The history of MTN - Montana Colors

Montana Colors is known as the first spray can brand made by, and for graffiti writers. Since the start in 1994, they have been at the forefront of the development and manufacture of spray cans and other products for writers and other artists, and have since then of course had many who have tried to emulate their recipe for success.

However, the story goes back further than 1994. The founder, Jordi, saw his first graffiti mural in 1987 in Barcelona and the image etched itself in his memory.
Fast-forward a few years and Jordi works for Felton, a paint company, where he noticed that one of their stores sold an unusual amount of spray paint compared to the other stores. He went there and managed to meet two of the customers, '' Moockie '' and '' Kapi '', who were doing graffiti.

They explained how graffiti had become big in the area where they hung out, which emptied the store's spray paint stock over and over. Jordi went back to meet his bosses at Felton and present an idea; a spray can line aimed entirely at graffiti writers, street artists and artists. The management was not interested so shortly afterwards Jordi and his friend Miguel left the company to start Montana Colors.

In 1994, the first products were released, they published their first ads and sponsored their first graffiti festival. A year later, they were well known in the Spanish scene and aimed to establish themselves outside the country. Scotland was the first target and then to reach out across the continent.

The next big milestone for MTN and for graffiti painters, murals, street artists, etc. came with their novelty, the iconic MTN Hardcore. The can was the first with a valve that came with a female system, which gave the user much better control. At the same time, two specially designed nozzles, caps, were also released in Pink dot fat cap which made it much easier and smoother to cover larger areas, and Gray skinny banana which managed to make narrower lines.

MTN continued to expand and between the years 1997-99 they developed new colors, introduced the iconic color donut and sent their first intercontinental shipments to USA, Mexico, Canada and Argentina. They were on their way to becoming the first global company to focus entirely on graffiti products.

Today, MTN is of course even bigger than then and together with a couple of other brands is the market leader among graffiti painters. Their high-quality spray paints consist primarily of three series; MTN94, a matt low-pressure can with extremely good control. Great for you who paint murals, detailed paintings and larger canvases where you prioritize control over speed. MTN94 comes in 216 different colors.
MTN Hardcore, the classic that has undergone several changes and today is a versatile mainly for purely graffiti painted. A medium pressure but with a soft valve that allows you to cover both large areas relatively quickly but also have fun with the details. The color is semi-gloss and comes in 105 colors.
MTN Water Based, a water-based spray paint in close to 100 colors that dries to matte and is suitable for most things such as canvas painting, graffiti painting, furniture and much more. It works just as well for you who need to repaint a chair, repaint a bicycle or a large wall. With MTN Water Based, you avoid the strong-smelling solvents that usually come with a spray can. The paint can be wiped off for almost half an hour after application but becomes permanent after drying. There are spray paints for both MTN 94 and MTN Water Based that we recommend when you want extra good durability.

Other spray paints from MTN are e.g. their MEGA; an extra large can with high pressure, Mad Maxxx; even larger can with even higher pressure for those who want to make a big impression on society, Nitro 2G; specially developed to cover silver chrome and their immensely popular limited cans - a selected can specially designed by an artist printed in a limited number of copies. Examples of painters who have done these over the years are Obey, Lady Pink, André Saraiva, Honet, Cope2, Irak Crew, Roid MSK, How & Nosm, Ket, Ces, Yes 2, Saturno, 123Klan, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Mecro and RosyOne.

Of course, MTN also makes a lot of other art material. Sketchbooks, markers, pencils, squeezers, stickers, cleaning products, bags, street wear and clothes, caps, train models to paint on and a flexible box to carry paint to the spot and to stand on when you do not reach.

2015 was the next big step when they opened up Sprayplanet.com, the first retail webshop in the United States that for the first time let Americans buy their products online directly.
They are currently available in about 80 countries and have official Montana Shop & Gallery in 20 locations around the world, including Amsterdam, Bangkok, Istanbul, Kuala Lumpur, Los Angeles, Barcelona, ​​Madrid, Mexico City, Montreal, Monterrey, Quito, Sao Paulo, Tokyo and Asunción.

MTN manufactures their products in their factory at home in Barcelona and has as much passion for the development and innovation of their products as they have a dedication to the graffiti culture and a focus on environmental work and health.