You’re not born underground; you forge your identity there. I’m Mathias. My school? Asphalt, walls, graffiti culture, and street art. That’s where I cut my teeth, spray can in hand, before channeling that raw, unfiltered energy into graphic design.
ARMY SCTV: THE ESSENCE OF THE STREETS, ART IN OUR VEINS
A graphic designer at heart from the very beginning, I quickly hacked the system to impose my vision. At just 22, I was already taking the reins as a Junior Art Director.
FROM OSLO TO PARIS: A CLASH OF CULTURES
My journey has been a deliberate balancing act between Scandinavian design and the energy of urban Paris. I first exported my vision to the Norwegian cold, leaving my mark on Oslo at agencies Defacto, Ordet er ditt and Digitalia. Drawing on this Nordic influence, I then plunged into the jungle of the French capital, making things happen at major advertising agencies such as TBWA, Hintzy Heimann and 15ème Avenue. A dual creative culture that fuses street-level irreverence with the uncompromising standards of major agencies.
THE SMELL OF INK AND ASPHALT
But my real playground has always been mechanics, ride culture and urban culture. I dove headfirst into magazine publishing at Motopresse France and Éditions Terre Mars.
As an Art Director, I shaped the visual identity of the two-wheel magazines that made their mark on the scene: Scoot'n Scoot, Mob et Cyclo magazine, Desmo magazine, Box-R Magazine, and 125 magazine. Years of intense collaboration with Derbi France even led me to create Derbi Magazine from scratch.
THE VISUAL MARK OF THE SCENE
My graphic signature is etched into ride culture and the 50cc scene. If you move in these circles, you've definitely come across my work. Creating logos and bold visual identities is what I do: Scootfast, Most Racing, Scootercrew, Damsport, 2win, MVT... Strong, distinctive brands with an unmistakably street DNA.
2014: THE ARMY CREW COMES TO LIFE
It was from all this culture and this network that the artist collective Army was born in 2014. And let's be clear: this name has absolutely nothing to do with the military. Our only weapons are creativity, visual art and design. It's a gathering of independent talents, a crew united by the same underground vision.
We developed the project in our studios before finally launching the web platform in 2017. Today, Army SCTV reflects this journey: raw, authentic, independent, and always on the move.
Welcome to our world.
Mathias
