It has been described as a mainstream fashion and social subculture,[1] that of a working class, similar to the British chav, French racaille [fr] and Russian gopnik.
[3] It was characterized by turbo-folk,[1] hip-hop and dance music (such as Đogani),[1] mass-appeal designer clothes (such as Diesel), embroidered sweatshirts[1] and sportswear[2] (such as Nike Air Max[4] and Reebok Pump[2] shoes and Kappa[2] sweatsuits) and large link chains.
[2] It emerged in Belgrade in the late 1980s and became popular by 1992,[2] in a period of embargo on FR Yugoslavia following the outbreak of the Yugoslav Wars.
[5][6] In contrast to the dizelaši, the opposing sub-culture was called padavičari, including hippies, rockers, headbangers, metalheads and ravers.
A typical dizelaš was seen as: 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.