Pictures: The Hipster Olympics

An attendee held her pair of glasses at the second annual Hipster Olympics on Saturday in Berlin. With events such as the Horn-Rimmed Glasses Throw, Skinny Jeans Tug-O-War, Vinyl Record Spinning Contest, and Cloth Tote Sack Race, the Hipster Olympics both mocks and celebrates the hipster subculture, which some critics claim could never be accurately defined and others that it never existed in the first place.

What makes one a member of the hipster subculture is imprecise, but the archetype in Berlin, one of the more popular locations for followers of the lifestyle, along with London and Brooklyn, includes a penchant for canvas tote bags, the carbonated yerba mate drink Club Mate, analogue film cameras, an asymmetrical haircut, ’80s neon fashion, and a heavy dose of irony.

To some in Berlin, members of the hipster “movement” have replaced the Yuppie as a target of criticism for gentrification as landlords raise rents in the areas to which they relocate, particularly the up-and-coming neighborhood of Neukoelln.

Members of a team celebrated after winning a match of the Skinny Jeans Tug-O-War.

A competitor held the Golden Club Mate trophy after winning the second annual Hipster Olympics.

A contestant competes in the Vinyl Record Spinning Contest, in which competitors ran around a record player while keeping a finger on a disc.

An attendee tried out a Polaroid Land Camera.

A participant looked at a referee’s scorecard during the facial hairstyling competition.

Participants relaxed before competing.

The feet of spectators wearing identical shoes are seen on a railing.

Participants put together a fake beard on a teammate’s face during a facial hairstyling competition.

A visitor carried a cloth tote bag advertising the Berlin dance club Berghain.

Attendees looked at items from a swap box, where visitors could take items in exchange for leaving others.

A visitor showed her bottle of Club-Mate carbonated yerba mate drink.

Contestants competed in an event in which they had to suck candy out of a cup of the ubiquitous Berlin drink bubble tea.

A visitor used her finger as an ironic hipster moustache.

A teammate prepared a contestant for the make-your-own-ironic-hipster-mustache competition.

An attendee yawned by an exit sign.

An employee wrote out a coffee menu.

An attendee got her face painted with glitter.

An attendee photographed others as hipsters.