PUNK IS NOT DEAD ITS SHEARING

With 15 million sheep and only around 1,500 registered shearers, Spanish farmers struggle each shearing season to find qualified workers. This leaves the smaller farmers behind, desperate to shear their sheep in the small window before the temperatures rise and unsheared sheep succumb to summer heatwaves.

Atilano, hardcore punk and professional shearer, has been in the business for more than two decades. In the last few years, he has been recruiting young people to take up the trade, which is critical to preventing the spread of disease in the herds. Almost all of his trainees share Atilano's tastes in music and lifestyle; they love punk, and several perform in local bands.

The “Rapadores da montaña Lucense,” as Atilano's gang is called, continue to roam Galicia, shearing tirelessly for up to 10 hours a day to meet the needs of these mostly-small farmers and their sheep.