“What Makes You a Strange Kid?” #4 featuring Nick Newberg

Share your Strange Kid story with us and we’ll post your submission right here on the site. Feel free to include any links and childhood images you’d like.

“I’m a strange kid. I even tagged the name ‘Strange’ for over 5 years. Yes I’m only sixteen, but I don’t belong in this generation. I have a passion for the obscure and the weird. I live life like I’m still in the 90′s and I’m obsessed with old school Nickelodeon (I was only born in 94!). I have a massive collection of classic nick shows– tons of episodes of Kenan and Kel, Rugrats, Rocko, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Aaah! Real Monsters and more. I also make stencils based off many Nick characters.

I strictly listen to 90′s hip-hop; Native Tongues type stuff. I play Dungeons and Dragons, but not ‘regular’ Dungeons and Dragons. It’s AD&D, the original 1970′s version and I don’t know any other kid who plays that. I’m an avid artist. I consider myself a skilled graffiti artist, painter and sculptor. I create Munnys, collect comic books and design tiny structures. I am very fascinated with living in a tiny dwelling. I believe we can all live comfortably in a small space. This can be achieved through multipurpose and clever solutions, it’s like solving a jigsaw puzzle. I’m putting this tiny lifestyle to the test by attempting to live in the family’s SUV for a week. I put an air-matress in the back and I’ll just jump from place to place while stealing free internet.

Another big interest of mine is urban exploration. I love exploring the secret, sometimes abandoned places around me to learn more about my environment’s culture and history. I have recently compiled a map of more than 100+ secret places in the local Los Angeles area. I also enjoy Geocaching, a global gps scavenger-hunt type game which I have been playing for about a year. I am super interested in emerging media and the integration of technology in location-based games. I feel a little ostracized from my peers because my generation tends to bury themselves in the fake world of technology and social networking. Some people find me a little wacky; but hey, that’s just me and I love it.”

–Nick Newberg