Stop tagging, dick.

I really enjoyed seeing this happen.

My favorite act of my favorite piece for I am OTHER. Shooting this took three weeks of getting up on buildings in Oakland every other day at 3am. Every sketchy thing you see GATS do, I had to follow while carrying camera gear and having a reach that’s a solid foot shorter than his.

Climbing up a utility pipe attached to the side of a three-story warehouse was one of those nights where I had to tell people “if I fall off, upload all the footage in my camera to the internets, and have Sean cut a montage”. Wandering through Oakland’s worst neighborhoods in the middle of the night was only my third or fourth biggest concern with this project.

Don’t let my potential death(s) go to waste. Check it out.

Official blurb: Follow graffiti artist GATS as he risks his safety and anonymity to paint a poem across the East Bay. The final line proclaiming “The City Is Ours” is completed at a community block party, an apt setting to celebrate how street art can be used to make political statements and enrich the culture of a city.

This is the first act of the piece I shot in Oakland with a guy called GATS. It’s one of the best things that I’ve made so far this year.

Graffiti is a thriving life force in Oakland. Meet GATS (Graffiti Against The System), an artist for whom the city is one endless canvas to connect with the people. Times are rough in “The O,” as GATS plans to write a poem throughout the city.

Following GATS around was incredibly intense, and getting a month long guided tour through the shitstorm known as Oakland was something I’ll never forget. Have a look.