Mark Cobrasnake Hunter & Cory Kennedy

Mark Hunter and Cory Kennedy... if you ain't heard it already, they're the prom king and queen of the blog-o-party-scene.

Why do people hate on them so much?  Why is it frowned upon for a 30-year-old man to date a teenager?  Why do they do it better than the rest?

We answer these questions and more.



Chief Magazine: Did you go to school for photography, did you go to college?

Mark: No, I went to community college for one semester and then stopped there. I was there for business and took public speaking, biology, and marketing classes. I took photo in high school though, so I have a lot of experience in the dark room, black and white, and printing.

Is that something that you did a lot growing up? I read that you used photography to get in to venues when you were young, or that you were photographing a band?

Mark: Yeah I would go out and tour with different bands. But yeah, in high school I saw photography as an awesome art form, especially for me as someone who couldn’t paint or draw or anything. I was in orchestra, but I wasn’t very good. I thought that photography was more for everybody, and I was pretty good at it, so I just pursued it and somehow ended up meeting Cory, which was awesome. We did so many cool things and now we’re being interviewed.

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Cory, how did you get involved with parties and going out all the time?

Cory: From Mark.

But before that... maybe the way you were raised, were your parents really into music or art?

Cory: No, not at all. [laughing]

Mark: She’s such a shining star, which is cool because my mom is pretty cultured, but my dad doesn’t really know anything about… things. He’s not really into… stuff [laughing], so it’s cool to be able to be different from your parents; use them as role models of what you don’t want to be.

I was reading a lot about you, Cory, and the words "icon" and "role model" came up a lot. Does that make you feel weird, or do you invite that? Most of the people it seems that look up to you are either your age or are even much older. Is there anything that you tried to focus on because you now know people are watching you through your blog?

Cory: I definitely watch everything I do much more because I know that people are watching. I have to think about everything twice.

Mark: It’s kind of like how Lindsay Lohan gets all this attention. She gets scrutinized for everything she does while there’s hundreds of other people doing the same thing and nobody cares. You’ve got to be careful. I just try to be very cordial and stuff. Cory and I were in New York at this party once and some girl spilled her whole drink on my head. I was wearing a white shirt and it was cranberry juice so I didn’t even take a second to think of what happened or anything and just hit her in the face with my hand. It was pretty awkward because I’m not very physical or aggressive like that, and it totally was a bad idea because still to this day people are like “Remember that time Mark…”

Cory: Hit a girl. [laughing]

Mark: [laughing] Yeah, I’m not like that at all. That could happen to anyone else and it wouldn’t have mattered, but you have to be very…sort of tiptoey sometimes so you don’t get misinterpreted.

You’re so young and you’re still developing who you are. Is all this attention hampering your sense of direction? You say you have to watch what you do and where you go…

Cory: I think it’s better that way.

In terms of?

Cory: In terms of everything you do, I think that you should think before you speak, you should really think before you do anything. I just think it’s better. I mean, I have to grow up faster, but I was already doing that, so it’s just a different perspective of things.

You mention Lindsay Lohan and she’s… how old is she?

Mark: She’ll be 21; she’s having a birthday in Vegas

Was Mark your first boyfriend, Cory?

Cory: No.

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I imagine with Mark it there was an intense sense of camaraderie...

Mark: I think that there’s good chemistry, we get a lot of cool things going on and a lot of things that we really couldn’t do on our own, because not everyone wants a hairy Jewish guy doing things. Cory was a lot cuter than me and talented in other ways, so it was nice to have a tag team, where we could both have a common goal; get things accomplished. There are certain things where even when you have a person you work with, or even your family, you know that they can help you say no and you can say no for them. It’s a good relationship, like, “Hey Cory I really don’t wanna go there,” and Cory’ll be like “Oh, I’m tired,” and I can be like “Oh I’m gonna stay home with Cory.” Or if Cory’s asked to do some photo shoot that she really doesn’t wanna do, I’d say that have to go to dinner or something. We helped free up each other’s life a little bit.

I write an advice column on the side, and I’m getting a lot of questions dealing with the fact that there’s so much vagueness in relationships, lack of commitment, lack of clarity because people our age are going after people that they’re friends with, and they don’t want to disrupt that, so they hook up, which inevitably confuses everything. Was it easy for you guys to commit to each other, or did you care about how it was going to affect relationships with certain mutual friends?

Mark: I think we both had a lot of problems with our friends. They were like, “What are you doing with that person,” or “Why are you with Mark?” or “Mark, why are you with Cory?” You just have to be strong and adamant about what you believe in. It doesn’t matter what people think, it should be more about how you feel, because really, it's nice to have a bunch of friends, but having someone you can really relate to and be with, that’s nice. It’s good to nurture that kind of relationship and let outside things be secondary.

You mentioned that people were saying, “Don’t be with that person!” Was it because of your age? How'd your parents react?

Cory: Well I didn’t ever tell my parents for a while.

Mark: It was really funny. It took so long.

How long?

Cory: A long time.

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How long did you guys date?

Mark: We were actually just adding up the days. It was at least a couple hundred days. [laughs] I don’t know, straight maybe a good year and few months and then off and on for a couple more months. It’s almost gonna be two years of knowing each other, but it was probably nine months that her mom and dad didn’t really know. I was just a friend that spent the night and stuff, which is kind of weird, but now it’s okay.

What would other people say? What were the reasons that they weren’t for that?

Cory: Just judgments and people in general. Like, "Oh, he’s like thirty. He’s a pervert."

Were there any legitimate concerns?

Mark: I have AIDS. I kill babies. [laughs] No, it was funny because of how cool our relationship was and how great it was, people would always try to fuck with us. I remember early on Cory was over here and she was acting really weird towards me and I didn’t know what was going on and she told me that somebody told her that I was making out with other girls. I was like, “Who told you and does that person have any reason why they would try to fuck with our relationship?” And it sort of falsified that whole thing from there on out. Again you can’t listen to what other people have to say. You should always make your own judgments. But it always happens. People get in your business. Everyone’s telling me, “Oh, she’s so young.” It doesn’t matter. If I’m happy, it’s okay.

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That’s universal. People are always in your business. It must be even worse when your life is so publicized.

Mark: I think it’s extra funny because there’s all these fan websites for Cory that hypothesize what’s going on, and these are people who have never met us so they really have no place to say anything. They’re in the middle of nowhere looking on my website and her blog, forming all these things in their heads. You have to filter out those outside things. Look at Brad and Angelina. They’re perfect [laughs]. They’re power. They’re really tearing it up with those African babies

Cory: They’re handling it. [laughing]

You have the opportunity to write and post about what happens in your day-to-day life. There isn’t as much room for interpretation as there is with a lot of other celebrities who don't keep a blog, but there’s still a lot of negativity…

Cory: Yeah, a lot of it is negative, Probably more than half.

Negative responses to your writing and lifestyle?

Mark: 90 percent of it is faceless. That’s what’s wrong with the Internet. You can just say whatever you want and have no responsibility for it. People can write comments knocking things and it’s like, "Okay but what are you doing? You’re looking at this blog. Don’t look at it."  It’s mostly out of jealousy and stuff. But I do read a lot of nice things about Cory. On ABC news somebody just linked her. Maybe Cory’s gonna be the next girl doing all this cool stuff! They’re looking for whose next. 

Cory: That was on the news?

Mark: Yeah, that’s crazy

Cory: That’s so weird. [laughing]

Mark: Yeah, it’s nice. Lots of attention. When the article on Cory came out in The L.A. Times we got lots calls, everyone from Dateline to Tyra Banks. All these shows wanted us to come on and talk about her story.

Why'd you start your blog in the first place?

Cory: Well my MySpace profile was hacked and I was like, "Whatever, I’m just gonna have a blog now." It was just a way of expressing myself. But I didn’t think that it would become so intense.

You both have outlets that lend you a lot of control of your own image: Mark, with your photography, and Cory, with your writing. You can go home and write the story of what’s really happening in your life.

Cory: That’s another thing that I liked about it, that I wanted to do. I could explain what really happened.

The negativity... does it ever get you down?

Cory: No.

Mark: It’s kind of like when you gamble in Vegas and lose money, but you don’t really remember that. For me, sometimes I get an e-mail that really hits close to home . It makes me think about what I’m doing and then bums me out a little. Then I’ll just consider the 200 awesome e-mails and that I’m doing all the cool stuff I get to do. You kind of just have to be positive and look on the bright side. There are a lot worse things we could be doing.

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There have always been party photographers...

Mark: Nobody as good as me. [laughs]

Nobody as good as you. [laughing]

Mark: That’s what you were gonna say right?

Exactly. [laughing] So, there was Studio 54 in the 70s and then Area and Danceteria in the 80s, but that stuff seems to have to age and then we can look back at it in an artistic light. I think it’s interesting to think about when does this type of photography cross the line into the art realm. Do see what your doing as art, or are you just having fun? Is it both?

Mark: It is a little bit of both. I don’t like to be pretentious or take anything too seriously. I kind of let other people do that for me. So if they want to say something, that’s fine. I did an art show in Dayton, Ohio at this really nice university, and people wrote all these essays about my photos and I didn’t even go. It was totally a thing that they wanted to do. I never force anything on anybody. If it comes more naturally, more organically, it’s better received. Cory’s not making anyone read her blog. They’re just naturally interested. That’s a much more genuine interest. If you look at what they try to do with these bands or even celebrities, they try to push them on people. That’s when you get turned off. When you can have a much more easy-going, natural approach, things are much better. If somebody is seeking you out, then they already know what they’re getting into. No surprises. Except on birthdays. Surprise parties! [laughing]

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[Laughing] I think this type of photography definitely lends itself to that sort of ease, more than any other genre. It’s disarming because it’s so universal. I think that’s the attraction.

Mark: Yeah, I don’t put too much importance on any photo I take. I think there’s some beautiful photos that I’ve taken and I throw them in with the other junk on my website. I leave you to decide what you like. It’s so funny, because when I do magazine interviews, some people ask me for photos, and I say, “You pick what you like,” and they’ll send me the most random photos I would never think to go in the article. Then I’ll try to supplement it with some of my own personal favorites, but I think that what I like to do is let people interpret it for themselves. I was never like [about Cory], “Look at this beautiful 16-year-old girl I’m photographing, you need to admire her.” And so a lot of people at first were wondering who the weirdo in my photos was. Then it was so funny because I just didn’t care what anyone was saying. I believed in her and what she was doing, and I wanted to show that. It slowly turned around and people wanted more photos of Cory and were wondering about how she was doing, or just very “Yeah, Cory!”  [laughs] So it was nice to see that I believed in it and it worked out. It’s kind of like how I don’t really like smoking cigarettes. I think it’s bad, and I take a lot of photos of people smoking cigarettes. I get e-mails from people asking why I glamorize smoking so much, when that’s just they’re own interpretation. I think a lot of times it’s gross looking. So you could look at a photo and see it as good or gross. I didn’t make it a certain way.

The Internet has allowed you to get recognition, but also what you were saying is you can put anything up. People can do whatever they want. Do the comments people can post annoy you at all?

Mark: I think it’s good.

It’s sort of a free exchange, everybody is on an even playing field...

Mark: Yeah that’s what’s nice. I have a good analogy from high school. When I was in high school I ran for vice-president and I didn’t even care about being vice-president. I just really wanted to make all these different campaign posters, put my face on them, and post them all over the school. I also had a situation at Kinko’s where I could make free copies, so I made hundreds and hundreds of flyers, whereas most kids would make maybe thirty, and I put them in all the classes. The principal said that it was unfair because not many kids can afford as many photocopies as me, and this was true. Yeah, I didn’t pay for them. So then it wasn’t fair. But now it’s like anyone can have a website. Blogs are free. Everyone can have an e-mail address. I don’t care. It’s okay. [laughs]

You’re able to do what you want, and it’s okay. Since I’m not the only one with an e-mail and I’m not the only one with a computer, you can have the ability to do what you want, and it’s great. But I will say that if there was no Internet I would be making a photozine or something. The only difference now is that we’ve had an expedited rate of success. It doesn’t take as long as it used to. I used to work for Shepard Fairey, who does Obey, and he was a huge mentor to me. Like seven months into my situation taking photos I got featured in the L.A. Times Sunday magazine, and I was like “Shephar,d check it out, people are recognizing what I’m doing!” and he remarked how it took him seven years to get to that point. So it was just a great sign of how much quicker things were happening. For everything. Like before Patrick McMullen had to go develop his photos and then they would show up in Interview Magazine a month later. Here I can take photos and have them up the same night. Cory’s writing that would be in Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar, or Cosmopolitan on a monthly basis can be up in no time. I tell her to do it daily, but she doesn’t.

Does that make things less precious or less important?

Mark: It’s a little bit more disposable. I want to do more physical statements of my existence because the Internet could break. So now I make a t-shirt every month and I have a column in the L.A. weekly. They’re things that you can’t get rid of unless there was a fire or something. So that’s really cool in a way that isn’t as disposable or devalued. On the other hand, YouTube.com is great. The point is there’s a lot of crap on there, but then the good stuff rises to the top and will stand up. It gives a lot of opportunity for people who wanna do nice things to get it out there and excel. I had lunch with this guy that works for Vespa today and he was telling me that he used to go to Sundance before it was all BS and commercial. He was there when Quentin Tarantino showed Reservoir Dogs; when it was this crazy phenomenon. Things were a lot different back then. And then there’s that guy that made Sex, Lies, and Videotape who’s now a big time director. The year that he was at Sundance he was driving a shuttle for people who were there to afford to enter the festival. I think if anything it’s easier now to get out there. There’s just a lot more. But in the same way, and I’ll just brag for a second, there are a lot of party websites, but how come I’m getting all these of interviews? [laughing]

Why do you think that is?

Mark: I don’t know. I think I have the most substance. It’s kind of a brand. When people think of the Cobrasnake they think of Cory, cool bands, big parties. It’s the whole lifestyle. Plus, I was early on in the game, so a lot of people will say that I was inspiring most of these people now, which is cool. I like that they’re inspired.

What do you think that you would be doing if you weren’t writing on your blog?

Cory: I’d probably be just as into fashion and in music as I am now. I’d probably be interning for a magazine or something.

Do you think about where you’re going with it? It seems like your just living and people appreciate the way that you write about things and experience them because it is very organic and enjoyable. Are you just going with it or do you have an idea of where you want to go?

Cory: Not really, I’m just trying out all these things, testing the waters. If people like reading what I write and I like writing it, that’s great. It has gone somewhere. I have a column in Nylon. I know I want to be somewhere in this, but I’m not sure so it’s really, really great that I get to experience and taste a little bit of everything that I wouldn’t really be able to if I was just hanging out.

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I’m noticing lately a lot of people I know have they’re hands in so many different things.

Mark: I think it’s funny when people try to limit themselves like, oh, I can’t touch that. Why not? There shouldn’t be any boundaries. Everything should be open. People ask who designs my website. I do. They ask about the T-shirt graphics and who does them. For the most part, I do. I just do it all, and why not? I love it. All of it is what I’m passionate about, so it’s not like I’m having to do things that I don’t like. I probably wouldn’t choose to be a handyman or something. It’s too intense. I don’t know, if there are things that people are good at and wanna do, they should do them. It’s nice to have that freedom. Plus I’m really controlling, so it’s nice that I can be in control of my destiny. But the Internet is cool, because you should see some of these crazy opportunities that Cory and I receive. After we just sort of broke up recently I got an e-mail from Brazil that was like, “We wanna fly you and Cory down to this fashion show and your gonna have the best time of your lives.” Cool, but I can’t do it because I’m gonna be out of town and I don’t know what’s going on with Cory. It’s just so cool that people all over the world are interested and want to experience what’s going on with us. It’s nice.

With everything that you’re learning about yourself and learning about your life, do academics interest you?

Cory: No. I’ve always hated school but I still have to go, and I go. I mean it’s not like I’m being forced to go to school. I want an education even though I don’t like how I’m getting it.

Are you gonna take time off and maybe go back to school when you figure out what you want to do?

Cory: I’m in school right now

I know, but in terms of college or something like that. I think to a point there are just certain things that people need to learn. It’s a big step that you’re learning what you want to be. Maybe that’s not something you think about.

Cory: No, I think about it all the time. Right now I plan on going to college. There’s nothing that’s really interfering with that. I wouldn’t wanna go to a typical college. I can’t do that. I’d have to go to a free spirited, different…

How is that different then just learning yourself?

Cory: Because there’s a clear instructor.

Do you ever think that you just don’t need it?

Cory: A lot of people do need to, but yeah. I think there are definitely people that don’t need to go to college. They go to high school and that’s fine for them. They have special talents. Some people are just born on the ball. I don’t think I need to graduate high school. I don’t think it’s helping me. I don’t think I’m learning anything new, but I’m still doing it.

Did your parents push you into school or did they just sort of let you…

Mark: Well they’re both normal people for the most part. My dad was like, “You gotta go to college!” My mom really wanted me to go to college. I kind of just had to pretend. I was doing community college at Santa Monica College just pretending to do it and be like, “Yeah of course I’m gonna go to real college after this.” [laughs]. But I was just cooking on this website stuff, just stationing myself in a way. They didn’t know anything until that article came out in the L.A. Times. They kept asking what I was doing with my time and myself. Then I presented that and they were like, “Wow, this is kind of crazy.” I knew they wouldn’t believe me until it was more reputable. I was making money and being self-sufficient and not asking them for anything, so they really can’t ask for anything more. I’m doing well and taking care of my business. They’re happy. It’s a good start on the right track. It’s not like I just sat around and smoked pot instead of going to college. I’m traveling the world and making lots of nice thing happen for lots of people, so it’s cool. It’s different. It’s not the most classical way of going about things, but I think now more than ever is not the time to be classical.

I agree.

Mark: The saddest thing is my friends who are graduating college now and they all don’t know what to do. They’re just stuck. A lot of the time you go to college for four years and end up getting a minimum wage job. What’s that gonna do for you? It’s nice to be able to not conform to the general idea of anything. Cory gets a lot of attention for being the way she is. An old fashioned person might wonder why her hair is so messy or why she’s so cool. Why doesn’t she look like everyone else? Because she doesn’t have to, and she doesn’t want to. I’ll go into any club in shorts and sandals and everyone else is wearing pants and not beach clothes. I do what I want.

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What is it that makes people say okay? Because you just go out and do it and most people just don’t push the envelope?

Mark: Because you stand up for what you believe in. So many people think my websites are stupid, like friends of mine, wondering how it’s ever going to work. What are you gonna do with it all, and if I’m just gonna party the whole time. But I think it’s cool and I’m excited about it, so that’s what matters. Hopefully other people will think the same way.  It’s nice. I’m happy… to be in America.

[laughs] There are so many opportunities. Is this what you see yourself doing 25 years from now?

Mark: I’m so open to anything. It’s nice to be open. Part of the reason I had to quit working for Shephard or any other jobs was just to have to freedom to get an impromptu call to go to New York for the weekend and be able to go for it. It’s nice that my job is to live my life as long as I shower or clip my toenails every one in a while. [laughs] You’ve gotta have maintenance. Cory saw my toe once. It was really infected and I couldn’t walk. They had to pull my toenail completely off. It was really gross, from bad shoes and not paying attention. It was crazy. I learned a lot about myself. It was so crazy I was like a little boy, crying and shivering. It was an operation. I was in surgery. That was still kind of early on in our relationship, so it was funny. Cory had to wait with my mom for like, three hours in the hospital. I guess they were both kind of worried about me so it was nice to have the support… I’m having flashbacks.

[laugh] That’s awful. Have you ever had anything like that? Anything terrible like that?

Mark: You had a staph infection.

Cory: I had a staph infection.

What does that do to you?

Cory: It makes you look ugly. It hurts, and it’s gross. [laughs]

Mark: And you had cavities.

Cory: I had two cavities. And I broke my finger. I used to play softball.

Mark: One time we were at a party and this big guy stepped on her ankle and it was inflamed… huge for two weeks. She had to wear an ace bandage. Sometimes I get really bad cuticle things. [laughs] Those really hurt. [looks at his nails] I’m in the clear right now. You gotta watch out, put some Neosporin on.

Cory: Oh yeah. I’ve had bad cuts. [laughs]

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Mark: My tongue, the roof of my mouth. I got a bad haircut once. Sometimes Cory’ll crack my knuckles.

Cory: You cut yourself shaving. [laughs]

Mark: She cuts huge chunks out of her legs.

Websites
www.thecobrasnake.com
www.corykennedy.blogspot.com

Photos

Mark Hunter
Cory Kennedy

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