AARON BONDAROFF
Hello Aaron. They call you "A-Ron The Downtown Don", b.k.a. "The Dirty Rotten Don". Can you let us know what you do and how you do it?
What I do is live like a street walking cheetah. What we do is a secret. What I do and when I do it? Ok, here we go. I act natural. I enjoy working closely with creative people. I like characters. I like weirdos. I like maniacs. I like nerds. I like things. I get inspired by people who put themselves out there and make things happen. I like people who to take chances and fuck with danger. Through the years I have had the opportunity to work with artists and help develop attitudes. I enjoy creating projects and tangible products that will reveal the real culture of downtown. Projects and products that will out last us and will tell the stories.
To tell the world the truth, I don't really know what it is that I do and I for sure don't know how I do it. Again, it is all natural and unforced. I guess it’s just the law of attraction. People gravitate towards what they imagine is real and are inspired by it. I am in the nucleus of the creativity of downtown and have a responsibility for myself and my city to make sure the substance - the texture - the attitude stays relevant. As the world changes and the city loses its edge and authenticity, I’m involved in making sure the attitude survives.
--
As a fifteen-year old high-school dropout, you've been on your own at a very young age in New-York City and your formative years seem entangled with some of the legends of the arts and "street culture" of today (Such as SSUR, Stash and Lee Quinones). Can you give us a glimpse of those years and what your life looked like then?
I was so blessed to have been born and raised in the city of dreams. I was about the ripe age of 15 when I knew that I was done with my local Brooklyn lifestyle. I knew that there was more out there. Specifically, downtown Manhattan. I was obsessed with sub-cultures. It seems there were so many when I was young. So many different word of mouth movements. There was an abundance of things to learn. I would lurk in the streets all day taking tags, reading the walls, learning the street codes, there was so much information on the walls and the streets revealed the history right there and then. Fuck high school, this is the real public school. I was looking to the streets for answers and education. There were characters and danger everywhere. Everyday there was a different experience to be had. I had odd jobs so that I could have money to stay out and get high.
At this time I would sleep on whatever couch was available and try to mess with older girls in college since they had dorm rooms in the area. I was intrigued by the independent brands emerging from the streets. You would see three marketing campaigns written on the walls then immediately see the products in a few shops that understood the importance of these small and local ideas and products. I would do my window shopping and occasional boost things I wanted like gear, markers, stickers and whatever else. The east village was going off, SOHO was going off, downtown was just the place to be. So much energy for a teenager! I eventually got a offered a job to work with Union , Stussy and Supreme. They liked my style and attitude. They wanted to take me under their wing. I was hyped since I was a fan of what these shops and brands were doing in the streets. Only now I got paid to hang out and got gear for free. I was killing it. They were wild times and all because I was the new young kid in the mix. I got to meet legends of the culture - people that I had looked up to for years. Now I am hanging with them and they are giving me stories of their times and their experiences. This is how you get educated on the streets. By listening and getting the knowledge passed down from the older posse. Staying humble, never star-struck, keep cool, wait for it to be your turn to make noise, no rush, your time will come to shine. For now, observe and take it all in and learn the blueprint of downtown. Who knows, one day you might pass off the knowledge and the stories to the next wave. I went from sneaking into nightclubs and bars, to throwing the parties and then owning the clubs and the bars. I went from being a foot soldier for the cause to a general of the movement.
--
You went from being one of the most recognizable faces of the most important streetwear brand, Supreme, to creating your own, aNYthing. But evidently in each and everyone of your endeavors, you always seem to be putting the "street" element of it first. With "aNYthing", with "Off Bowery", it seems that the authenticity you seek is more important than the design?
I like this question. It made me laugh a little. I ask myself: “Why do my projects seem so authentic and street?” It’s because I am not concerned with the businesses side of things at times. Which is bad, because good business is the key to success. But for me, I don't want to turn my ideas into a 9 - 5 job. I’ve seen that happen so many times with friends and other projects. Where success comes and all of a sudden your idea, your vision, your art, gets distorted with the responsibility of business. Then you lose your spark. You lose the reason why you created the project in the first place. I develop projects and brands mostly for my circle - for the locals - for the streets around me. I am not concern about evolving the brand into a successful business because then I would have to go sit behind a desk and be stressed. Fuck that. My ideas are born form the streets so I keep them in the streets. Lasting is the key. I’m in it to win it, just on my terms. I still work with Supreme, I still work with aNYthing and I still create new ideas for Off Bowery. These are extensions of my everyday life. No stress, just reality and responding to what the streets want and at times guiding them into the future.
--
As a witness for many years of a New-York that doesn't seem to exist anymore, what are the scenes that came and went but still paved the way for the Downtown scene of today?
Hardcore matinees at CBGB's, a skate scene that was authentic, hanging in the parks after dusk, local tours, house parties, night clubs that were experimental and not about the bottle service and the stockbroker sucker, underground hip hop , low-fi styles, DIY raps, fat beats in the basement and a college radio station out of Columbia university called 89.9, The Hole - a gay club in the east village - where straight and gays got along and danced and raged so hard. The Hole was a short lived bar but it created many memories and true friendships were born out of there. Street graffiti before the vandal squad existed. This was a language we spoke and a part of our everyday lifestyles. Warehouse rave culture was really weird, club kids was a bugged out scene, the ghetto Gothic scene is interesting, the art school scene is always interesting, the Ludlow bar scene especially Max Fish, Alleged Gallery, X Large, Pop Shop , Liquid Sky, Soho Zat, Uniques, 8 Street, vintage stores, boosting scene, Astor Place, the Brooklyn banks, the meadow hanging with Upper East Side private school girls.
--
The community of artists and characters you are currently championing seem reminiscent of another era. Do you feel like you have some sort of responsibility to keep a certain idea of New-York alive? Or is the pre-Giuliani New-York dead and gone (as you asked on the Off Bowery shirt "Where have all the junkies gone?") and this new generation of outcasts and "weirdos" are part of a new New-York?
I often speak with the younger community to see where their heads are at and what their motives are. I haven't thrown a happening in NYC in a while but I am due. I don't see the kids being so dangerous anymore - the city is safe. You have to be rich to live here - especially for a young kid - that means their drive is different. Most kids want to be famous and not do their journey (which isn't so cute all the time). This is their marketing and their story for their careers. But a lot of the youth just want to make it and be like the wave ahead of them. So lately I’ve been watching and I haven’t found what I am looking for. I will be getting proactive in the hood again. I will bring back as much dirt bag shit I can to show the youth that the edge is still here and if things are presented right it can be real without it being so glamorous and so sophisticated. I am not alone in the city. I do need help and have been fortunate to get it when I need it. But I do feel a responsibility on my shoulders. But that's my personal trip. Yes, there are interesting pockets of cult happening from the youth movement, there isn't really any venues that can house them. I guess that’s the real issue. The melting pot of NYC culture has nowhere to mix anymore.
--
Your personal motto seems to be "Never Not Working". It's hard to argue with that when we see the number of projects you are or have been involved in, from the clothing lines, the TV shows, the Art directing, the record label, your job as a curator for OHWOW, and countless other jobs. What is it that you're doing today, what is the most important of your jobs at the moment?
My life comes first now. For years I got lost in the movement and forgot the basics. These days I keep it more simple but keeping things simple makes what I do more major. My new slogan is: "I want nothing from nobody, but a little from everybody."
OHWOW is my main project. The OHWOW movement is major. From the publishing side to the gallery, it’s real. I enjoy creating products that will last for a long time. Publishing is so important. We have a responsibility to document the culture and create products that spread the message of the movement. Second on my list is Supreme. I recently started working with the brand again - which I am excited about it since Supreme is my roots of downtown. aNYthing and Off Bowery are both evolving and I still give them oxygen at times but the ultimate project is Aaron Bondaroff, me.
--
How do you explain that you of all people became the moden-day impresario for the Downtown scene. Does it have aything to do with your roots, being half Jewish and half Puerto Rican, or is it more of a personality things that helped you get entrusted by all these artists to be the man they wanted to go to if they wanted to share their vision?
I am hyped off of creativity. I love when people take chances with their ideas and styles. It is amazing how one can make things happen and create ideas that turn into a business, or even better, adds to the cultural timeline. I mean, come on, how dope is that? Getting paid off of your ideas. So I support the scene and teach the fiend. I am blessed to be given the opportunity to work with amazing characters. I know history don't pay bills but it sure is legendary to help shape the culture.
--
Lately, you have been involved in many book releases as well as in a lot of photography exhibitions. Is there some conscious effort on your end to make sure that this scene is documented as accurately and as profusely as possible before it goes away, or as in the case of your friend Dash Snow, is taken away from us before its time?
It’s funny, when I would travel when I was younger I would always have a video camera or point and shoot camera. But sometimes I would get lazy so then I made sure that when I traveled I always had a documentarian on board. Through the years I had some talented artists on the missions and together we chronicled downtown culture. Artists like Ryan McGinley, Shadi Perez, Sue Kwon, Ari Marcopoulas, Dash Snow. As a fan of sub cultures growing up - and back when I was younger there wasn't the Internet with so much content - you had to work hard for your research. But when catching a glimpse of something special, it stuck in the brain and opened the mind of the unknown and it inspired you to create. It’s real nice to see the legends that helped pave the way for our generation now. History plays a role on the culture so to preserve it and document it is the key for the legacy to live and to add to the time line of creativity. Plus I am entertained by what is going on and want to watch it. Like if you’re an athlete and you watch the game tapes from the night before to see the mistakes and successes to get pumped from.
--
A few years ago, Acapulco Gold came out with a shirt that said "A-Ron Put Me On". Do you feel like a mentor to a whole new generation of kids who might not even be from similar backgrounds or know what it's like to be from there, but who look up to you in terms of potential and what is possible to be done if you work hard enough? Do you feel like your constant output of authenticity-driven products and community-approved events make you the poster-boy for the kid that doesn't want to sell out to the man, or compromise his principles?
I don't sell out to the man because the man is scared of me. I represent the streets and you never now what you will get when working with me. Maybe I will pocket the advance and party with it or take the dirt bags out to eat and keep the ideas for the community. Ha, too funny! But in the streets there are dark sides and it can get ugly at times. Sometimes it’s not a good look for polished company to get down with authenticity. But on the upside, I don't have to give what I got to the man. I get paid off my ideas and get to choose who I want to work with and I like working with the inspirational people around me. Acapulco Gold did that shirt as homage to me. I would never put out a shirt like that. Never, I am way too humble for that. I think they were trying to look like they were down and get community approval from my rep. It’s cool. Their alright. Those guys did some favors for me when they were coming up so no stress. I think it’s funny that the shirt even exists. I work with the youth, they inspire me and its bugged out how age gaps make things different. I am not a model but a role model to the make it happen mentality. So I dare the youth to take chances.
--
What gets your creative juices flowing everyday. From the music, to the books, the movies and of course the sports, as you seem to be a bit of a sports fan yourself.?
Just the interaction with the streets. I'm down for sports. Down for competitions and rivalries. So much music gets me hyped. I go through nostalgia - sounds to bring me back to particular times in my life. I like current jams too. It feels good to know things are still happening. I imagine what these songs will mean to me down the road. They’ll bring me back to this time - now - which I am enjoying. Playing tennis and jogging – I can listen to music doing to this and I get so many ideas when I do this. Handball, basketball, I'm down for all sports, books, classics, biographies, autobiographies. They are all great inspirational tools. I have to hold actual books. I can't really read on the computer (except emails). I’m a weirdo like that. Mad magazine classics, Cracked magazine, Grand Royal magazine, weird local ‘zines get me hyped. Content. I love it. Bring it. Let’s do this. Man don't get me started with movies, mixed blood, street wise, not fair to ask questions like this because this is a separate interview - the inspiration files.
--
Can you tell us more about the latest exhibition "Now I Remember"?
This was a group of friends including professional skate boarders, artists, musicians and all around great guys. The lineup was Jerry Hsu, Todd Jordan, Kevin “Spanky” Long, Tino Razo, Neckface, JR and Curtis B. from Supreme LA. They would take a lot of photos with their cell phones and send them to each other for entertainment purposes. They did this for a while. The content grew and grew and Todd Jordan thought it would be a good idea to showcase some of the best ones and put them on display at the Max Fish bar on Ludlow Street and selling the prints for $10 each. The phone camera is such a new tool in the everyday life of people these days, so spontaneous , a person can catch such bizarre and great moments. I like this idea of low brow art, just good times with friends and the images speak so loudly about this group’s characteristics. A year later, Todd managed to get sponsorship and get the gang out to Tokyo to keep the show traveling. I was involved in the NYC show by showcasing a video of phone images I collected through a website I created for the community.
For Tokyo, OHWOW decided to produce a small book to go with the show. To keep it legendary, Todd also got Mark Gonzalez to write an intro for the book. This crew of friends is so bro and I had an epic time in Japan traveling with this gang of maniacs.
--
Any last words for the French readership. Any information on what people can expect from you, your community, in the near future? This is also the shout-out section!
I love shout outs but I’ll just memorialize for now … RIP Harold Hunter, Justin Pierce, Vanilla, Mike Cardona, Keenan Milton, Lily Wheel, Dash Snow, Joey Semz, Shawn Mortenson, Malcom Mclaren, Argue, Beastly , Eves , Yuck…all the soldiers, artists and beautiful people who died before their time. Legends Never Die!!!