The Railside Street Files: Nvade FSU FGA

What name do you write, and where did it come from?

Chur, I write NVADE and I am part of The FSU and FGA crew. I’ve always represented my hood where I grew up. MT WELLY 502!

Where the name came from… so there’s a story behind the name NVADE. I grew up tagging at a young age (maybe the year 2002). Tagged various names but one being quite stand out for me was OATS. Abbreviation for Owning All The streets. Tagging was an everyday thing for me, back in school, intermediate to high school, and even a few years after that, Straights flares vivid hits. The good old days

I only got up in my own hood, didn’t really have any transport to go and venture to different parts of Auckland. Maybe just here and there but mostly particularly around east Auckland. I had a solid group of broz I hit up with, who taught me how to tag, s/o to my brother OG SLYM.

I also had a lot of beef back then but never really knew why... probably cause Ill just hit up anywhere and never really gave a shit where I did it haha. Back to the name NVADE

I used to stay in Perth back in 2015 and notice the tagging style over there was quite… how would I put it... quite different, no flares or straights haha so at this point i hadn’t done much hitting up but wanted to show the local scene how we do it in NZ. I had thought of a name and came up with NVADE. It fit well with the purpose of what I was about to do. I started marking out tags in my local area around Perth and hit up NVADE NZ. And I did one nvade bombing over some local writer there. It never got capped but my tags got marked out. So it was back and forth with marking out tags. Haha no good

So fast forward to 2021 coming up into the bombing scene in Auckland, that name came to mind and stuck with me

You’re originally from Auckland — what was the scene like when you first started coming up?

I grew up with that late 90s early 2000s Auckland Graff! I was more of a tagger back then so growing up into that scene, I Would have to describe it as being straight up raw, Old-school and territorial. From my opinion, it would have to be Auckland’s best and most influential years of graff and Hits! For me, being a tagger, it would particularly be hits! Tags were everywhere and would stick back then, now shit gets buffed within a week

So, the scene (2021) from when I started to get into bombing, was quite active! There were a lot of active writers out the south and west and some from out East! The scene was on!!! For me, the mahi then, was predominantly putting up pieces, throws and burners! A bit of a shift from what I experienced from back in the day. It’s been good I reckon, reason being it bought the best out of a lot of writers, from being active and creative! 

2021 was a great year. Had some solid experiences and missions! Some mean outchea missions kuzzy haha

Do you remember the first time you properly put your name up? Where did it all start for you?

So tagging started early, stated in the first question but properly wanting to bomb, piece, and do throwies, came to me back in 2021. It was a crack up because it started with a visit to one of my close school broz aka JACR! I yarned to the brother and he reckons…. “My bro, have you seen that TAGS and FLARES, NZ Burners page”? I was like nahhh, he showed me and I was like “fahhh those bombings are solid” I noticed west and south Auckland were getting up hard at the time, and maybe a few out in the EAST. Something that day changed and I told my bro... I’m keen to paint/bomb and get my hometown - Mt Welly out there! So, a name I had to come up with, and straight away NVADE popped to mind.

After that, the first sort of piece style i busted out, was under a bridge trackside in MT WELLINGTON. I had just finished mahi and travelled up from the bay of plenty, had afew roadies or liquid encouragement, no good haha!

Pulled up to the spot and did a maroon fill and white outline bomb. I thought it was the beez knees kuz, but looking back on it now, im like dammmmnnnn, amateur. Probably still amateur now haha Ill never forget that first feeling though… being in the zone and finishing that piece! From there, the passion of bombing had begun...

You’ve painted a lot of strong spots around the North Island. What makes a spot stand out to you — visibility, atmosphere, difficulty, history, or how the piece sits there?

What stands out?

I would say all of the above. Longevity is a big one for me, so one day I might go back or take my family to see what I would get up to haha. I mean, maybe another writer will stumble upon my piece and say fahhhh, that was done in that year and look at the location its in! ive been to spots and would just stand there for moment and just take it all in! ive seen tunnels that lead to waterfalls, sharing a wall with cows, in the middle of nowhere but you and the wall, pieces and tags that date back 15 years before, next to wild mountain ranges, raging rivers that run as far as the eye can see, fresh walls where no one has painted, tracksides with deep history, paint and catch you a fresh trout after, hottie mway spot where you can only hear the hustling traffic behind you, in a foreign country or farm sheds where you have to fend off a stampede of cows with your ladder and a bando right in the heart of Auckland city!

A spot for me represents, how you execute your time being there. Live it, breathe it and take it all in! have a cigi kuz and just look around. Then enjoy painting the wall. The spot, you’re in the zone, and living life to the fullest. That’s what freedom looks and feels like. 

This is the definition on how a spot stands out to me.

At one point you were painting a lot. What was driving that period for you?

From 2021- maybe towards the end of 2024 would have been the years I painted quite consistently.

There are probably three main points that’s influenced the motivation to paint:

The early days were the best and the later years was to try and get better...

2021, When I started bombing it was all about getting my hood MT WELLY out there. Quick bombs and fast throwies. Then chuck up the hood MFW (Mount F****n Welly) which I later on in the years, switched to mt wellingtons old bus line, 502. That was my main drive at the time. At this stage, it wasn’t about piecing or trying to burn. Just straight street bombing and representing my hometown. Too much to the brothers I started painting with too, LUPS and IDE.  

Being within the same year, I meet a bro out the 298! He hooked it up with some paint. Who is now my unit brother! Chur brother EKOT! we just yarned for ages and just talked about the graff at that time, FSU being outhere on the highways or travelling away from aucks. After some solid koreros with the brother, I put it to him if he was keen to have an EAST SIDER in the unit haha FSU being predominantly SOUTH Aucks.. I said, “don’t give me an answer now but give me till the end of the year”. This had given me another drive to paint as much as I can. A few months later, I met up with the brothers OCE and TARB, painted a bando, bridge spot that day…Then later on that night, went on a crew spree with the brothers TARB, EKOT and TAT. The next day that’s when I became part of one of Aotearoas most up, organised and whanau orientated Crews. FSU

The later years my drive to paint turned towards quality. Something that im still working on today.

Who or what influenced your style when you were coming up — writers, crews, cities, magazines, photos, videos, or just seeing work in real life?

My style?

To be honest, I pick ideas from anything I like and try bringing it into something! Something that flows mean and looks solid and TRY to do it in my own way. I’ve mixed up my style over the years, still in search of that GO TO. That’s probably the best thing about finding your style, it keeps the mind working

Influential for me?

It would have to be writers from A2D, TMD, both of my crews, LTM, GBAK, ROD, MIW, WOL, GRS, UA, AIM and RAMS. I’ve always wanted to try better my style, from one wall to the next. These fullaz influenced and helped me to where I’m at now. From having a korero, asking questions/advice/experience, seeing their work out on the streets and painting with the broz! NZ has its own style and not being biased, but I think it’s one of the best in the world.

Are you more of a sketch planner, or do you like figuring the piece out as you paint?

I just rock up to a wall, evaluate the texture of the wall… raw concrete, painted, tunnel, countryside, tagged up, trackside etc and just paint what usually comes to mind. I’ve never had any patience to sketch... I don’t have a sketch book or nothing, I still owe a lot of the broz canvases haha (ratchet fulla) ill get them done though, one day, sorry brothers! it’s quite hard for me to sit down and start sketching. I think it has to do with patience. I’m no good at being patient on a sketch book haha

Sometimes ill pull out the phone and look at some of my past work, ideas or charos and pick bits and pieces that suit how I’m going to paint, then go with it. Sometimes its good and sometimes its straight up rubbish haha but I always say, if it’s meant to look like that then it’s meant to be. What matters most is that its up and you’re out there doing it! Your best was done for the day!

 

Is there one wall, piece, trip, sketch, or flick that still stands out to you? What makes it memorable?

Haha true oh yeah

One that stands out!

Being chased in wellington would have to be a big one! Two separate times too! This will have to be a no mention names one but on the first time in welly, out on a crew trip! We were painting a hottie mway container but probably the crack up thing was, we parked the car right behind the container! haha... we had just finished painting, then what do you know, the pigs came in, full torch lights, beaming towards us! We just straight up gassed it down the nearby trackside. Most of us going separate ways and some of us in groups of two. I turned around and didn’t see any sight of the pigs. Waited on the rocks between the wellington waterfront and the mway. Got a hold of the brother, who picked us up, and lived to paint another day.

Theres been another chase in wellington after this one but ill leave that story for another day. Welly has been a series of bad luck that I hope one day we will overcome. Crack up.

What keeps you motivated to keep painting and pushing your style?
2021-2024 would have been my most active years. Motivation, for me, is the passion for painting. I never thought I would be where im at today with graff. It was only meant to be a short time thing. Over the years, the passion to perfect my style has been an unstoppable addiction. Even today im still trying to find my way and be at peace with a style ill stick to. Ive been slack as of late with painting but still have that urge to get out there and discover new spots and bust out a piece.

 

Any writers, crews, photographers, or people from the scene you want to shout out?

Just wanna take the time to thank my partner for putting up with the late nights coming home and for accepting my passion to paint.

S/O to the 502, both of my crews. FSU aka the unit. Ive been on some solid missions with the brothers, especially the crew runs. Unforgettable memories. Somethings that only a handful of people will experience in their lifetime. Much aroha mbrothers

FGAZ. A solid crew who I have recently linked up with. When it comes to style, I would say being versatile and adaptability. A crew with a range of style and old-school history. Too much to my FGEE brothers 

S/O to our NZ graff photographers, Graffgatherer, musicman, akldgraff pics, Auckland city vandals, condomalley and everyone who documents our scene . Special s/o to the bro SHADOW SURGEON. He had put together a masterpiece of live action within our scene, from different writers and crews…please check it out if you haven’t already. Cutting Up The Dark – A Graffiti Tour Of Aotearoa, you can watch it on Vimeo and maybe youtube.

s/o to my brother JACS, my family, LUPS and IDE, my broz I always paint with… BRATS WACT SUFER, the 502 and 301! BERST and SERGE for their work within the scene. s/o to comp day organisers. Paint suppliers @RAILSIDE and @CARTELPAINTSUPPLIES

And S/O to everyone who keeps Aotearoas graff scene active! From your time, being out there doing it, the sacrifices made and money spent! Nothin but straight up Aroha.100

Thanks to Railside for letting me share my part of my graff story and experiences for this street files series. I have more to say, but I guess that will have to happen in person, either painting a wall or having a pie at the local bakery kuzzzz. chhhhuuurrrrr

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