being that you were obsessed with the Air Force and planes, did Top Gun, like the original one, play a role in your childhood? I never watched it.
00:34:26
Speaker
Wait, see? What? No, Casporian has a fucking brain. I mean, dude, I first saw that when I was like eight fucking years old, all right? Like, you know, to me. I remember being very sad that the guy dies, right? The guy dies at the beginning of the movie. Oh, yeah. Goose. Goose. Yeah, but he avenges goose. And so I never revisited the movie. You can't revenge someone.
00:34:55
Speaker
100 hundred fucking yeah, I 100% understand Top Gun is fucking military propaganda But I unequivocally love that movie and the new one so you know just I can see it as an adult and appreciate the The movie as it is
00:35:21
Speaker
Like Tom Cruise is a fucking maniac, but also like... It's an amazing piece of art, right? You have to consider it. Yeah, it's like a snapshot of a certain time period. But, God, man, Florian, dude, I'm let down by that answer. Whoa. Whoa. Guess what? Guess what, Florian? I don't give a fuck. I think it's great that you haven't seen the movie. Yeah, yeah. I will say...
00:35:50
Speaker
If you like shitty action movies, holy worth a watch. But, I digress.
00:35:59
Speaker
And to this question, then, like, there is not so much penetration into German society with, I'm right, I would say, I kind of figured you would have seen it. Like, I don't think I have seen it in a conscious way. But what does camouflage look like in Germany? How ubiquitous is it? Are people walking around on the street wearing camouflage who are not in the military or police? Also, not just camouflage, but military clothing in general.
00:36:29
Speaker
Yeah, all that stuff. In my area it's mostly that kind of fashion fantasy camouflage crap. Okay. As far as I can tell, I'm most likely the
00:36:48
Speaker
only one walking around in vintage and surplus military stuff. Although I saw a guy on a bike wearing Belgian jigsaw camo lately. That was for me like, what? Never seen it here before. And I know of another guy collecting all things Vietnam War.
00:37:17
Speaker
But he's not, so he doesn't wear the stuff. So you see some alternative kids here and there wearing old German army stuff, but not as much as in other places. And you don't see exotic stuff here.
00:37:43
Speaker
Right, right. I can imagine that like in a kind of like smallish place, you're one of the few that are seeing the shadow. I don't imagine anyone today would have recognized my mature pattern pants as what they are. Most people would think, oh, what a beautiful flower pattern. Yeah, sure, sure.
00:38:13
Speaker
What would you? It is what? It is a beautiful pattern. Oh, it's on. Yeah, and that is what it all sort of boils down to. It's that it's a floral pattern. It is a natural pattern. Would you pass out if you saw someone wearing a pair of tiger stripe pants in your town?
00:38:40
Speaker
Yeah, I think I would get a stroke of something. So, you know, you being in West Germany, shortly after the fall of the wall, and, you know, getting into military stuff, why did the US military become, you know, kind of a fixation for you?
00:39:10
Speaker
That's actually a good question. I never ask that myself. But I think it's not that I glorify the US military per se. It's just the role they had in the Second World War, just because they basically liberated Germany and Europe
00:39:40
Speaker
parts of Europe and I have to give them credit for that. And you never, I won't touch anything World War II German, never. It's just a rule I said to myself. Oh, same here. Same here. I could buy it legally here.
00:40:10
Speaker
but I won't touch it because most sellers selling German stuff are a bit shady at least. Right, right. And there's other parts of this in various subcultures, but it's like, if I found something like that,
00:40:35
Speaker
for a dollar, I wouldn't want to know the person that wants it necessarily. That's just kind of how it is, man. I can't do it. It's important. Yeah, it is. It is. And I understand there's a history behind it. There are plenty of World War II museums around the world.
00:41:04
Speaker
If I found something like that, I would literally just send it to a reputable museum, maybe, and just be like, hey, put this in the context. You know, like, it makes sense. But I just, yeah, other than that, I fuck. Just out of curiosity, how is, how is World War II and, and or the US military discussed in German?
00:41:31
Speaker
World War II is basically a topic in history class in school. And it's a pretty serious topic. There's no joking with that because the role Germany played in World War II causing it in the Holocaust, it's nothing we joke about here in school. In my opinion,
00:42:01
Speaker
thought too less. It could be way more serious than it already is. The US military doesn't play that much of a huge role. We are taught they landed in France, they liberated France and Germany and they occupied Germany and basically
00:42:30
Speaker
Just we scratched the surface. It's more the German role that has a huge part in history classes. Oh, interesting. So kind of like to say a known phrase, the kind of never again mindset. Yeah. Hey, we got to know our history and know how much we fucked up.
00:43:00
Speaker
so that that shit doesn't happen. Yeah, it's weird that it's weird that someone has done that effectively. Right, right. Yeah, but lately, it's getting more and more complicated that it's not that easy. That it could never happen again. Right. Because the
00:43:28
Speaker
In Germany, the far right is uprising. They get too many votes in any election, basically. It's not only Eastern Germany where they were always stronger. It's Western all over Germany, basically. Oh, wow.
00:43:58
Speaker
The United States and Germany have very complicated military histories. We know that the German government restricts the far right and or Nazis and their use of Nazi insignia and symbols. How effective is it? I mean, this question originally written was, when was the last time you saw swastika? Restriction.
00:44:28
Speaker
Yeah, some groups are illegal now, like Blood and Honor, Combat 18. They get banned, got banned in the early 2000s, I believe. But it doesn't work out. They form under a new name. And it's basically the same people doing their shit.
00:44:56
Speaker
and lately a lot of shit got uncovered like there are far right connections in law enforcement in the military and all things come to light lately and in case of Nazi insignia I never saw anybody walking around with a swastika because that would cause like
00:45:26
Speaker
I think it would cause jail time. Wow. Yeah, which is a very stark contrast to the fact that I see no less than 10 Confederate flags every single fucking day.
00:45:45
Speaker
Not that it's the equivalent, but it kind of fucking is. I see a traitorous flag every single day of my life, multiple times, and you've never seen one in public. It's the same with Nazi flags. I saw multiple documentaries about America's far-right scene, and if they are doing rallies,
00:46:13
Speaker
you can walk around with with fucking swastika flags and nobody seems to care. No, nobody gives a single flying fuck for the most part. Yeah, you can do it. You can do it right in right in DC right at the Capitol right at the White House. Right. And that is something that could never happen here without the person swinging it going to jail. Right.
00:46:43
Speaker
Oh man, what a contrast, man. All things considered, that's pretty fucking good for a capitalistic, liberal government to actually put something into action.
00:47:03
Speaker
I'm a little surprised, honestly. I thought you were going to say, like, well, I mean, not like you hang around, uh, swassing people, you know, but like, I don't know. Maybe you see it. Maybe you see one, one every year. Um, actually not, not in my entire life, but nonetheless. Really? Has new symbols. They, they used to identify their cell and I see
00:47:32
Speaker
nazi stuff weekly i guess right right it's just it's it's far more coded like yeah some some bonehead with a certain fashion brand you know um or like like um number codes like 88 14 88 right and that crap if you know you can identify them but the right but most people just don't understand
00:48:00
Speaker
if you've spent time in hardcore punk man you you understand the the fascist shit that gets you know that gets like coded in that way it was a good school for that yeah certainly so you know you were born in 1990 I believe yeah so very shortly after the Berlin Wall fell and you know we're kind of
Healthcare and Social Systems Comparison
00:48:29
Speaker
both Connor and I and the show in general is very interested in cultural shit. And this seems like prime time for like a counter cultural revolution. To kind of define where things would head, you know, both, I'm sure the right and left were fighting for like dominance. But do you remember any kind of like moments from the early part of her unification?
00:48:58
Speaker
Not really, it was like, I was born in 1990. Just when when Germany reunited, and I don't remember, like, I was simply too young to remember anything. Okay, gotcha. But, but I know that in the mid 90s, Germany had a very, very big punk wave.
00:49:29
Speaker
like the second one. And yeah, and you're typical Nazi skinhead, basically. But the conflicts were bound to bigger cities like Hamburg, Berlin. There was more trouble. Surely.
00:49:59
Speaker
We are almost only talking about subculture and style. What came first for you? I mean, were you interested in hardcore and then politics or politics and then hardcore? They simultaneously... I think music came first. But I...
00:50:29
Speaker
also believe that if I wouldn't have that mindset like in me, I would never have gotten into that kind of music. My journey in subculture started when I was 12. I got from my older cousin. I got a Nirvana CD handed down. What CD?
00:50:59
Speaker
um it was uh some some live recording out of uh recorded in in holland i believe yeah it was it was pretty cheaply made but it pointed me in the right direction
00:51:24
Speaker
And from then, I listened. Shortly after that, I started listening to punk, more serious, with more and more political lyrics. And then came hardcore into my life and changed everything again, like with style. In my punk days, I was bike jacket, boots,
00:51:54
Speaker
mohawk like pretty pretty standard and hardcore showed me that there are other options like to dress like i want but also listening to heavier music totally yeah i think that's a pretty common like you know timeline of things which i grew up in kind of in the same
00:52:24
Speaker
in the same way, like grunge and alternative and then punk and hardcore. And my style definitely changed as everyone's does, which is awesome. And then your views also changed and you're like, oh shit, like there are other people that think the way that I do. That was actually the first moment I felt like at home in a scene.
00:52:53
Speaker
and I never left really. I'm still into punk hardcore, but I don't go to shows that often these days because workload is a shit ton and I have a family, but it's always the feeling I had going to my first hardcore show whenever I go to another one.
00:53:24
Speaker
Yeah, same here, man. Few and far between, but they still give me the feeling. Yeah, but although I have to admit that I'm not as active in the mosh pit anymore. Yeah, sadly. Because I would regret it days after. I bet you were a terror in your youth, though. Yeah, absolutely.
00:53:54
Speaker
I bet you were a real fucking nightmare. I was wondering what's it like having a social safety net in Germany? I mean, is that even a fair thing to say? Is there a good social safety net there? Has that changed your politics at all?
00:54:25
Speaker
We have a social safety net. Like if I call sick at work, I get paid anyway. My insurance pays my wage for that time. If I have an accident at work and can't work for a longer period of time, there are institutions paying my wage
00:54:53
Speaker
at least partially like 60% or so. It's good. I don't have to fear unemployment because of getting sick. But my politics haven't changed. That's nothing that would change my politics. Yeah. Because I still see
00:55:24
Speaker
The root of most evil in The capitalist society and that's something I that cannot change until the world changes Right. It was a little loaded. It was a little loaded question, but like Yeah, it's amazing it just is like I was on the fucking phone with the insurance people today like I
00:55:52
Speaker
I'm not even, I will very, I will wade into this gently, but like I called them Medicare three times just to get from them what they might charge me for this therapy session and they can't tell me. They say that it's covered, but that there might be a copay. They can't say what the copay is going to be. And so the therapist can't say and Medicare can't say
00:56:22
Speaker
So who is making the choice? Wow. Yes, it's insane. And the guy was even like, oh, sir, I see you have called in three times today and yesterday as well.
Religious Influence in Politics
00:56:39
Speaker
Yes. Yes, I fucking did. Every time I see something like this from your friends,
00:56:51
Speaker
is it's nuts from my standpoint. If I visit a doctor, I don't have to pay a single cent, never. I have to co-pay some medication like here and there, but it's always around 10 bucks. Manageable. Yeah. Certainly manageable. Totally.
00:57:22
Speaker
such an interesting like view that like a percentage, I guess, significant percentage of the US has that it's like, oh, this doesn't work. Like national healthcare doesn't work. And you're fucking born and raised in not a major city in Germany. And like, yeah, it's just fucking insane.
00:57:53
Speaker
yeah it's medical healthcare systems work they definitely do it's proven like all over the world right right except the us except the us yeah we're one of what what like three countries or something that has like a similar medical medical system that we do it's just it's purely absurd when you talk to people and
00:58:21
Speaker
I love that you said when you see things from your American friends, it blows your mind because that's how rational human beings should think about it. It's nuts. I lately saw on Instagram stories of Wally Edge.
00:58:44
Speaker
that yes the torn muscle that need to get fixed and they started a fundraiser like it's mind-blowing to start a fundraiser to cover medical bills yeah yep yeah and sadly that is the norm now like how many GoFundMe's do do people see on a daily basis it's like oh shit I
00:59:13
Speaker
I have stage two lung cancer and I don't have insurance. Can someone help me please? And you're like, wow, this is dystopian as fuck. This whole pay or die mentality is absolutely sick. Oh, absolutely. And the sad part is that like, you know,
00:59:38
Speaker
This is probably on my mind because Pat Robertson died today. Uh, rest in this asshole. Uh, you know, like in the U S a lot of the, a lot of that mentality comes from this, um, you know, this evangelical Christian side of things where it's like, Oh, you're fucking up something and God is smiting you essentially. If you're poor, you're being punished.
01:00:09
Speaker
Yeah, you're being punished for not you know for having a job like the only job that you can get and Not being able to afford any fucking thing on the planet like rent utilities food, etc Yeah, like yeah. Do you guys have anything like that? Like I Germany is is probably Somewhat religious, right? I would assume you guys have a Christian holiday Yeah, yeah Germany overall is
01:00:37
Speaker
pretty catholic for the most part but the church has some influence but not as much as in the usi i think and we don't have as much radical christian groups right not i know some yeah but
01:01:07
Speaker
They are usually smaller groups of weirdos. Yeah. And they would have to be. Like, they do such things like standing in front of abortion clinics and harassing people, but the... Probably a smaller subsex. Yeah, we have probably a whole lot more of that, I would assume.
01:01:37
Speaker
Yeah. And they are not as dangerous, I think. Yeah, certainly. Sometimes someone rings at the door and, hey, can we talk about our Lord and Savior? It's annoying, but nothing more. Right, right.
01:02:06
Speaker
It's always fun if they ring. If I'm in the mood, I will come with them. Oh, yes. I can, dude, knowing your sense of humor a little bit, I can totally envision this in its funniest shape. So I guess you're rounding it out, man.
Florian's Military Clothing Collection
01:02:31
Speaker
Unless you have an idea, Matt.
01:02:35
Speaker
No, no. Sorry, I went off a little tangent there. No, no, all good. To kind of close out things and offer a little palate cleanser from our very pointed discussion today, what's your oldest or rarest piece in your collection?
01:02:57
Speaker
The oldest is currently on the way. Right now it's in Cologne, into customs. Nice, nice. Yeah, customs is always nice. I already paid customs via FedEx. They sent me a mail today. It's a wool pop-over shirt from World War I. Oh, fuck yeah. US Army Medical Corps.
01:03:26
Speaker
Wow. So it's olive, I guess? It's this brownish olive. Beautiful. Like very thick. I don't think it's thick wool. My 1950s wool shirt, like Korean war era, is way thicker, I guess. OK. Yeah.
01:03:56
Speaker
The rarest could be... Yeah, I was gonna say that might contend with the rarest, but what you got, man? The rarest could be... I have a... totally mint... U.S. Army HBT jacket. Like from World War II, but totally crisp. Never issued, never worn... cutter stacks... actually are still visible.
01:04:27
Speaker
Wow. And it still has that dark olive green color to it. No fates, no nothing. And my M41, my completely patched M41 could be on the rarer side too, I guess. Oh hell, yeah. If it's fully patched, that's definitely on the rarer side.
01:04:55
Speaker
rank insignia and division patch and it's a little sortie but actually one of my favorite most favorite jackets yeah such a good shape but if that arctic m41 comes to my home i guess that will be the rarest thing i i have
01:05:23
Speaker
Hell yes, it will be yours, my friend. Soon, right? Soon, yes, very soon. Man, yeah. So what is the best deal that you've gotten on something, in your opinion? That's pretty easy. It's that reversible survival head that Air Force... Oh!
01:05:49
Speaker
Fuck yeah, only 107 on one side blazing orange on the other side. Yeah, that's nothing is sick too. It's actually brand new and I got it for 30 euros shipped. Wow. Yeah, that's a fucking deal. Around 32 bucks. And it was listed as olive green booty.
01:06:20
Speaker
Nice. So the dude clearly didn't know what he had. Trash and treasure, right? Yeah, it took offers only. Offered 30 ships and just to test out my luck and I got it. And first I couldn't believe, but I got the box with the hat.
01:06:49
Speaker
That's awesome. Yeah, your love for the Air Force continues. Yeah, definitely. But my girlfriend hates that hat. Oh, really? Why? She hates the shit out of it. I don't know why, but she's generally not into the military stuff. It's always another green jacket that shows up.
01:07:19
Speaker
Oh, that's the episode title. Another green jacket. It's another stinky green jacket. Perfect. Because she also hates that vintage smell. Like basically every single piece of surplus or vintage I've handled had the exact same smell. Yeah.
01:07:49
Speaker
Except that US Navy rain gear I have, that rain smog with a lathe front. It's that impregnated cotton crab, and it has like a very sharp chemical smell to it, plus that vintage smell. Oh, God. Yeah, yeah. 100% of what you're talking about,
01:08:18
Speaker
And that smell just entered my brain when you said it. Yeah, one of my, yeah, not to turn it on me, but like one of my least favorite feels in the world, like textures is super fucking dry queen, sateen shit. Like you can cut bread with that thing. And every time I touch it, I'm like, I dry heave a little bit. I'm just like, oh, God damn.
01:08:46
Speaker
It always feels like it could crack. Like if you touch it, it turns to dust immediately. Yeah. It's like carbon free something. Like I don't know if this is going to fall apart the minute that it has any pressure. I don't know if people can walk in it, like. Yeah. I don't fucking know, dude. It's beyond me.
01:09:16
Speaker
Well, Ford, indeed, thank you so much for coming on and having a fun conversation. Thanks for having me. Yeah, dude, any time. We like being international. So, you know. Yes. This is... The Apocalypse does international. The Apocalypse does international. Exactly. But we always like to give our guests a chance to shout out themselves or something they like. So, here is your chance.
01:09:48
Speaker
Yeah, I like to give a huge shout out to my good friend Philip out of Magdeburg. He runs a small manufacturing of handmade bags made out of vintage camouflage material, vintage and surplus. His Instagram is underscore tectonic underscore and I think
Episode Wrap-Up and Listener Engagement
01:10:17
Speaker
Yeah, that was it. He's the only one that deserves it. Yeah, well, we'll give him a shout out for sure. Also, if you like a fucking cool dude, you should follow Florian. I don't think you're private. So yeah, if you want to share your handle too, please do. I have to look it up. Do you want me to do it?
01:10:47
Speaker
Please, if you have my Instagram on hand. I do. It is bazookajo385.
01:11:20
Speaker
I'm also gonna say
01:11:22
Speaker
Follow for in and go read the first 5K story because it's one of the funniest things I've ever heard of. Holy shit. Have you seen this? Did you get this from him? What? What? When did some military in with Buzz Rickson's official US Navy Chambre shirt?
01:11:50
Speaker
No, it's just you wearing like a tailored coat. It's not a tailored coat. It's 1980s Armani. It's a linen jacket. I got a friend out of Cologne for my girlfriend's father's wedding. And I didn't want to buy anything like
01:12:20
Speaker
from the regs so I got this one you look super good yeah this is such a good fit dude also the Seiko shout out Seiko I don't even know how I never saw this it was last June or July I'm not even sure if we knew each other back then
01:12:49
Speaker
Maybe so. I'm, I'm deep in your Instagram right now. So everyone go find this Instagram. There's tons of gold on here. And with that. And with that, uh, okay. Uh, everyone, thank you for listening Florian. Thank you for coming on again and being a good sport with our dumb fuckasses. Um, if you like what you heard.
01:13:17
Speaker
If this is your first time, welcome. Please follow us on Spotify or whatever platform you use. Please, please, please. Rate the show. Five stars because we're fucking awesome. Yeah, we like to talk ourselves up sometimes, but also be self-deprecating. Sorry, apocalypseduds at gmail.com if you have
01:13:45
Speaker
thoughts, comments, concerns, or questions. If you want to tell us to go fuck ourselves, that's a perfect way to do it. AddApocalypse does on Instagram, and thanks for listening. Cheers. Cheers.