Dizelaši (singular dizelaš) was an urban street youth sub-culture popular in the 1990s in Serbia. It was characterized by turbo-folk, hip-hop and dance music, designer clothes (such as Diesel) and sportswear. It emerged in Belgrade during the embargo on FR Yugoslavia following the outbreak of the Yugoslav Wars. The youths were stereotyped as gangsters (also called mangupi), involved in illegal activities such as fuel smuggling. In contrast to the dizelaši, the opposing sub-culture was called padavičari, including hippies, rockers and ravers. A typical dizelaš was seen as:
Contents
A youngster, short-cut [hair], in a track suit, with a gold chain around his neck, a mobile phone (possibly a good car), often tied to criminal activities.
Clothing
Their typical clothing was seen as American and Italian high-priced clothing, such as Diesel and Levi's jeans, Nike Air Max shoes, and bomber and leather jackets.
Speech
Their speech included Šatrovački. Some of the more common terms they used were ša for šta ("what") and brate ("brother") for "mate, dude".