I was an active break dancer in 1984 and did some "Hip Hop Don't Stop" sketches back then, but it was first in 1988 that I got into tagging . . . and first in 1992 I did my first piece! So it's hard for me to tell people when I really started.

Not that it's for how long you've been painting that counts. Most people try to attain their fame by painting only at risky spots, or they stick around at legal hall of fames and concentrate on detailed pieces. I like to do both, not just limit myself to one thing, like a lot of others do.

It's a lifestyle for me now. I think about graffiti every day. When I see something (some color combinations) that I like I start to think "ah,  I want to use that  in one of my pieces." I keep seeking walls I can paint where my piece can stay for a while without getting buffed or gone over by others. When I drive around in my car or sit in a train and I look out of the window and think, "That wall looks nice, lots of people will see my piece if I paint there!"

Traveling is probably one of my biggest motivations these days. I'm tired of only painting in Norway. Besides I've gotten a lot of International friends through graffiti. I trade photos with lots of people that I've gotten to know through magazines. It's a good feeling to have a place to stay if I want to travel. When you visit people in other countries they usually introduce you to a lot of their friends and you get even more contacts!

The scene in Norway is very small and the only place you can find it (the scene) is  around the  capital (Oslo) and the suburbs that borders Oslo.   All the other cities are dead! There's probably more then 100 taggers in Oslo, but only about 10 - 15 writers that do pieces. Therefore,  not many Norwegians have their stuff in magazines like the Danish and Swedish writers (who have 4 times as many writers as we do).

Five to six  years ago it was totally different here with lots of people doing pieces everywhere. But today, there are many guys who used to be active but are now  doing drugs and have slowed down on painting. It really sucks! I know for a fact that drugs have f&%#$ed up the graff scene in Norway.

Everyone wants to be a gangster! They all make me laugh! Therefore sometimes I feel like I'm not into the Hip Hop culture. I'm just a guy that lives for graffiti, doing my own thing without following the main stream.
 
I would like to give some thanks to Raide & Tommy Tee, who made Norway's first graff mag (Fat Cap) in 1988.

Without having read that magazine back then, I probably wouldn't  be where I am today!!
 
 

PEACE!