FROM THE BOARDS OF BOING BOING:
Hi everyone,
the origin of this picture is actually probably not NJ, but rather a techno discotheque in Vienna, Austria, called "NACHTSCHICHT" ("nightshift") whose patrons are primarily from working-class backgrounds.
The habit of using ridiculous amounts of tanning lotion - coupled with regular visits to the solarium ("soli") - is so commonplace here that you barely spend a day without seeing at least a couple of these guys on the streets. There are numerous videos and galleries on the web that provide you with "best-of" compilations of this absurd trend...
The skin hue is referred to as "Prolo-braun" (Proletarian Brown). Many of these fashion victims refer to themselves as "Krocha", which is also the name of the style of dance that they like to practice (related to the europe-wide "jumpstyle" trend). Note that not all Krocha are Prolo-braun.
"Krocha" comes from "Krachen" (to crack), and from the expression "In die schicht einikrochn" (to burst into the nachtschichtg). Some scholars think it also has something to do with the effect of solarium abuse on the skin of the affected.
Other notable rituals include the sporting a celebratory "VoKuHiLa" hair style("Vorne Kurz, Hinten Lang" = a mullet basically), the wearing of "de puta madre" t-shirts, ed hardy caps and, for the girls, the famous "Arschgeweih" ("Ass-Antlers" a tatoo near the bottom of the spine).
The newest style on the hard streets of Vienna is actually wearing cheap 5€ neon-colored baseball caps (3 colors available: pink, green, yellow - particularly effective under black light conditions), preferrably in large groups of associated "Krocha". It is not uncommon to see 10-15 of them - all sporting pink headgear - loitering around the exits of local u-bahn (subway) stations, most notably along the U1 and U6 lines. These serve the eastern side of the city (on the "other side" of the danube), the 21st and 22nd district, which is also where the "Nachtschicht" is located and where most "Krocha" seem to originate from.
Interestingly, although many of the "local" (austrian) followers of this style could be classified as having a right-wing and generally xenophobic orientation, "Krocha" come from many different cultural backgrounds, including turkish and eastern-european. Especially the turkish Krocha are taking the style to new heights by combining it with a weird mix of punk/biker attire, many wearing tight black jeans, loose t-shirts and black leather jackets.
It is fascinating to watch this trend evolve daily - as is it's language. For those of you who understand german, take a look at
http://sabsimausi6666.uboot.com/blog/krocha/
for a short introduction to the "Krocha"-speak.
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