Mark Oblow, a leading figure in street culture, talks about his relationship with In Case and his thoughts on art.

As he said, during this interview, which took place on the day of the event, Styles Daikanyama, the venue for the event, was preparing to exhibit artwork created by stenciling, collaging, and painting on Polaroid photographs and paperback book pages. The works he creates are a condensation of the "free and fun" street mindset that is rooted in his own background. One art piece in particular, stenciled on a paperback book, caught my attention, and upon closer inspection, I found that the writing on it was in Japanese. Yes, it was a page from a novel written in Japanese.

In Hawaii, where I was born and raised, we call all of our family members, friends, and acquaintances family. My grandmother's name was Yuki, and she was like a real grandmother to me. When she passed away, I found that she had left behind many paperbacks of her novels, which she had treasured since her lifetime. Unfortunately, I could not read those books written in Japanese, but instead I started to draw my own art on each page of the books she left me. That way I could always be with her and show her the world.

He speaks with a soft expression on his face, and his body is covered with numerous tattoos. This is my first tattoo," he said, taking off his jacket to show us a Japanese traditional-style wave on his arm. His mind and body are alive with the spirit of Japan, just like ours. He is now a photographer and artist, and says that it was his childhood love of surfing that inspired him to start creating art.

I've loved surfing and punk rock since I was a kid and wanted to put The Clash's jacket artwork on my surfboard. Soon after, I became fascinated with skateboarding and became a team rider for Vision Skateboards, skating with friends like Mark Gonzalez and Natas Kaupas. It was around that time that I actually started painting art. My first canvas was skateboard grip tape. Skateboarding and surfing are dangerous and sometimes people die. So I used to hand them out to all kinds of people as a kind of good luck charm, to tell them not to fall down or get hurt. Gradually, pro surfers and skaters started liking the boards with my artwork on them and started using them, and then the media started picking up on it, and it spread quickly.

He quickly became well-known and popular, and many people wanted a deck painted by him. However, just as the appeal of skateboard culture cannot be appreciated without actually experiencing it for oneself, he says that the feelings behind his work cannot be known simply by displaying it as a work of art.

People who get my decks say, 'I'm going to put it up in my room! But my own feeling is that I want them to ride it. I want them to ride it, but my own feeling is that they must ride it. I put a lot of thought into it, so I'd be happy if people could actually feel it firsthand.

His career started with a single piece of deck tape. As mentioned above, today's art is expressed using a variety of materials and techniques. While they all have different expressions, they all have one thing in common.

I became friends with skateboarding legends like Tony Hawk, in addition to Marc Gonzalez and Natas Kaupas, and started taking pictures, which were featured in THRASHER MAGAZINE, and eventually I started doing stencil art. I started out doing basic stuff, but it evolved from there, and now I do art on photos taken by other photographers. I think my art reflects that kind of human connection.

His Japanese friend Camilla, who was present for the interview that day, is also an inspirational muse as his subject and an important human connection. Prior to the event, he said, "I hope this event can inspire the young generation today, even if only a little. I believe that being involved in the future will lead to creating forever. He says that he is an inspiration to the next generation, and at the same time, he himself can be inspired.

For skaters, age and appearance don't matter at all. What is important is how they skate, and the human nature and style that can be felt from their skating. Kids are always thinking "I want to know" and "I want to play," right? I love to have fun as much as they do, so I have a very young heart (laughs). Maybe that's why the younger generation is still interested in me and hangs out with me. I get a lot of energy from them all the time."

Finally, I asked him again what message he wanted to convey to the younger generation attending this event.

Many artists are reluctant to share their techniques and ideas with others, but I always try to be open and share that information. When I was still young, I followed Edward Riggins, the founder of THRASHER MAGAZINE, and he taught me everything he knew about being a photographer. So I too want to show the younger generation that anything is possible if you believe in your inner passion and give it 100%.

During the interview, he repeatedly mentioned the phrase "LOVE MORE. How should we live our lives in this day and age when people tend to say that human connections are weak?　He taught us, the younger generation, what is really important to live on the streets.