We recently connected with Wolven and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Wolven, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
I found my purpose by interviewing people and getting to know them. Eventually, I founded the “Underground” series, which interviews bands and people in the L.A. punk scene to bring awareness to and combat the heavy drug issue that goes on at these shows.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
At first, I was only taking photos of bands at local punk shows, but over time, I started interviewing the people who attended the shows to see their favorite bands. I wanted to ask them what their favorite bands are and what they love about going to these shows. Eventually, the more I talked to people and started to get to know them, the more I noticed a lot of the people I talked to and interviewed had been vocal about the heavy drugs that are being sold at these shows. The people have been vocal about addiction in the L.A. punk scene as well as the overdose issue that’s been going on as well. After a period of time, the “Underground” series was created to battle against the drug issue by asking this one question: “What is your opinion on heavy drugs being sold at all ages shows?” With my approach, I am creating a dialogue to build a safe space for band members, vendors, and the people who attend the shows to share their opinions in order to build a better scene.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I would say I learned how to communicate and bring people together about important issues that’ve been going on, how to have patience with talking to and listening to people, and finally, I would say, how to ask hard questions that help share people’s stories to better the scene and shine light on issues that have been ignored. My advice is to talk to people to improve your communication skills, learn how to ask the right questions, and only work with people who stand for something.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
We are looking for people to join our team in order to host these shows without having heavy drugs sold at our shows. We are looking to partner up with groups that distribute free Narcan and testing strips; we are looking for venues to host these punk shows at; and we are also looking for any organizations out there to work with that are fighting against the same issue.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @wolvenwaymedia
- Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/@Wolvenwaymedia
- Other: Instagram: @wolvenway (portrait & street photography) @amasb_corp (team members)
Image Credits
1st image: Interview with Ambrose Cordero @likeanyothermetalhead 2nd image: Interview with Kitty @Kitgirlsfotos 3rd image: Interview with Zoey & April 4th image: How to use Narcan tutorial with Solís 5th image: Interview with Rae @Raethewarwitch 6th image: Interview with Quynn @junkpunkshow & @snottyrocket 7th image: Interview with Jay 8th image: Interview with Black Diamond clothing @thebla.ckdiamond
