The creative source availed itself to him very early in his life. Art is and always has been a big part of his destiny. His first was his father, George Chai. His father taught him the basics and the discipline it took to be able to hold a pencil and direct it purposefully on a page. Thato Chai was only six years old at the time and was already familiar with the use of his father’s clutch pencil.
His self-awareness as an artist came to him while he was at King Edward VII Preparatory School in 1992. He had a great art teacher and her name was Mrs. Evans. It was she that introduced art as the most possible and probable direction for life. Initially, he was fascinated the negative and positive outcome of charcoal, ink and blank spaces of the-art.
1993 to 1998 was spent at Boksburg High School. What a gre9at school. He learnt most of his basics there. Art, Technical Drawing, Mathematics, Science, English and Afrikaans was his combination. Art was his favourite subject from them all. Clearly. So much so that art became a big part of his communication skills. He would sketch funny cartoon characters of his school mates. Having experienced painting in all mediums, making molds and sculpting has given depth to his understanding in the uses of art. He had great teachers like the Miss Smit and Ms Kukard. These ladies helped Thato Chai discover himself in this vast world of art.
It was during high school that the second influence to his art has came from. His interest in music, particularly hip hop and jazz play a strong role in shaping his state of mind on how to view the world, people, time and space.
Next to Boksburg High School is a private school called Christian Brothers College (CBC), where Thato Chai had attended primary school from 1990 to 1991. This is where his friend Tumiani aka True Jones was doing his high schooling, so they rode the same bus to back home to Spruitview everyday. Thato Chai and True Jones got along well because if the common interests. True Jones was far ahead of his time at the time and thus introduced graffiti art as a medium to Thato Chai. This experience changed everything for Thato Chai. For the first time, art had an element of risk, danger and instant fame. It was about street credibility and respect in the important circles of the aspirational.
That Chai took a “year off” in 1999 to “find himself”. Coincidentally, this is the year when Loxion Kulca was founded. Coincidentally, True Jones was the first person to rock the Loxion Kulća in Spruitview. What is remarkable about this is that Thato Chai was in the location and pushing his culture at the time. It was then he first fell in love with the brand. It’s only the work of God that he ended up working for Loxion Kulća as an artist, four years later.