Neil Boorman of Shoreditch Twat and Sleazenation fame piled all his branded possessions on a bonfire and burnt them. Then he wrote a book about it called Bonfire of the Brands. These days he is still relatively brand-free. If you're still a brand-whore then, in Neil's opinion, you're essentially a human billboard and should be paid for the advertising space.

What's so bad about brands?

There’s nothing wrong with brands as such – it’s more the way big companies advertise them, and how lots of people consume them. It’s got to the point where advertising brands on our chest (for free) is integral to being ‘cool’ whatever that is. Ask any kid in the playground - If you don’t have the right trainers, games console or mobile, you’re in big trouble. I don’t think we should have to buy our way into being accepted in life.

What lead you to such drastic behaviour when you burnt all your branded possessions?

It dawned on me that I was completely dependent on my favourite brands – Apple, Adidas, Blackberry – to make me happy. If you took all that gear away from me, I felt completely naked and miserable. It was like a drug; the more money I threw at the situation, the more hooked I became. And I was getting into a lot of debt over it all. Junkies that go clean often make a symbolic gesture of destroying their drugs. Alcoholics pour all their booze down the drain. So I decided to burn all my brands and start again. It sounds a bit far fetched, but I’m not the only one – they’re developing a drug in the US for people with shopping addiction. It’s similar to the drugs they give to gamblers.

What do you miss most in your un-branded life?

I really miss going down the shops on a Saturday afternoon – it’s the most popular pastime in the UK, and I really feel left out when I walk past my high street and its heaving with people blowing money. But life goes on. And you find better things to do with your time. I thought I’d really miss my Blackberry after I chucked it into the fire, but you couldn’t force me to use one of those now. It’s such a relief to be disconnected whenever you want to.

Are you still brand-free?

I was such a brand whore, none of my mates believed that I could stay clean for more than a year. But I’ve managed to stay away from the designer stores. I’d feel stupid walking around with big logos on my feet now, like a walking billboard. Why would I want to pay to do that?

Should more of us be demanding money from major brands for 'human billboard' services?

I tried to claim some money back, and I just got laughed out of the stores, so no, I wouldn’t advise it. But you don’t have to buy branded products. The best thing is to stay away from the chain stores and the big brands, and start being creative. My Mum always used to tell me that she made all her own clothes, and she felt all the more individual for it. She used to wind me up with that speech when I was younger but she was right all along. You can’t be an individual by buying mass produced products, even when they say they’re limited edition. Limited to how many? As many as the companies can sell.

Bonfire Of The Brands is out now in paperback.

www.bonfireofthebrands.com