MARTY for Living Proof Radio. Full podcast episode now on the Living Proof patreon. https://www.patreon.com/livingproofnewyork

MARTY is a graffiti writer from Brooklyn whose name in New York became synonymous with SMART Crew, a collective of graffiti writers, artists & friends whose approach to getting up served as a beacon of ingenuity in the city’s graffiti landscape. Alongside his peers, MARTY’s approach, spot selection and letters had him stand out in an era of graffiti that was rife with talent. 

He speaks on his time spent heavily involved with writing graffiti, avoiding taxes, Riker’s Island, SMART Crew & more.

Blondey McCoy for Living Proof Radio. Full episode now on the Living Proof patreon. https://www.patreon.com/livingproofnewyork

Blondey McCoy is a British skateboarder and designer who grew up skating at London’s South Bank, a space that played a significant role in shaping his style and way of approaching work.

His work later expanded through a long-running partnership with Adidas, for which he designed a signature sneaker line known for its experimental details and clean, unmistakable aesthetic.

He went on to establish THAMES MMXX., developing it from a personal art project into a full clothing and board company. While the brand carries hints of the city that raised him, its identity ultimately reflects Blondey’s own vision.

Shoreline Mafia for Living Proof Radio for Living Proof Radio. OhGeesy and Fenix Flexin interviewed by REBOE LNE.

Full episode now on the Living Proof Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/livingproofnewyork

Shoreline Mafia is a Los Angeles rap group that emerged in the mid-2010s and quickly became one of the defining sounds of modern West Coast street rap. The crew began when OhGeesy and Fenix Flexin met through writing graffiti and East Hollywood’s skate-and-street culture.

Their music touches on the realities of hustling, fast money, navigating dangerous environments, wealth, brotherhood and Los Angeles culture.

After a breakup in 2020, founding members OhGeesy and Fenix Flexin reunited in 2023, bringing the Shoreline Mafia name back to life as a duo and garnering mass attention with their return.

Danny Diablo / Lord Ezec for Living Proof Radio. Full episode now on the Living Proof patreon. https://www.patreon.com/livingproofnewyork

Danny Diablo, also known as Lord Ezec, is an iconic figure within New York's hardcore and graffiti scenes. Having formed influential bands such as Crown of Thornz during a pivotal era of New York Hardcore, Ezec naturally blended his graffiti background into the music he made; famously using a Cap One quote to introduce the album "Train Yard Blues", an album whose street-graffiti influence is strongly present throughout the record. 

His music would touch on the multi-faceted style of his life: speaking on emotions, inner-city living and life's problems. 

Diablo later expanded into hip-hop and crossover styles. Throughout the years, he has remained an active performer and cultural figure, bridging multiple scenes organically. 

EASY for Living Proof Radio, full episode on the Living Proof Patreon.
http://patreon.com/livingproofnewyork

EASY is a graffiti writer who began writing around 1982. Alongside his partners JOZ (RIP) and JOSH5, EASY's street-graffiti campaign across all five boroughs of New York set the blueprint for the term "all city". Using high-visibility yet ground-level spot placement with a straightforward approach to large legible tags, EASY's aggressive repetition helped define an era when writers transitioned from the subways to the streets. 

His legacy lives on through his influence on younger writers and his role in New York’s graffiti history.

http://livingproofnewyork.com

Alain Levitt for Living Proof Radio, full episode on the Living Proof Patreon.
http://patreon.com/livingproofnewyork

Alain Levitt is a Los Angeles–born photographer who moved to New York in 2000 and began documenting the downtown life around him with a small point-and-shoot camera. 

He became known for capturing the skate, graffiti, nightlife, and art scenes of early-2000s Manhattan in candid, flash-lit images. 

His photo book NYC 2000–2005, released with @fuckingawesome, gathers hundreds of these moments, preserving a disappearing era of creative freedom in the city. Levitt’s work has become a vital visual record of a formative moment in New York’s cultural history.

http://livingproofnewyork.com

Patrick O’Dell for Living Proof Radio, full episode on the Living Proof Patreon.
http://patreon.com/livingproofnewyork

Patrick O’Dell is a photographer, filmmaker and skateboarder whose work has had a lasting influence on skate culture. He began skating at an early age and soon merged that passion with photography, developing a documentary-style approach that captured the personalities, places, and people that defined the skateboarding of his era.

In 2004, O’Dell started Epicly Later’d, a skateboarding blog that turned into an interview-based documentary series. Through Epicly Later’d, he profiled the lives and careers of skateboarding's biggest icons.

O’Dell's retrospective book, also titled Epicly Later’d, marked two decades of documenting downtown New York’s skate and art scenes. 

http://livingproofnewyork.com

Alex 2Tone for Living Proof Radio, full episode on the Living Proof Patreon.
http://patreon.com/livingproofnewyork

This episode focuses on the brand origins of Born X Raised.

Alex 2Tone is the co-founder of Born x Raised, a clothing brand rooted in the culture of Los Angeles. Growing up amid the city’s graffiti and street scenes, 2Tone developed a visual language shaped by his upbringing that now defines his work across fashion and film. 

http://livingproofnewyork.com

Lee Quiñones is a pioneering graffiti artist and painter widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of New York City’s graffiti movement. Raised on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Quiñones began painting subway cars in the mid-1970s and became known for his large-scale work that elevated graffiti from tags to visual storytelling. A key member of the legendary graffiti crew The Fabulous Five, he was among the first writers to paint entire subway cars; his whole cars were celebrated for their technical mastery and scale during a foundational era of New York’s history. 

Quiñones’s work helped redefine graffiti as a legitimate art form rather than mere vandalism. By the late 1970s, he transitioned from painting subways to exhibiting in galleries, becoming one of the first graffiti artists to bridge the gap between the streets and the fine art world.

Lee Quiñones has appeared in seminal films chronicling New York’s graffiti and hip-hop culture, including the legendary Wild Style, where he played a leading role. His influence has extended across generations, inspiring artists in graffiti, street art, and contemporary painting alike.

Full episode on the Living Proof Patreon. 

Atiba Jefferson for Living Proof Radio. Full episode now on the Living Proof Patreon. http://patreon.com/livingproofnewyork

Atiba Jefferson is a photographer widely regarded as one of the most influential visual chroniclers of skateboarding culture of all time. Born in Colorado Springs, Jefferson developed an early passion for both skateboarding and photography that would merge into a prolific career documenting the evolution of skating from a subcultural movement into a global phenomenon. After moving to Southern California in the 1990s he quickly established himself as a leading figure behind the lens, becoming a staff photographer for Transworld Skateboarding and later a founding contributor to The Skateboard Mag. His work has appeared in nearly every major skate publication worldwide and today he works closely with Thrasher Magazine. 

Outside of skateboarding, Jefferson has built an expansive career across music, fashion, and commercial photography; having shot portraits of cultural icons such as LeBron James, Mos Def, and Tony Hawk. 

He has recently dropped the “United Through Skatebording” Collection with Vans. The collection includes a Skate Half Cab® with WaffleCup™ Outsole & a Skate Old Skool™ 36+ featuring custom imagery of skate legend John Cardiel alongside artwork by Haze. The collection celebrates Atiba’s journey throughout an extensive career, and the skate culture that deeply influenced his work.