To our readers,
We welcome you to POWDER Magazine.
Aptly named by our crude and immature editor as the “first flush”, this initial compilation of content stands to show you who we are. We offer you vibrant, politically salacious and journalistically irreverent stories of UK nightlife and its subcultural underbellies, conversations with those shaping the scene around us and illuminating accounts of the metaphysics of partying.
Our name derives from the euphemistic term “powder my nose”, a polite excuse for leaving one’s company to take a shit. It also invites association with drug use, our content promising to be ‘addictive’ and reflective of the real behaviours and habits of the devout partygoer. As a brand we explore the sociology of the nightclub – reporting not from the socially performative stage of the dance floor, but from the soiled cubicles of the toilets; we are honest and intimate, and unapologetic in our discussion of topics left alone by more respectable publications.
Dear readers, united by your love for chemical escapism and cult-like worship of the DJ, your adoration of alternative culture and commitment to radical self-expression, we hope you find upon this site stories that shock you, stories that move you.
Shat out by five exhausted reprobates, this is POWDER‘s First Flush. Enjoy.
Meet the dudes doin’ it.
Tom Sale, Editor
A bitch in a black leather jacket, Tom hails from his beloved south-western city of Bristol. Now living in London, he's here to tuck into the city's impressive queer scene and depress everyone with his melancholic , self-indulgent post-punk soundtracks. Lol bless.
Zandi Mlotshwa, Web Editor
Tom's arch nemesis, Zandi was born and raised in Zimbabwe. She is an African girl that speaks in an English accent, loves all things amapiano and knows all the words to Bon Jovi's greatest hits. She's always hungry for McDonalds and validation (it's a Leo ting). Her favourite part about nights out is the nap before.
Mariam Balogun-Etti, Designer
Mariam's night out starts at the corner shop where she buys cheap and quick liquor: tequila if she wants to rage, and gin if she wants to regret. Whether in a club or at a house party, she will dance to the body-invading musical stylings of Latin, African and house tunes. The scene for Mariam is social which means leaving with an Instagram or two and invading everyone's personal lives, but it doesn't matter to her when she has chosen gin as her social elixir.
Tia Brown, Socials Editor
Give Tia a few Pornstar Martinis and you’ll see the chatty, loving party girl she is. Summer is her season, she thrives at festivals and staying up chatting shit with her besties 'til sunrise. She's a Londoner who loves to explore - she may not know when to end the night, but who said that’s a bad thing?
Kate Aspland, Socials Editor
An absolute weapon in the club armed with the glossiest lips, Kate can sink 36 mojitos before you think of the next track to stick on. Serving looks and throwing shapes to hip-hop, R&B or tunes with a Caribbean flavour, Kate enjoys a colourful variety of genres and mixing with the UK's best upcoming artists.