John is a product of the housing projects, having been a well-known graffiti and gang tagger who got into trouble with violence and drugs. Since the late 1980’s, Prime has become a successful community worker, business and family man. In turning his life around, John has found a highly effective way of steering youth from the dangers inherent in growing up in at-risk neighborhoods, and turning them into community-minded artists and cultural workers. His unique method of youth development is rooted in the art of graffiti muralism, a visual vocabulary of the streets that he has harnessed as a cultural tool for positive social change. John has created over 50 public murals and coordinated numerous public arts events on O’ahu in the past 8 years. These efforts have spearheaded the creation of 808 Urban.