MasterMind 2013 Finalist: Typoe

Miami New Times profiles Michael Gran, known professionally as Typoe, as a 2013 MasterMind Awards finalist.

The article chronicles his transformation from gang involvement and drug addiction in his youth to sobriety and artistic success. By the time he was 15, Gran was surrounded by death and destruction, running with gangs and committing robberies to feed a growing crack habit. His parents, a doctor and artist, eventually sent him to boarding school in Maine.

"I probably would have ended up dead or in prison like a lot of my friends [otherwise]," says Typoe.

After relapsing upon returning to Miami in 2003, he committed to recovery: "After four days of nonstop abuse, I was coughing up blood and felt like I was dying. That's when I decided to check myself into detox."

He has remained sober since, and his career has exploded from Wynwood walls to fine-art galleries. His sculpture "Confetti Death" went viral after appearing at Scope Art Fair in 2010. He co-founded Primary Projects gallery in Miami's Design District.

"I'm using cocaine to make the drawings. You can say I've switched my addictions from drugs and chaos to making art."