Monorex are a design, advertising and promotional, with deals already under their belt from Nike and Xbox they could go far. And if that’s not a good enough start, they are also the masterminds behind ‘Secret Wars’ a duel to the death between Graff artists which is getting some huge respect on the design and spray paint scene.

FMCS: Hey Monorex how’s it hanging?

Good, good – just recovering from another super hectic Monorex weekend! As we dropped a Secret Wars on the Saturday and Chilly Con Carnage on the Sunday, so I’m all partied out…:)

Back on the grind now, with a ton of emails and paperwork to sort out! That (being busy) and a coffee is probably the best thing to sober you up!

FMCS: So you came across our radar a little while back with the ‘Secret Wars’ (which we will come on to in a minute). However tell our readers what a Monorex is and what drives it?

Monorex is an internationally connected creative design agency based in London, England, Monorex is “The New Danger”. Here at Monorex HQ we are committed to providing outstanding and comprehensive service for a spectrum of clients both globally and locally.

Put simply we are a collective of young upstarts who enjoy working together to offer fresh ideas to our clients.

We are driven by all the dead wood creative companies out there that charge stupid fees for work that has no thought or original design concepts to them.

FMCS: How did you come to start up Monorex?

Well I graduated from University with a degree in animation and design about three years ago and tried really hard to nail a job with various big time production companies – But after a year of making tea and toast I became frustrated and decided to approach the Princes Trust with a business plan. And after 6 months of support they granted me a 2000 GBP loan to start up Monorex, this basically paid for all my equipment and initial marketing costs (flyers etc).

Things have been moving forward ever since with the brand now in it’s 2nd year of trade!

FMCS: You have done some damn cool work for various clients. Are you keeping busy? What you got goin on at the moment?

Well we try to stay busy, and we like to work on at least 3-4 projects at any one time. Over the last year we have started to get recognized a lot more by the bigger brands like Xbox and Nike – so that has been great.

Some recent projects have been painting a flagship Gamestation store in Birmingham (UK) for Xbox, and designing the Idle Joe website. We also have some in house briefs going on with our own clothing label about to drop this Xmas (Opus Dopus)…This will be in conjunction with Hellfire Cartel, and will be released in sets of 3’s – limited edition of course!

Watch this space!

FMCS: About the Secret Wars parties you guys are doing some great things there with designers and Graff artists. What’s it all about?

Yeah Secret Wars has really blown up for us, we never expected it to be this big already! But we have been blessed with the help of our sponsors (Tiger, Edding etc) – enabling us to move a lot quicker.

I think the crowds who turn up in there hundreds, are really feeling this concept as it is fresh and original! This has never been done before, so this is an exciting time for all involved. And of course every body loves a battle, be it in a boxing ring or on a football field – its part of human nature.

The concept behind it is simple, we draw the artists out of a hat and pit them against each other in a art duel to the death. They get 90 mins to paint in just uniform black and white in front of the 400 strong crowds down in a small bar called Juno.

The winner is decide by a 3 panel judging system (guest judges), and a clap o’ meter. The winning artist then rolls on through to the next round where he will face his next opponent.

Featuring artists include: Sickboy, Alfamale, Teck1, Inkfetish, Wen, Inkie, Rich T plus many more…

Please check www.secretwars.co.uk for more info and pics on series 1!

FMCS: Who you got tipped for the winning slot (give us something to take to Ladbrooks).

Hahaha! Well I have already made my bet when the odds were high! It is a hard one as all the artists involved were hand picked by Monorex because they represent the best of the bunch within the street art industry.

Obviously a safe bet would be to go for a higher profile name like Inkie or Sickboy, but I was taught to always gamble on the outsiders (my mum’s tip, every year on the Grand National). So my money is on a fresh and very exciting young artist called 5683… Check him out on Myspace!

FMCS: What’s the feedback been like for Secret Wars?

The feedback has been immense, we have already been featured in a handful of well respected magazines and have many more invites to take up…But again I think where this is a unique “b-boy battle” concept, the magazines are all acknowledging this is one super hot story not to miss!

We are also in talks with big name sponsors to take the event on tour around the UK and mainland Europe, so exciting times lie ahead.

FMCS: You got any other parties/comps planned? You guys have obviously got the nack for it!

Only the two we already run (Secret Wars & Chilly Con Carnage), these take a lot of our time up at the moment so all is good.
Oh actually we have a Xmas family dinner party coming up that we started last year, and basically involves 50 of our closest friends. This will be held at the Below Zero (Ice bar) and we will be serving some of London’s finest roast dinners while giving away free goodies… Oh and then invite the crowds along after for a huge mash up!

We also have a festival idea in the pipeline, but I can’t say much on this right now – apart from it will be one huge 2 day event not to be missed!

FMCS: Who is coming up at the moment for you? Give em some props right here!

So many peeps right now, you have the Rich T’s and the Teck 1’s alongside others like 5683, Squid Inc, Alfamale and more. My job really is to find these talented artists and give them the props/platform they deserve, hence Secret Wars!

Some people thought after Banksy and D*face there could or would be no more room but I believe in the opposite and feel these guys have merely opened the doors to bigger things. There are very exciting times ahead for everybody involved in street art and live illustration.

FMCS: What’s for tea?

Umm! I live with a bunch of mates so nothing to special – but probably a light sushi snack from a restaurant down the road.
For a good meal you can never beat your mum’s cooking!

FMCS: How did you find FMCS?

Through a friend who recommend me check you boys out… As soon as I logged on I realised this was what was missing from my life!

You guys gotta the whole lifestyle industry covered and always offer fresh interviews on some of the hottest peeps. Big up!
I’m hungry for some more cool shit!!

FMCS: Any words of wisdom for our readers?

Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead. Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790)

My own quote would be – Stay focused and be patient as the good times will come to those who wait. Be your own No 1 fan and never let another person dictate your ideas.

FMCS: Thanks for the short interview Monorex and all the best!

Yeah thanks for having us, and props to all the artists on the grind!

Please go and check out www.monorex.com for more info and pics!

My Space: Monorex

More Interviews…
Yoann Cimier
Mike Burnett
Evgeny kiselev
Cupco
Buff Monster
Plastic Kid

Full Interview List

Main Homepage