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A B O U T

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APHRO ONER

Multi-disciplined Artist | Beatmaker | Photographer | Graphic Designer

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THE UNICORN PUNCHER PROJECT

The Unicorn Puncher Project is an independent urban alternative label and brand established in 2006 by Aphro Oner. 

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WHAT IS A UNICORN PUNCHER?

I was introduced to the term "Unicorn Puncher" in January 2010 while I was street shooting in downtown San Antonio one day. I came across a homeless lady named "Wednesday", sitting with her dog in front of a McDonald's. There was something different about her, so I asked to take her picture. She obliged on the condition that I buy her a cup of coffee. So when I took her picture, I noticed she had a tattoo emblazoned across her chest, in some old school script. I took a snap of it and asked her what it said. She proudly bellowed out, “Unicorn Puncher!” It was hard to read because the Puncher part was written in reverse, like a mirror image. I asked her what it meant, and she replied, “Well, whenever I see something that's too cute or pretty, I reject it. So when I see a Unicorn, I punch it in the face!” So after I finished talking with her, I went home, did some editing, and uploaded what I shot that afternoon to my Flickr account, where it caught the eye of Violet Blue® (an extremely popular blogger of technology and sexuality). She asked for my permission to use my photo to give her take on what a Unicorn Puncher meant to her on a site called Laughing Squid, and of course I said, “Fuck yes.”

'A Unicorn Puncher is someone who takes it upon themselves to enact the saintly duty of restoring balance to the universe after an overwhelm of cuteness has affected a person, place, thing, dance floor, blog, or any similar saccharin brain rinse by the thankless act of punching a unicorn in the face.'

From that day forward, that's been my mantra. And when I felt that my erotic work had finally reached a certain level of quality and brazenness, I decided to make Unicorn Puncher it's own unique brand. I felt like I'd finally earned the name. So all of my erotic work falls under that brand, and it was officially launched with the first UNICORN PUNCHER photo book that was released in May 2016. It encompasses the short films and videos, and the zine. And it fits because it ties directly to my street photography. The word “Puncher” in the logo is reversed in honor of that homeless lady and her tattoo. 

Aphro Oner

(From an interview with Blue Hernandez for Awake & Moving)

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