I was pretty Irish Catholic Jersey, the middle of the line.

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.

My photographs are a celebration of life, fun and the beautiful. They are a world that doesn't exist. A fantasy. Freedom is real. There are no rules. The life I wish I was living.

I didn't have much of a life in crime as a graffiti writer.

I spent all of my money on film. I remember I would do these set-design jobs or transcribe or just anything to get, like, a $100 check and go immediately to Adorama and buy expired film.

When I moved to New York, I was still in the closet.

I was never raised with anybody telling me that gay was bad.