Chlamydia Magazine

Kyiv, Ukraine
@ChlamydiaMagazine
chlamydia mag

Fashion

“For many of my followers posting on Chlamydia Magazine is like therapy, and sometimes I get amazing, heartbreaking messages from people whose days are better now."
Chlamydia Magazine

Born in 2020 as a “coping mechanism” to help founder Olexy deal with “the wildest anxiety attacks”, Chlamydia is a magazine and online platform for comedy, post-irony and internet culture. Born and based in Ukraine, Olexy studied International Relations and worked in print journalism then the music industry, before launching Chlamydia.

Originally an Instagram-based project, Chlamydia has grown into a sprawling creative community, and a safe space free of prejudice, discrimination and ignorance, where people from all over the world can recognise themselves and their sense of humour even when it’s “frivolous and absurd”.

Fascinated by the internet and people’s creativity, Olexy is interested in using his platform to represent “hidden and non-obvious” narratives. “For many of my followers posting on Chlamydia Magazine is like therapy, and sometimes I get amazing, heartbreaking messages from people whose days are better now. That makes me happy and filled with purpose”, he says.

With the ongoing full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, where locals have faced horrors and, perhaps, needed humorous distraction in the face of it all, Olexy’s project is more relevant than ever. Choosing to stay in Kyiv to be near his family, Chlamydia has carried on even on days where focusing is difficult. “I like to think that someone, somewhere will feel better, safer and more comfortable”, he says.

Text Zsofia Paulikovics