Hello My Name Is: Defy

Name: Defy
Crew: ADM
City/Country: San Juan, Puerto Rico
When did you start writing? 2005

What’s graffiti for you?
A never-ending search for fulfillment and satisfaction.

Influences?
Comics, illustration, design, art, music, food, travel…

Tell us about your city, how is life and graffiti there?
Life is slow, you function on “island time”. The current economic situation makes living there very expensive and sometimes uncomfortable. Still, we enjoy the beautiful beaches and great food. It’s hot and muggy, so painting during the middle of the day can be grueling. But there is some indirect tolerance for what we do, so getting spots can be very easy at times. People have bigger issues to worry about.

What keeps you still writing?
Always hating my last piece.

What first made you interested in graffiti and how did you end up on that track?
B-boying. Never good at it, but I found my tag through it. I was good at art, so I tried drawing the name instead.

What trends are you seeing now in the graffiti world that you don’t like?
Can’t make a call on that. I tend to focus on the work I do and where I can take it. I don’t really care to judge what others do.

What do you do when you’re not painting?
Design/Illustration work.

How would you describe your style?
Straight forward. Pretty basic in terms of the principal elements to it. I’ve been interested in working on the foundation of my letters for the last couple of years. Excited to see where it’ll go soon. In terms of technique, I take a more illustrative approach to painting. I like to focus on building up the layers of elements in order to highlight my letters and how they intersect. The rendering gets a bit tedious, but the result usually has a very good sense of depth and movement that I really enjoy.

Can you remember the first piece you did?
Yellow to red fade, blue 3ds on a white background. All stock tip with dollar paint. Horrible.

Future plans?
At the moment, finishing this 2 month tour through Europe alive. A lot more irresponsible bike riding to come.

Do you adapt your pieces and tags to the spot/surface?
Ideally, yeah. I try to have different options or ideas for pieces when I get to a spot. That way I can choose what works best in each particular situation. I’m very “hit or miss” going off the top of my head, so I try to always be ready for whatever comes.

What do you think about the new generation of writers in your city?
It’s hard to judge. There’s definitely a lot of potential, but the dedication seems to be lacking. A lot of them are in it for the cheap POP and then fade away once they get it.

What are the best and worst aspects of graffiti?
The smell of the fumes once you lay down them first lines.

Who do you paint for?
Mainly me, my crew and our brother Pun18, who recently passed. Striving to keep the name alive.

What writers have inspired you?
Defynitely my crew, ADM and Pun18. Their’s was some of the first real graff I saw in Puerto Rico. I also look up to a lot of our friends up in the states and in Canada. Specially guys like Skam, Kwest and Bacon in Toronto, the boys from KG in Montreal and the 3A in the US. Having a personal connection to some of these guys really pushes me to try to keep up with their energy and dedication. They’re all game changers to me.

Can you ever feel tired of graffiti?
After a long day of painting, for sure. That quickly fades after a shower and a cup of coffee though… It’ll never end.

What do you hope people will think and feel when they see your stuff?
I’m not sure. I just hope people can appreciate the effort and take away from it something they can apply towards their own progress. We all take so much from graffiti that, to me, giving something back is the ultimate goal.

FIVE FAVORITES
Spray Paint: MTN 94
City: New York
Markers/pens: ProMarkers/Microns
Surface: Raw concrete.
Cap: Black cap, black dot. Comes stock with the Montana White.

Facebook: Mosdefynite
Instagram: @Mosdefynite
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