Man One has been part of the Graffiti Art movement since 1987 and is the owner of Crewest, the longest-running Los Angeles gallery devoted to graffiti. Before taking the stage to talk about the importance of street art to urban culture, he sat down for our “In The Green Room” Q&A.

Q. What do you wake up to in the mornings?

A. Damn alarm on my Blackberry. But really, my kids. I have three kids. I wake up and take them to school.

Q. What surprises you the most about your life right now?

A. That people want to talk to me. They care what I know about and what I’m involved in. Coming from where I came from to now, being asked about art.

Q. What is the last habit you tried to kick?

A. Drinking soda.

Q. What do you consider to be the greatest simple pleasure?

A. Painting.

Q. How do you clear your mind?

A. Painting.

Q. Who is your favorite fictional character?

A. Man One.

Q. What is your favorite cocktail?

A. I don’t drink much.

Q. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A. A zookeeper.

Q. If you could take only one more journey, where would you go?

A. Outer space.

Q. Whose talent do you wish you had?

A. Siquieros’.

Q. What teacher or professor changed your life?

A. My professor at LMU, Carm Goode.

Q. What is your guilty pleasure?

A. Taking photos of graffiti on the freeway.

Q. Who is the one person living or dead you would most like to meet for dinner?

A. Obama.

To read more about the panel in which Man One participated, click here.

*Photo by Aaron Salcido.