Phat was born and raised in north Portland and is the youngest of five. When he was growing up, he loved sports and had a variety of jobs, including preparing bundles of roses from Ecuador for sale, flocking and selling Christmas trees, and mowing lawns. After he graduated from high school, he worked in habitat restoration and landscaping. He attended business college and is nearly halfway to an associate degree in applied science. His dream has always been to start a small business.
In the meantime, Phat has been busy recording hip-hop and rap tracks and what he calls hi-fi krump. (Krump is a free-style, improvisational dance performed to upbeat and fast-paced music.) He has made two CDs: one solo with his own beats and lyrics called “The Studio,” and another called “Phat Back Mix,” with downloaded instrumentals. He’d like to record another CD and hopes to trade volunteer work for studio time in one of Portland’s community media studios.
Phat sells Street Roots because he likes what’s in it, for starters. He reads each edition before he goes out to sell the paper, and his favorite thing is to see what his fellow vendors have written in the poetry section.
“We have some real local talent,” he said.
He believes everyone who writes should keep on writing to up their game.
“You can write 100 bad poems or stories, but then there’s the one that can help millions.”
He enjoys the Street Roots community, too, and the company of other vendors.
“Street Roots is a cool place to go for coffee and chill back before you get into the day,” he said. “Homeless people are humble – and pretty chill.”
Phat is nearly 24 months clean and sober. He attributes his success to staying in Narcotics Anonymous, going to meetings, and making amends when and where needed. He is housed now, and he believes having a roof over his head is “a key factor in overall functioning.”
His advice to new vendors is to stay up on bus fare and keep looking for that perfect spot. “And if you fall down, get up and try, try again.”
You can buy a copy of Street Roots from Phat outside the Subway at Northwest Second Avenue and Couch Street.