A Queensland teenager says despite his best efforts, he has been unable to get a job due to his “punk” appearance.
18-year-old Novak Daniels claims he is being discriminated against due to how he looks, telling Sunshine Coast Daily that he has been continually knocked back despite applying for several casual jobs in recent months.
The Queensland teenager believes that his clothing, piercings, hair and more is clearly the reason behind his rejections, describing his fashion sense and style as “punk”.
“I think these people are very old-fashioned and think I’m a troublesome teenager,” he said.
“I’m being myself, and if people are choosing to discriminate against me and tell me to pull my piercings out, then they can.”
Daniels has over 55,000 followers on TikTok (which was previously banned but has now been reinstated), and many of his videos involve him getting rowdy, drinking, swearing and smoking.
He told the Sunshine Coast Daily that he doesn’t think he should have to change his appearance to fit in with a “broken” system.
“I dress the way I dress to express myself. I don’t want to fit with the system because it’s broken,” he said.
His socials also call for donations, and link to a Paypal page for anyone who wants to help fund his lifestyle.
His public outburst comes at a time when the Federal Government’s JobSeeker and JobKeeper payments are being reduced.
JobSeeker falls from $1100 a fortnight for a single household to $810, while JobKeeper will be reduced to $600 a week at its most.
The changes have come into effect this week.
