Interview with
EXTi
Born Santiago in Buenos Aires, Argentina, EXTi is a multidisciplinary artist who spans music, visual art, fashion, and design. After spending over a decade in New York, where he fused his Argentinian roots with the city's urban energy, EXTi settled in Miami, where he has fully blossomed. His art gallery, recording studio, and artistic movement in Miami not only showcase his creative abilities but are extensions of his identity.
EXTi doesn't just create art; he is art, using his work as a medium for healing and connection. Now, with his upcoming project "King of Broken Hearts, " he returns to his rock roots, blending sounds from his youth in Argentina with influences from 2000s urban pop. This fusion is also reflected in his visual art and fashion, creating a cohesive universe that is unmistakably his own.
What inspired you to create street art?
"Because the streets never shushed me."
They didn’t ask me to explain myself.
They just let me speak.
Spray paint becomes another microphone.
It is the one place where music, color, sadness, rebellion, and love could all exist at the same time.
…and no one told me to pick just one.
Street art is the pharmacy where I can always get more bandaids from.
How was Exti Created?
"Hi, I'm EXTi.
They call me the King of Broken Hearts."
But I wasn’t really created. I have always been here.
I was just “crowned”.
The crown showed up the moment I realized this wasn’t just music I was making…
It was therapy.
This wasn’t just painting…it was survival.
Sneakers weren’t fashion…they were footprints of memory.
My “Bandades™” 🩹
EXTi was throned from everything that cracked me open.
I am the best friend of that ghost that I paint on walls, or what I sing over wounds, or my stitches on fabric with emotion, turning pain into collectible art.
I am not a brand.
I am black turned into color, yet black still.
What was your first art piece?
"It wasn’t a painting.
It wasn’t a song.
It was me, getting back up."
After the first time life hit me so hard I forgot how to breathe.
After love left.
After people I trusted disappeared.
After dreams I believed in crumbled.
My first real work of art was choosing to keep going.
To reinvent myself.
To put the broken pieces back together differently.
That’s when I was crowned.
The Bandades™ 🩹 I make, the songs, the sneakers, the murals, they help cover the wound.
But the one who heals is me.
That’s the real masterpiece.
My ability to feel it all and still rise.
To love again…
To create from the scar, not the pain.
Everything I make comes from that moment.
From that decision:
“I won’t stay broken. I’ll turn this into something that shines.”
And I’ve been creating with those colors ever since
What drives your creative force?
"I’m driven by what I can’t ignore."
By moments that hurt too much to keep in silence.
So I give them shape.
Sometimes it’s lyrics.
Sometimes it’s a mural.
Sometimes it’s a sneaker that looks like it’s been through a muddy heartbreak and still showed up to the party.
Every medium I touch is just another way of saying:
“I’m still here.
I still feel like I’M ART, and I want you to feel it too.”
What is SYNESTHESIA?
"Synesthesia is how I see sound, but it’s more than that.
It’s how I feel the world."
How was the EXTi Universe created?
"The EXTi Universe was never planned…
It haunted me first…"
It came from feelings I couldn’t quiet…
From a room where the lights wouldn’t turn on…
and strange noises echoed outside the window…
unknown, yet too familiar.
So I put a Bandade™ 🩹 on that window…
and built a world where heartbreak had somewhere to go.
Where love might be floating… or hiding.
Where art is a house with endless rooms…
some to hang paintings… some to play loud music…
some to paint a giant King of Broken Hearts on the wall.
It’s not just a universe…
it’s my diary turned into a movie…
with a rockstar soundtrack and graffiti subtitles.
Every piece… music, murals, sneakers, clothing, installations…
we all live here.
And each one whispers…
“Even if I felt alone… I’m still here.”
When I write lyrics, I’m not just writing… I’m watching.
A whole movie plays in my mind …each verse is a scene, each chorus a shift in color.
Some songs feel like a burnt orange sky.
Others, like a deep ocean blue you can’t swim out of.
When I’m painting, I’m just tracing what the music already showed me.
When I design fashion, it’s the same, I know exactly what track would be playing in the background as someone walks the city wearing that jacket.
Every beat has a temperature. Every fabric has a rhythm.
Synesthesia is the glue that holds all of it together.
It’s not a concept for me, it’s how I process reality.
It’s how I remember love. How I mourn loss. How I dream.
It’s the language the EXTi Universe speaks in:
Color, sound, texture, emotion …all at once, all the time.
That’s how I create.
That’s how I survive.
What makes you keep going?
"Because this is who I am.
I don’t do art, I am art.
And I can't stop being."
Even if I tried to walk away, the colors would follow me.
The sounds would keep playing. The ghosts would still whisper.
I keep going because somewhere out there, someone feels like I’ve felt…
Lost. Let down. Broken.
Sometimes that someone is my inner child.
Sometimes it’s the version of me that doesn’t know what’s next.
So I create for him.
For them.
For us.
To remind us we’re not alone.
To remind us we’re still worth turning into something beautiful.
Every BANDADE™ I make, every track, every canvas, every design, is me saying:
“I see you. I got you. Let’s keep going.”
As long as there’s someone going through it,
I’ll be here…
To be art.
To make us all ART.
How does JSIME™ blend in so well with EXTi even when they seem like opposite worlds?
"At first glance, it’s all black.
Minimal. Monochrome.
But that’s what makes it powerful."
Because I come in with my paint, my colors, my chaos…
And somehow, we fit.
I wear JSIME™ when I paint murals, when I’m deep in the mess of creation.
It feels like where it starts from, sometimes like a home.
Comfortable. Honest.
Black, but black that lets color bleed through.
Just like me…
That’s how we blend.
Because his line speaks to the lost boys…
And I create for the lost, too.
To give us a spark, a compass, a flash of colors and music in the dark.
Our universes meet in that space between silence and expression.
And beyond the clothes, it’s about respect.
I admire anyone who keeps showing up for their dream.
And Jose, the heart behind JSIME™, does exactly that.
So I wear it with pride.
Because supporting real ones?
That’s part of my art, too.
Like I said, I’M ART, so is him, and you.
What's next in the EXTi world?
"More bandades™
for the heart."
A new album, yes …but not just as music.
It’ll come as visuals, fashion, textures, virtual spaces, live experiences.
I’m working on shows that are more like therapy sessions in rave format.
I’m building a theme park where emotion is the ride.
Every heartbreak becomes an installation.
Every ghost gets a wall.
What’s next?
Everything, as long as it’s real, genuine, and if it bleeds, I can put a bandage on.
Closing Remarks
JSIME's
It is an honor to be able to share artistic universe with my brother EXTi. He represents the true colors that come as visible expressions of things that can't be seen, only felt.
like my motto says:
'Darkness is the universal canvas
of the true creators'
EXTi utilizes the dark canvas of his inner battles, his wins, his losses, his inner Universe, and creates Art from there. A true artist from the core, he literately wears his heart on his sleeve.
I'm really excited for what's coming next for him, and us as collaborators. It is only natural, because there is no light without darkness, no color without black. Stay tuned.
-Jose Sime
Founder JSIME LLC
Stay connected and Keep up with EXTi on Instagram and Tik Tok: @imexti
Interview with
Albert Beltran / AKA Ben Bonito
Ben Bonito is a multifaceted artist based in Miami. After graduating with a Bachelors in Fashion from the Miami International University of Arts and Design, he moved to New York to pursue his fashion career.
Fast forward a few years, and now back in Miami, Ben has been developing his image as a multimedia model. He has worked with the likes of Swae Lee, Jay Wheeler, and most recently with Tokisha and Tainy for the new Netflix series: "Rebel Moon".
Below is a casual conversation with Ben Bonito, with commentary from Jose Sime (JSIME). We hope you enjoy this collaboration between two artists united by fashion under the sunny landscape of Miami.
What's your creative process when you think about a new photoshoot project?
"Depending on the mood of the project, I pull inspirational images, movies and previous projects."
JSIME: Naturally, modeling and fashion have a symbiotic relationship so the creative process is very similar. I find myself collecting images from various magazines and other designers I admire. It's all about developing a constant stream of creative stimuli; consequently, feeding the creative muscle just makes the process flow a lot smoother.
What's the most adventurous thing you've ever done in your life?
"Partying for days on end, LOL"
What is a talent you wish you had?
"Singing"
What inspired you to pursue a career as a model?
"My ink; honestly never thought I'd be on camera. the ink pushed me."
JSIME: I can relate to that. I find a lot of inspiration in old school photography that depicts a counter culture attitude. Tattoos have always been a source of creativity for me as well. I remember when I was a kid I used to draw self portraits with tattoo sleeves and piercings, I was obsessed LOL.
How do you start your typical day?
"With a huge glass of water and a little music."
How did you come across JSIME COLLECTIVE, and what was your initial thought?
"I found it at a high-end art gallery in Miami,
my initial thought:
- I need that, LOL"
JSIME: It's crazy how things happen. You never know who you're going to meet and where, so you have to be ready to showcase your product at all times. I am always repping my own gear; it is my passion, my art, my product. When I met Albert, I was getting tattooed at the same venue where my brand was being sold. He saw what I was wearing and we immediately connected, the rest is history.
What's your take on Jose Sime's concepts and why do you support his vision?
"His concepts are timeless, the future. I see a forward-thinker with a season-less approach to a well balanced darkness."
Stay connected and Keep up with Ben Bonito in his social media channel @iambenbonito
MULTIMEDIA & INFLUENCERS
OASIS WYNWOOD
POP UP
We had the great honor to join UnSin at the Oasis Wynwood for one of the biggest urban music events in Miami.
Check out the photos below and all the friends that joined us for this unique event.
