Has being a ‘roadman’ finally gone out of fashion?

It’s 2024… ‘low them tings there

Credit: Thred

People, especially kids, will adopt what’s deemed to be fashionable. Thankfully, the ‘chav’ to ‘roadman’ arc appears to be on its last legs in England.

Growing up in south London in the noughties was incredibly fun. Your mates were always out after school on bikes or playing football. We’d knock on each other’s doors — and the odd stranger’s door — grab sweets, share a can of booze, and generally create harmless mischief until dinnertime.

There was a significant downside to wanting to be out all the time, however. Hoodlums were everywhere. Every postcode had a pathetic gang affiliation, and anyone who was a cousin of a member, a mate, or a mate of a mate claimed to be a member too.

The reality is that parks became completely off limits. You went in, you’d lose your phone and money and get beaten up by fellas 3 school years above. Even kids half-a-decade away from puberty hitting would claim to be ‘yungers’.

Wherever we went, we became accustomed to sprinting and hopping fences to get away from groups of tracksuit-wearing teens. Let me tell you, cardio hits different with a dose of adrenaline.