I was studying graphic design at the time, when negative scanners and all that stuff was coming out, and you could do it all in your apartment. So I would shoot, make contact sheets, scan all the cool negatives, and make all these zines and books of my photos to give to my friends. I was really into zine- and bookmaking from skate culture.
I knew my ticket out of the suburbs was art school, so I worked really hard to develop my portfolio and get a scholarship.
I was voted most artistic in school.
Actually, I didn't study photography at first. I went to school for painting my first year, poetry my second year, graphic design my third and fourth year, and photography my fifth.
From 8 to 19, I was skateboarding every single day. That was my life. I worked at a skate shop. I watched skate videos.
I think the driving force when I moved to New York was the fear of going home with my tail between my legs.
A lot of people, even my parents, thought, "Art school, I don't know. We'll support you but the success rate for artists is really slim."
I put all of my time into art because I couldn't go back to Jersey and work at Starbucks.
I didn't have to be friends with people who were into pop music.
A lot of artists need structure.
I didn't have much of a life in crime as a graffiti writer.
When I was in art school, the photo kids were separated from the rest. If you did sculpture or painting or graphic design, you were all taking the same classes, but the photographers just went straight into photography.
Growing up, my room was covered in posters. I was like, "I want to make posters."
I got a lot of attention when I was really young, and people have it in their minds that I'm still 24 years old. So I made the decision that I had photographed everything I was interested in in New York. New York is a town you have to embrace, but you also need to leave. I may revisit it one day, but for me it's a place to live rather than one to make work in.
