Richard Wyrgatsch II, a world-renowned graffiti artist known by his tag name 'Slick,' has completed a stunning mural at Aiea High School, the same place where he once illegally spray-painted walls as a student. The artist and his team spent two intensive weeks working day and night to finish the large-scale artwork overlooking the school's stadium, timing the completion perfectly for Friday's homecoming game.
"It's kind of a trip coming full circle and coming back and doing it legit, because the last time I was painting here, I was probably doing graffiti, illegal stuff on campus," Wyrgatsch reflected. He recalled one particularly memorable incident from his student days: "Like, I hit the cafeteria once, broke up with my high school sweetheart and I remember just being so heartbroken. And then I wrote her name on the building, in the cafeteria. It's funny, you can laugh about it now and stuff, but yeah, at the time the school wasn't that happy about it."
Slick's journey to international recognition began during his high school years when he appeared on KGMB's Hawaii High show in 1984. The footage captured him performing with his crew, the Bomb Squad All-Stars, as they took over the stage. However, Slick admits he wasn't the strongest performer in the group. "I sucked at b-boy. To be honest, I'm surprised they let me stay on Bomb Squad, you know, cause they're all like, they're all sick dancers, you know? But I was a graffiti writer, and I could make sets and things like that and yeah, I was on that creative side," he explained.
At age 19, Slick's creative talents led him to Los Angeles, where his career took a dramatic turn in 1989. During a famous graffiti battle against another artist named Hex, a film director in the crowd noticed his work and offered him his first commercial opportunity. "We were battling on the wall and one of the people in the crowd watching it was a director, and he asked me to be in a video called 'Taste the Pain' for Red Hot Chili Peppers, and then he also directed an Ice Cube video when Ice Cube left NWA, so when he did that, they wanted graffiti art in there so that was some of my early commercial work," Wyrgatsch recalled.
As his career evolved, Slick shifted his focus from street art to more serious artistic endeavors. "It wasn't until later in my career that I started taking the art a little bit more seriously and not do so much streetwear and focus on the murals and the paintings and the sculptures," he said. This evolution has led to his artwork being featured around the world, establishing him as a respected artist in the global art community.
The centerpiece of his Aiea High School mural features his signature cartoon hands, specifically redesigned as "Aiea hands" for his hometown project. "The main focus is these like Aiea hands, because a lot of people know me for the cartoon hands, LA hands in particular, which is something me and my wife actually owned the trademark," Wyrgatsch explained. These distinctive hands have become one of his most recognizable artistic elements.
Aiea High School Principal Wayne Guevara expressed his enthusiasm for having the distinguished alumnus return to give back to his community. "I think that's the whole beauty of our Aiea community is when our alumni come back and give back and it's just perfect timing with homecoming coming up this week," Guevara said. "It's like Slick coming back representing the class of '85, old stomping grounds, coming back home."
For Wyrgatsch, the project represents more than just artistic achievement – it's about inspiring the next generation. "Even if it just gets through to like one youngster, that's maybe not having a good day or whatever, and maybe if it could bring a smile or inspire them to do their thing, I feel like I succeeded," he said. The mural now stands as a permanent testament to the transformative power of art and the importance of returning to one's roots to give back to the community.
