OPRES

What do you write, how long have you been writing for and how did you get involved in it?

I write OPRES WKT MA RATS CHIEFS YARDDOGS SYG.

I started in 2011, so I guess just over a decade now. I used to skate daily at this indoor skatepark here in Minnesota called Ollie 'n' Co and it was filled with local burners. I got turned on through skateboarding, and then as I got more involved, an older cousin shot me a few graff zines and eventually I started writing on shit. My very first word was SINAK.

How did you get your current name? I wrote a different word for a few years between Sinak and Opres before eventually getting arrested. In 2014, I switched to Opres which was given to me by my mentor, Mesr. I add the 'R' at the end when I catch tags cause it flows a lot better I think.

Who were your biggest influences and why? Growing up in Minnesota we have a classic Midwest bar-style, but being put on game by West Coast writers I feel like I have a blend of the two. I grew up reading Flickr posts by Eros that were super sick and inspirational. Other local writers like Shock, Silk, Showbiz and Fails always stuck out to me.

What's your favorite type of graffiti? Classic 60x60 legible American freight train graffiti. No frills.

What's your favorite type of music? Hardcore immediately followed by Blink-182. What's the difference between graffiti and gang graffiti to you?Lines don't lie and MS13 doesn't have shit rolling. Fruity Pebbles or Cocoa Pebbles? I got both on top of my fridge right now, but I'm gonna say Fruity Pebbles.

What's your favorite state that you've painted in? Arizona, New Mexico and Nebraska are all hella fun. I enjoy painting yards that have different types of cars than we get here in MN- saturating all lines. Do you still drink 40's and if so what's your favorite brand to drink?Fuck alcohol. Never had a sip in my life. Straight Edge forever. So you don't drink; what about drugs or other substances? Nah. Never tried any, never will. If you need to get high or drunk to paint you're probably a coward and a weak-minded person. I like to be fully in control of the situation and myself at all times. What's the gnarliest thing you've seen in the yard? Nothing too crazy.. people fucking, scrappers, dead animals, tweakers/ drunks, packs of coyotes; the usual. Coolest thing was probably an old Nace piece or walking up to a boxcar in Minnesota that I painted in Massachusetts just a week prior. What's your favorite type of train to paint and why? Boxcars. Preferably a clean high number TBOX since they have such high priority and are leased by every railroad- hella travel. Any rare boxcar I can add to the collection is worthwhile but I think my all time fave for the sake of nostalgia is an old rusty Wisconsin Central boxcar, though.

Favorite paint/caps to use on trains? Good 'ol Rusto + Trout female fat caps and just regular stock caps for the doo-dads and highlights. I label every can, and put caps on each can before I go out- then the empties get turned upside down in my bag so I'm not wasting time looking for the right can in the dark. Rusto is getting crazy expensive these days.. Huh? It's always been free.

Do you use tape for the numbers? Hell no. Just go around them! I like the challenge so sometimes I go around extra stuff just for fun, other times it'll all get blasted. Plus, I'm way too impatient to spend 20 min taping shit off. Thoughts on monikers? A huge part of freight history- but keep them in the ladders. The only way I'm going around a moniker is if they've passed away or they're an OG in the game like Colossus of Roads or The Solo Artist. I think my fave monikers to find are the ones Tre and The Kodak Kidd did, always deep and meaningful and really hit home. RIP to them both. I'm from California, so I gotta ask- how do you paint in the snow? Do you have any Winter graff tips? A lot of people will boil their paint to warm it up prior to going out, but I usually just get an insulated cooler type bag and fill it with hand warmers. Extra gloves, hot cocoa and a lot of patience. My fave cheat code is dragging a push broom behind me to cover my tracks and then use it to clean up my overspray on the snow- you're welcome.

Do you have a chase story that people like to hear? Oh man, thankfully I only have a handful. Here's a quick summary of one of my faves.. While painting a boxcar 10 or so years ago with Rcane and Slek, the cops came for us right before we started our final outlines. We hid for a while then bounced and made a clean getaway thanks to Rcane's girlfriend who picked us up in the nick-of-time. Slek called it a night as he was visiting from out of state, and I had work in the morning so I said fuck that boxcar and chocked it up as a loss. On the way home, I brought Rcane back to get his car before I got a few hours of shut-eye before work. Simultaneously, as we were on the way to his car, a Sheriff showed up at his house looking for him- his girlfriend played dumb, and the cops left but not before stating they'd be back with a warrant in the morning. As we got to his car, we noticed something under his wiper blade- it was a Sheriff's business card that had a note written on the back saying “We know you were painting that boxcar." So now we're tripping- but Rcane looks at me and says, "well, might as well go finish 'em then.” ..And that fool actually finished all three pieces by himself! Savage. I went home and woke up to a call at like 7am; now that the adrenaline has wore off, Rcane's convinced we gotta clear out his house of evidence. So I zip over there before work, and we take every graffiti adjacent item in his house and put it in my truck, and stash it at my place for a few weeks. Luckily, the cops never came back with a warrant luckily but it was a crazy ordeal and makes for a pretty good story. Damn, that sounds hectic- how do you mitigate the threat of getting caught up? I'm a creature of habit which I think has pros and cons. I've been parking in the same spot now for over a decade, and I've made friends with the people in the neighborhood that I park in and bench at so that's a huge plus. But other things like having multiple exits, knowing the spot better than the authorities, using trail cams, cleaning up and taking care of the spot which includes regulating it so other writers aren't fucking it up and making sure that your graffiti is the worst thing that's happening there all help the cause of staying under the radar. Get a dog!

Any advice that you would give new writers that are starting to paint trains? Do your history. Read Subway Art and Freight Train Graffiti. Practice on back-walls first. Don't go over anything and pack out whatever the fuck you packed in. Reach out to older heads and figure out who the gate keepers are in your scene. Speaking from experience, the best way to start painting a yard is to find out who currently paints it and get permission or ask questions. Don't just assume everything's sweet- cause if you don't know what you're doing you aren't only playing with your freedom, your affecting the freedom of those that have been painting trains there longer than you. Do you think writers should follow a set of rules when painting trains? Definitely. Trains are sacred in my opinion. You have to know your history and really do your research on the trains themself + who's on them. I'd rather see a dope old black & white straight letter from 2001 on an RBOX than some brand new colorful laser spaghetti bullshit that I can barely read. Is it true you're sort of superstitious? Just a littlestitious. I never leave for a mission without my lucky pocket knife and I also have a sign I slap on the way out of the spot. What's your take on train graffiti and social media- has it ruined the scene or has it helped it? I think social media has helped graffiti as a whole, but it's definitely hurt freights. It's a fad now, everyone wants to do it. Spots are drying up from urban sprawl or getting blown left and right because fools need that instant gratification of posting it when the paints still wet, or just not keeping spots a secret.

I've noticed most of your pieces are on the left panel of the car- is that on purpose? Absolutely, and for a number of reasons. Most importantly, I don't have to paint the dumb ass bar. Second, when I flick it and when it gets benched, the numbers will always be in the pic so I can track it and keep tabs on it. Plus, I always rock that top left ladder insurance tag for the haters. What's your favorite time period for freights and why? I wish I was around for it, but the late 90's and early 00's looked absolutely amazing. All the clean cars, lack of people painting, and plethora of spots. Those that painted legible ladder-to-door pieces will always be a fave like Worms, Lewis and Sien5 to name a few. Can you give us an example of your perfect day? I imagine freight is involved.. Haha Duh. Alright let me paint a picture: Wake up and get a sunrise panel in Roll a few rounds of Jiu-Jitsu before lunch Jimmy Johns for lunch followed by benching with my dog Kick it with the homies or hike with the pooch before dinner Hit my fave taco truck for dinner and get another panel in afterwords Any last shout outs? RIP Hint1 and all my fallen brothers. Free Think1, Free Boper and Free Shear. Shout out to all my crews and fam that hold me down and make this miserable existence worth living. Death to my enemies.