Montana Colors
About Montana
The beginnings
Montana Colors adventure started in 1994 and keeps going on today, even after the adversities suffered thru the years.
Back in the day, 1993, Jordi Rubio, a young sales manager from Felton Spray Co., doing marketing research, discovers in Barcelona, a top seller of Felton Spray. The results of that shop were incomparable with other customers of the brand.
Visiting that business, to understand the reason of such great success, Jordi crashes in a new and captivating phenomenon. Moockie, the shop employee, is a respected Graffiti Writer. His passion, shared with other friends like Kapi, another famous writer from Barcelona, is the reason of such a great flow of young people to the shop. Graffiti is moving a lot of writers to a simple hardware shop, increasing dramatically its sales.
Jordi, as young as Kapi and Moockie, immediately feels and understands the passion which moves these guys. A new project illuminates his mind, developing a spray can for Graffiti writers.
Jordi proposes his idea to Felton, but the Company doesn’t agree. Back in those days, Graffiti was just vandalism from the point of view of every American or European Paint Producer. It was not interesting because it was thought not profitable.
Strongly motivated by his idea, Jordi quits his work at Felton.
Together with his workmate Miquel Galea, he establishes, in 1994, Montana Colors.
The target is clearly to produce a spray can, strictly designed for every Graffiti writers’ needs. Basically top quality paint, a good range of colors and a low price for the final customer.
Mixing up Jordi & Miquel's chemist knowledge and all the experience offered by Kapi & Moockie, Montana Colors rises with the first spray can for Graffiti Writers, a 200ml can in 60 colors. The characteristics were the ones which every writer dreamed about, clean lines, good pressure, excellent coverage and a very affordable price.
“Aerosol Art Festival”, organized by Kapi & Moockie during 1994 in Barcelona, was the perfect stage for introducing Montana Colors spray cans. Next stop was starting sales in Game Over Shop (now Bunker Shop Barcelona), the first Graffiti Shop ever. Rumors about a special paint crossed all Europe and writers started coming over from Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland just for filling their vans and going back to their countries with Montana’s.
Originally born for Barcelona market needs, the small company starts to grow to satisfy big demand from everywhere.
In 1995 Montana Colors introduces a new 400ml can and starts distributing in several European Countries. The success of the original idea was clear, sales were dramatically growing but it followed a strong need for improvement and innovation.
With this target, in 1996, Jordi designs a new spray and introduces it in Game Over Shop. While Moockie is testing the can, Kapi, deeply impressed, exclaims: “Wow, it’s hardcore!!!”. His reaction was so natural that it was no discussion about the name for the new spray can, Montana Hardcore!
Since 1996 up today, basically “the spray”, Hardcore is a 400ml can, with a powerful and fast valve, a glossy color range and a still incomparable coverage.
We proudly can say Hardcore represented the greatest change in the way of painting Graffiti.
In 1997 Montana Colors forges and patents the Donut, a special colored ring that encircles the valve and identifies spray paint color. Up until today it’s probably the idea which competitors have copied the most.