12ozPROPHET - A LOOK BACK

Now that I’ve gotten the new site up (and worked out most of the major bugs), I can finally take a quick break and actually get around to posting something on the blogs before getting back to work on the new sections we have planned. With all the effort that went into the redevelopment of this site, it makes me look back on how far 12ozProphet has come.

Originally launched as a graffiti zine back in 1993, 12ozProphet continued along for a full five years before we even got around to registering the domain back in March of 1998. Back then the World Wide Web was still pretty much in its infancy, and the technology used to build websites and access them was crude at best. Companies were just barely beginning to realize the potential of the Web and why building an online presence could eventually be useful, if not important. In those days internet access was still pretty rare for most people, and mostly seen as more of a novelty than the ubiquitous part of life it’s become today. When deciding to bring 12ozProphet online, my motivation was mostly a personal response to finding newsgroups way too complicated, which is how most graffiti-related discussion on the internet was happening at that time. Likewise, in those days ‘Streetwear’ had just begun to splinter off the action sports industry, and most of the pop culture heavyweights and artists we admire today were still deeply rooted in graffiti or hip hop, assuming they’d even begun doing their thing yet. Some 11 years after the fact, the forums here on 12ozprophet.com have grown to become the largest hub of graffiti and pop culture related discussion found anywhere on the internet, as well as now being one of the longest running online communities of its kind.

With the relaunch of 12ozprophet.com, I feel like we’ve hit a new milestone with the remarkable array of talent, experience and accomplishment represented on our blog lineup. Not just limited to masters of graffiti style, our roster has grown to include a top notch assortment of designers, photographers, artists, musicians and other personalities. Though the heritage of 12ozprophet.com is firmly established in graffiti, over the many years since its inception, our efforts have evolved to portray a much wider view of life, style and the culture surrounding it. I welcome you to sit back and read up on the life and times of many of the key individuals that are shaping it. Enjoy…

In acknowledgement to 12ozProphet and its early years, I’ve dug up an old shot of me and my right hand man Julio (in our much younger and slimmer days) back at the original 12ozProphet warehouse shortly after receiving the shipment of Issue #6, which was the breakout issue for Os Gemeos back in the summer of 1998. Shout out to the original 12oz Crew circa 1998… Cody Hudson aka Struggle Inc, Julio Jimenez aka PSM, Caleb Neelon aka Sonik, Sandra Guarin aka Shorty Rock.

12ozProphet Magazine Issue #6, Featuring Os Gemeos