Subcultures You Never Knew Existed

Bronies have kind of blown up on the Internet recently, so they're suddenly not one of the subcultures you never knew existed. For those who don't know, however, a Bronie is essentially a bit of fandom built around a cartoon called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Your typical Bronie is a twenty-something male. The subculture allows females also (they're known as Pegasisters) but there aren't nearly as many. They have an annual convention, Bronycon, where they dress like glittery ponies, mingle, and look for deals on My Little Pony memorabilia. It's one of the happiest subcultures of all time.

No one does strange subcultures quite as well as the Japanese. Take Dekotora, for instance. This subculture you never knew existed is a mixture of the English words "truck" and "decorate," Dekotora is when Japanese truckers dress up their big rigs to look as gaudy and flashy as possible by lining them with neon lights and attaching giant add-ons to the body. It's basically the coolest thing ever. These are actual working trucks, too, not just something saved for a showroom floor. It's difficult to overstate how great it would be to pass one of these in casual traffic.

The Sect of Gadget Hackwrench is a group from Russia that basically worships Gadget Hackwrench from Chip n' Dale's Rescue Rangers. It's either a practical joke or the greatest subculture you never knew existed. 

Even if it is nothing more than a performance art piece, that still puts it on par with subcultural activities such as flash-mobbing and riding subways without pants, so it's still good. We would have preferred Betty Rubble, but it's Russia. According to cultural anthropologist Yacov Smirnoff, they do some things differently over there.

Otherkin is a subculture you never knew existed of people who don't think they're all the way human. Otherkins may or may not have physical powers related to the animal that fills their "not human" hole. There are many types of Otherkin, such as Elvenkin, a group of people who claim to be elves (they are allergic to iron). Vampires are Otherkin, as well.

One of the more interesting Otherkin subsets is the Dragonkin, a group of people who believe they are reincarnated dragons. They have magic powers but will only show them to fellow Dragonkin. Through a process called "Awakening," Dragonkin can connect with their "draconity" and regain their old dragon memories. If you run into one, they are supposedly non-aggressive, despite history's long list of unwarranted dragon attacks.