Who would have thought a drop-crotch pant would get you in so much trouble? Evidently not 28-year-old art director Jarryd Zankovic from Sydney, who, following an unfortunate magazine profile, was dubbed by Reddit users as “Australia’s biggest wanker”.
Zankovic, an art director at Play Communications, took part in a B&T Magazine photo shoot that profiled the most stylish people in advertising, only to have his comments mercilessly mocked on Reddit forums.
“I get called a hipster, but I fucking hate that description,” he says in the profile. “But you know…beard, no socks, drop crotch – which is really comfortable, especially for a dude who has a bit going on between this legs,” Zankovic is quoted in the article.
“I have about 30 or 40 pocket squares,” he adds, “they’re the equivalent of little black dresses for women.” An image of the profile was uploaded to Reddit with the headline, “I think this guy just won ‘Australia’s Biggest Wanker” and it has attracted more than 1242 comments in just a day.
They range from the confused — “Is this bloke boasting about owning a handkerchief?” — to the defensive — “getting your beard trimmed is a bit weird and ‘pocket squares’ aren’t my thing, but whatev floats his boat.” Zankovic’s employer, meanwhile, has rushed to his defence.
“We were surprised by the tone of the article, it certainly doesn’t reflect Jarryd’s nature at all, he’s a great guy, who’s both talented and grounded,” a representative for Zankovic told Fairfax Media. “Although he’s always well groomed, more than anything he was having a laugh at himself and general stereotypes, some things have been taken out of context.”
B&T Editor-in-chief David Hovenden has defended the piece and taken to the publication’s website to slam Reddit “trolls” and “faceless haters” for calling Zankovic a “wanker”. “As an industry that is driven by creativity we need to get behind those who wander from the straight and narrow,” he wrotes. “When a young man who’s at the top of his game is flamed by such a bunch of jealous bastards, it is truly an indictment on society.”
The magazine has kicked off a social media campaign with the hashtag #teamjarryd.
