Mohamed Shahin a.k.a Toxik is a graffiti artist born and raised in Maadi, Cairo. Toxik was one of the lead pioneers of the urban art movement in Egypt, turning his hometown into his own canvas after buying his first spray-can as an ambitious 13 year old. He drew his inspiration from the graffiti in the video games he played like Tony Hawk, NBA street and GTA to name a few. He started off recreating the pieces he saw in the games on paper, but he quickly took his art to the walls of his neighborhood, slowly spreading his name as a young artist.
His first commissioned job was a collaboration with a local brand that was hosted by Virgin Megastores in 2014. At 19 years old it was only up from there for the rising star as he continued to collaborate with major corporations that lead to a 4 year ambassadorship for Montana Cans EG. Among these big names were Redbull, Virgin, Spotify, Adidas, Gold’s Gym, Harley Davidson JKT, Bose and many others.
After securing himself a job in 2018 to fund his endeavors, Toxik decided to venture to Bandong in order to formally study pinstriping and airbrushing. By day he painted helmets and tanks for the HOGs (Harley Davidson Owners Group), and by night he painted graffiti all around Bandong. Waiting to attend Tropica Festival, which is one of the most important graffiti festivals in the world located on the shores of Bali, he stayed busy. Tropica to Toxik was a life changing experience, getting to meet and spend one on one time, face to face, painting with his favorite artists from all around the world. The festival was his one way ticket into the life he had been dreaming of, booking many commissioned jobs through the artists he met that day that fell in love with his style. Upon returning to Egypt, his life was never the same.
Toxik then landed a sponsorship deal with leading MENA paint manufacturers Colortek, he then introduced his art into the fashion industry by styling multiple mega stars including Egyptian Pop star Mohamed Ramadan, and actors Ahmed Malek and Maged el Kedwany. This launched him into his own fashion design ventures and collaborations including Egyptian label Be-Indie which became a smash hit, selling out almost immediately. This led to the launch of his own concept store under his alias, Toxik, dropping everything from 1 of 1 items to merchandise.
Toxik also became an integral part of the Egyptian Hip-Hop scene after he became the art director behind record label M-Town Mafia Records named after his hometown Maadi and founded by his childhood friends. It later became one of the leading record labels in the middle east breaking through with artists like ‘Husayn’ and ‘FL EX’, with him making appearances in multiple iconic music videos and later designing the labels merchandise as well.
The journey is only just starting for Mohamed as graffiti reigns as the most influential art form in design and fashion right now. Toxik has become a house-hold name and he is planning on keeping this momentum, it’s only up from here for Toxik
