Hipster Olympics 2012

Teija Vaittinen wears an asymmetrical haircut at the second annual Hipster Olympics on July 21, 2012 in Berlin, Germany. 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.

The imprecise nature of determining what makes one a hipster means that the symptomatic elements of adherents to the group vary in each country. But the archetype of the version in Berlin, one of the more popular locations for those following its lifestyle, along with London and Brooklyn, includes a penchant for canvas tote bags, the carbonated yerba mate drink Club Mate, analog film cameras, asymmetrical haircuts, '80s neon fashion, and, allegedly, a heavy dose of irony. Here an attendee gets her face painted with glitter at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

Attendees wait for the start of the games at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

A visitor uses her finger as an ironic Hipster mustache at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

An attendee photographs others as hipsters at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

An attendee, right, signs up to compete at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

An attendee looks in the mirror after getting his face painted with glitter at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

An attendee stands at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

An employee writes out a coffee menu at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

Attendees photograph one another at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

An attendee gets his face painted with glitter at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

Attendees photograph one another at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

Attendees sign up to compete at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

Attendees Rudi Kraft, left, and Lina Szmielkin greet friends at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

An attendee stands at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

Contestants compete in the Cloth Tote Sack Race during the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

An attendee wears 1980s jelly bracelets at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

Attendees wait for the start of the games as a Deutsche Bahn ICE (InterCity Express) train passes overhead at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

Attendees sign up to compete at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

An attendee with horn-rimmed glasses eats ice cream at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

Contestants compete in the Cloth Tote Sack Race during the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

Attendees sign up to compete at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

Contestants compete in an event in which they must suck candy out of a cup of the ubiquitous Berlin drink bubble tea during the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

A fan cheers on a team in the Cloth Tote Sack Race during the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

An attendee yawns by an exit sign at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

An attendee wearing pink glasses speaks on a mobile phone during the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

A visitor carries a cloth tote bag advertising the Berlin dance club Berghain during the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

Attendees look at items from a "swap box," where visitors can take items in exchange for leaving others, at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

An attendee tries out a Polaroid Land Camera at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

An attendee wearing a 1980s Nintendo controller as a necklace holds a Berliner Pilsener beer at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

An attendee holds an analogue Pentax film camera at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

An attendee dances during the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

A member of the winning team, Jam FM, holds the "Golden Club Mate" trophe after winning the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

An attendee wearing a 1980s Nintendo controller as a necklace drinks a Berliner Pilsener beer at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

Attendees dance at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

An attendee takes a "Hipster Kit" on sale at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

A contestant competes in the "Vinyl Record Spinning Contest," in which competitors must run around a record player while keeping a finger on a record, at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

An attendee watches a competition event while wearing an analogue Canon film camera at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

Contestants compete in the "Vinyl Record Spinning Contest," in which they must run around a record player while keeping a finger on a record, at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

An attendee wearing an ironic trucker cap stands next to another with a cotton tote bag at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

Contestants compete in the "Confetti Toss" event, in which competitors must jump over sticks laid across empty Club-Mate crates and pass confetti to one another, at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

An attendee shows another his Polaroid Land Camera at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

Attendees throw graffiti during the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

A DJ plays music at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

A man pretends to play keytar on stage during the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

Attendees dance at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

A member of the winning team, Jam FM, celebrates after receiving his medal after winning the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

Teams compete in the "Skinny Jeans Tug-O-War" event during the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

Attendees dance at the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

Members of the winning team, Jam FM, celebrate after winning the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

Attendees dance during the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.

An attendee kicks a beach ball during the second annual Hipster Olympics, July 21, 2012, in Berlin, Germany.