FATSO SAYS GET LOST AND LET YOUR PHONE RUN OUT OF BATTERY
17 September 2026As Nike drops the first Air Jordan 4 designed exclusively for London, we tracked down Fatso, one of the country’s most prolific graffiti artists to talk London, early influences, and what made Jordans so desirable when he was a kid
Next time you’re on a train around London, look out the window and you’ll likely see Fatso, Fatzo, Fatzoo, or any other configuration of the word thrown up across brick, concrete, and steel. The prolific tag has become a definitive part of UK graffiti culture, its simple style getting to the core of tagging: you remember it without even realising you’ve seen it, like subliminal messaging.
In graffiti, every city has its own style, from graphic-heavy to stencil-based and everything in between. For London, it all rests on a name. Where can you write it? How often? How quickly? Under those metrics, few do it like Fatso.
Ahead of the exclusive in-store launch of the Air Jordan 4 LDN Pack—the first London-only Air Jordan drop—the windows of our Soho flagship got a Fatso makeover, and we caught some time with the elusive writer to talk early influences, how London shapes his style, and the beauty of letting your phone run out of battery.
"THE INTERNET IS A LIE. GO OUTSIDE AND TRAVEL AND SEE AND SMELL AND DRAW ON THINGS AND GET LOST AND LET YOUR PHONE RUN OUT OF BATTERY."
How did you get into graffiti, and what drew you to the name Fatso?
I GOT INTO GRAFFITI THROUGH MY STEPDADS INVOLVEMENT IN THE UK HIP-HOP SCENE DURING THE LATE ‘90s & EARLY 2000s. PLUS GROWING UP WHERE I DID, EVERYONE IN THE ENDS HAD A TAG OR A NICKNAME WHICH WAS WRITTEN IN ALL THE LOCAL BLOCKS AND FOOTBALL PITCHES. THE NAMES A CLASSIC INSULT WHICH IVE ALWAYS FOUND FUNNY AND THATS ABOUT IT REALLY…
How would you describe your style and has it changed a lot since you started?
ID DESCRIBE MY STYLE AS LEGIBLE, NOT TOO SURE WHAT ELSE TO SAY ABOUT IT. THE OLDER IVE GOT AND THE MORE IVE DONE IT, IVE JUST WANTED IT TO STAND THE TEST OF TIME AND I THINK, EVEN THO ITS THE HARDEST, SIMPLICITY WILL ALWAYS BE TIMELESS…
Who or what were your biggest early influences?
MY BIGGEST EARLY INFLUENCE HAS TO BE ATG AS THEY WAS ALL AROUND THE AREAS I GREW UP. THEY WHERE DOING STUFF I HADNT SEEN BEFORE AND PUSHING BOUNDARIES AND LATER ON TOOK ME UNDER THEIR WING.
IT WAS A FAMILY THING NOT JUST A GRAFFITI CREW. THEY INTRODUCED ME TO OTHER INTERNATIONAL PLAYAS WHICH HELPED ME TO GET TO THE PLACES IM AT NOW. THE OTHER BIG INFLUENCES COME FROM PARIS & COPENHAGEN, AFTER VISITING THEM PLACES AND LANDING WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE EVERYTHING BECAME A LOT CLEARER AND EASIER TO UNDERSTAND…
How has London shaped your work?
LONDON SHAPED MY WORK IN A WAY I DIDNT EXPECT. I WILL ALWAYS HAVE SO MUCH LOVE FOR THE MORE TRADITIONAL LONDON STYLE AND APPROACHES TO THIS THING OF OURS BUT COULDNT HELP TAKE INFLUENCE FROM THE PLACES I WAS VISITING.
I THEN STARTED TO THINK THAT A BIG PART OF LONDON CULTURE IS SHAPED BY FOREIGN PEOPLE SO IF I PUSH THE STYLE I LIKE THEN WHO KNOWS WHAT WILL HAPPEN.
Do you think London's graffiti culture is distinct from other cities, and if so, how?
LONDON GRAFFITI CULTURE IS OF COURSE DISTINCT FROM OTHER CITIES AND COUNTRIES BECAUSE OF HOW DIFFERENT THE CITY IS. ITS ROUGH AND SMOOTH AT THE SAME TIME, IT CAN SIT BOTH SIDES OF THE FENCE AND ITS ALSO SOMETHING THAT IS FOREVER EVOLVING AND CHANGING WHETHER WE LIKE IT OR NOT.
Graffiti and sportswear brands like Nike have crossed paths a lot over the years. What do you think it is about that relationship that works so well?
GRAFFITI IS A SPORT TO SAY THE LEAST AND HAS HELPED SHAPED FASHION, MUSIC, AND ART. WHETHER YOU WANT TO BELIEVE IT OR NOT. IT ALMOST FEELS INEVITABLE THAT SPORTS BRANDS TAP IN. ITS JUST ABOUT HOW THEY TAP IN AND WHO THEY TAP IN WITH BECAUSE ITS A DELICATE SUBCULTURE THAT COULD BE RUINED IF THE NEXT GENERATION DECIDE TO GET INTO IT FOR ANY OTHER REASON APART FROM THE LOVE AND CURIOSITY.
What are your earliest memories of Nike Jordans?
MY EARLIEST MEMORIES OF JORDAN ARE THE OLDER BOYS IN THE AREA. THE ONES WHO HAD MONEY, THE ONES THAT WATCHED MTV, THE ONES THAT FOLLOWED HIP-HOP PROPERLY. AND THEY ALL HAD TAGS OR NICKNAMES BUT THEIR NAMES DIDNT TRAVEL FAR FROM THE BLOCK WALLS OR FOOTBALL PITCHES. THIS MADE JORDANS A PROPER DESIRABLE THING WHEN I WAS COMING UP.
Any advice for the next generation?
THE INTERNET IS A LIE. GO OUTSIDE AND TRAVEL AND SEE AND SMELL AND DRAW ON THINGS AND GET LOST AND LET YOUR PHONE RUN OUT OF BATTERY. BE PRESENT AND PUSH FOR ORGANIC INTERACTIONS OUTSIDE OF SOCIAL MEDIA.
