I was never told, "Fags are going to hell." You just didn't talk about it.

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."

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 knew my ticket out of the suburbs was art school, so I worked really hard to develop my portfolio and get a scholarship.

A camera gives you a purpose.

What I really believe is that there are no coincidences anymore.

I couldn't wait to come to New York to reinvent myself.