“1UP” — The Most Ambitious Graffiti Group “One United Power” is one of the most prolific crews in Berlin’s graffiti scene, but their fame isn’t limited to their home city — thanks to their spectacular and bold stunts, their professional video productions, and the sheer mass of images they spread across the globe, they’ve quickly developed a worldwide reputation. Their videos are consistently popular; in one, which has garnered over 6m views, they tag an entire train car within a matter of minutes before repelling down the side of a bridge in a daring escape; the group took their “f**k-all” attitude to the next level with their “Graffiti Olympics”, in which the crew tagged separate locations all over Athens in broad daylight, simultaneously. In their most recent escapade, the crew made the world’s first underwater coral artwork in an effort to bring attention to the fate of coral reefs: Over the last 30 years, we have lost roughly 50% of all coral reefs, and it is estimated that by 2050, 90% of corals will die due to human impact, meaning it's likely that coral reefs will be wiped out in our lifetime, unless changes are made — 1UP did their part off the coast of Bali, where their 3D installation in the shape of the “1UP” signature acts as an artificial reef that encourages coral growth. Theoretically, “membership” to the enigmatic group is easy to fake, but becoming a legitimate part of the project takes some daring will: Part-graffiti-artist and part-athlete, the thing that unites many 1Uppers has less to do with aesthetics and more to do with placement — it doesn’t take much to realize the utter insanity of those involved, who mysteriously tag all kinds of absurd places, literally taking the tag to new heights. Rather than spotlighting individual members, they operate as a united-front guerrilla group with between 20 and 30 decidedly anonymous members. Now, the originally Berlin-based operation has expanded and the tags can be seen sprawled over countless surfaces in major cities across the globe. Written by @musterfuck ✍️