My Interview with an American Homeless in Mexico
"Sex appeal is needed if you’re a homeless guy"
In Latin America, people are always trying to sell you something—bags of lychees, vitamin B supplements, plastic Aztec death whistles, and whatever else might fancy a stranger.
The cafes in Mexico City’s chic Roma and Condesa neighborhoods are no different. And while I was sitting in one such cafe the other day, a man walked in and offered to do a drawing for cien pesos.
Reflexively, I said, “No, gracias.” But to my surprise, the person sitting beside me commissioned a picture for his daughter. This took some time, though, since selecting the right Disney character to make his daughter’s day required a string of unanswered phone calls and text messages. And when the artist in waiting began to chat up his new client, I quickly realized he was something unusual: an American living on the streets of Mexico City.
“I’m like a hippie,” he said. “I don’t really have a home.”
He struck me as a pretty nice guy, too. When he finished the drawing, he made a touching request:
“Can I take a picture for my mom? I want to show her what I’ve been doing.”
I wrote Nicholas off pretty quickly. But when I flagged him down on the street and asked him to sit down to talk, I found he had some interesting things to say.
Below is a transcript of our conversation with some minor edits for clarity and concision.
Snowden: So where are you from?
Nicholas: Washington DC.
Snowden: And how old are you?
Nicholas: 31
Snowden: And you’ve been traveling a lot?
Nicholas: I've lived in Las Vegas, New York, Guadalajara, Playa del Carmen…
Snowden: How did you start being a nomad?
Nicholas: I got tired of doing art on the side. I was doing it as a little hobby. I make animation, too, and I wanted to start pursuing that without too many stresses or bills.
Snowden: How did you get into art?
Nicholas: The drawing I started when I was 5, and I had a tattoo artist apprentice me when I was 16.
Snowden: Did you ever do tattoos?
Nicholas: No, he was teaching me an illustration. He had a figure drawing class, stuff like that.
Snowden: Did you have a day job?
Nicholas: I’ve had a day job for most of my life. I’ve only been doing art full-time, like a nomad hippie, for two years. Sometimes I get a place, sometimes I’m homeless. But it’s on purpose…
Snowden: Yeah, it’s different.
Nicholas: It’s different when it’s on purpose! I’m not on any hard drugs. I smoke CBD, but that’s about it.
Snowden: What did you do for a day job?
Nicholas: I was a bike messenger for two years, and before that job, I worked at Haagen Dazs Ice Cream, scooping ice cream. I did a lot of people-type of jobs, customer jobs.
Snowden: Did you like it?
Nicholas: I liked it, but it wasn’t my thing. Not like this.
Snowden: Were you putting your art out during this time? Like on Instagram?
Nicholas: Yeah, I was always putting it out, through all those little jobs. My skill level was different then…
Snowden: Did you ever think about professional animation jobs? I guess those are really hard to get.
Nicholas: I tried to go to school for 3D animation before, and that was very difficult. It was too much money to pay rent—to pay for online school. So I just learned the 2D animation from YouTube.
Snowden: So you left DC two years ago?
Nicholas: Actually, I left DC four years ago. I started when I was 23, but official, official, I’d say four years ago—like coming to Mexico for four years. But living in other parts of the US, I lived in San Diego and Los Angeles for two years of my life.
Snowden: How did you get from DC to San Diego?
Nicholas: I caught a bus! I’m very…
Snowden: Spontaneous.
Nicholas: Yeah, I don’t plan too much.
Snowden: What made you want to go to San Diego specifically?
Nicholas: It was warmer. I could pitch a tent, and I was thinking about the girls there…Maybe the girls would have a different vibe.
Snowden: DC is very government, very stuffy.
Nicholas: Yeah, if you’re not ghetto (NB: Nicholas is black), it’s very straight-laced, like this. Imagine everything like Condesa—everyone’s on their laptop, everyone’s very sophisticated. I don’t fit that world.
Snowden: When you moved to San Diego did you have a day or did you go straight to doing art?
Nicholas: I went straight to doing art.
Snowden: So you had to pitch a tent sometimes?
Nicholas: Yeah, I’d pitched a tent. I’d smoke weed, sleep on the beach—La Jolla Beach, Mission Beach.
Snowden: I know California has a lot of homeless people with drug problems—did you ever have any issues with other people?
Nicholas: I got laced one time. My marijuana got laced with fentanyl…
Snowden: Oh, Jesus.
Nicholas: Yeah, I saw the Santa Muerte. I was calling on Jesus when I was high that day!
Snowden: You didn’t overdose?
Nicholas: I could have… I came close to death. I saw the Santa Muerte—it looks just like that. I saw that thing, it was cussing at me. I was talking to Jesus, like, “Please help me!”
So I’ve been trying to chill from regular weed. I just smoke CBD. In Cali, you can get laced really easily. Someone gives you a free joint on the beach, you don’t know what’s in it.
Snowden: Is it better here? A lot of the fentanyl comes from Mexico, right?
Nicholas: I’ve had weed here. I used to smoke with a girl, but I found out she was using crystal too. Like mixing it.
Snowden: Not good.
Nicholas: Yeah, that gave me a side effect, too. So I’d steer clear of sharing weed with people. Get your own at a dispensary.
Snowden: So in San Diego, did you have a group of people you’d pitch with?
Nicholas: No, I’d just do it by myself. And I don’t like to brag about this, but I’m more of a playboy type. So I don’t really like to hang out with other people. I always flirt with women.
Snowden: I’m here alone.
Nicholas: Yeah, so I’m a loner, but I’m normally flirting with women, trying to get a lover, a girlfriend, on the side, here and there.
Snowden: So how long were you in San Diego?
Nicholas: I was there for about a year.
Snowden: And what made you leave?
Nicholas: It was difficult as far as dating went… They’re not that into black guys over there. Here I do great! But there I had only one or two opportunities the whole time.
Snowden: So you chose Mexico for the dating?
Nicholas: The food, the dating. Those are the big ones. I like the food here, it’s amazing—the Oaxaca mole, the suadero tacos. And the fresh fruits and vegetables are so cheap. That’s impossible to get in America. Avocados here are so cheap, and watermelon… in San Diego… [shakes head] I like that the healthy stuff is available more cheaply here.
Snowden: So you went to Guadalajara first?
Nicholas: What I did was, I was paying for Airbnbs in Guadalajara as I got clients… Once it was time to go, I went to Guadalajara in October of last year. I had a roommate situation.
Snowden: So you were spending some time in Guadalajara and then you moved completely?
Nicholas: Yeah, I’d sell art and get money for Airbnbs in Mexico. I’m going to do that again when I go to San Juan, Puerto Rico in December. I’m going to stay there for four or five months, be homeless, and use all the money I make there for an Airbnb here.
Snowden: Can I ask how much you make a day?
Nicholas: In dollars? Because it’s Mexico probably $15, maybe $20 a day. More like $15 normally. It depends if I sell something bigger.
Snowden: How much do you save?
Nicholas: I don’t save. When I get an AirBnb I just spend it all right then. I wouldn’t put money to the side.
Snowden: Did you have money saved up from your day job back in DC?
Nicholas: The first time I did. I’ve been doing that move for a few years now. The first time I came to Mexico—to Tulum—I had like $900 saved from the bike messenger job. I was just winging it, but the money ran out.
I wanted to stay, so my dad was doing this affiliate marketing type of thing. So I made a deal with him. Let me be your affiliate worker, your call center person, or whatever. I’ll do all the pushing the sales, the email. Send me $400 a month so I can stay down here
Snowden: Were you able to do that?
Nicholas: I did it with him for a few months until he couldn’t pay me no more. Then I started selling my art full-time.
Snowden: So you’re on good terms with your parents?
Nicholas: Yeah.
Snowden: They know where you are?
Nicholas: Yeah, they know where I am. I’m a bit weird for them—I’m like the weird kid in the family. But they know what I be doing.
Snowden: Do you ever go home to DC?
Nicholas: Yeah I’m going to go to DC May for a month or so to visit them and then. come back to Mexico.
Snowden: Did you like Guadalajara?
Nicholas: It’s in the middle for me. It’s not like, “Wow!” Here is like, “Wow! for me. So many trees, so many people, and so many neighborhoods—I’ve lived in the ghettos here.
Snowden: What neighborhoods have you lived in here?
Nicholas: As far as being housed? I was housed in Ajusco, Victoria Guadalupe, near Taxqueña. It’s a real Mexican area. I had a roommate over there.
Snowden: Was it a good experience? You weren’t bothered or anything?
Nicholas: It was a good experience. I like it. I come here (Roma/Condesa) normally just to draw, but this is where I sleep when I’m homeless—when I’m hippie. There are a lot of sales here.
Snowden: Do the police give you any issues?
Nicholas: Only if they think I’m smoking weed. But when they see it’s CBD they don’t give me a hard time.
Snowden: You said you want to go to Puerto Rico?
Nicholas: I am this December.
Snowden: What made you want to go to Puerto Rico?
Nicholas: You don’t need a visa, and it has cruise ships with lots of tourists. People are in the mood, they’re drinking… They’re like, “Ah, give me a drawing!” And I can use that money to come back down here.
Snowden: So you’re going back and forth.
Nicholas: Yeah, back and forth. I’m trying to open my mind up to going to at least one other country next year. I’m trying…
Snowden: Any ideas?
Nicholas: I was thinking about Poland, Peru, or Germany.
Snowden: Why Poland or Germany?
Nicholas: I like going places where I stand out. It helps me with dating. If I go to my city, where most people look like me, it’s harder to pull. But when I go somewhere where I’m the only chocolate guy… ah, man. It’s amazing!
Snowden: So you had a lot of relationships in Guadalajara and Mexico City.
Nicholas: Yeah, a lot.
Snowden: How do you meet women?
Nicholas: I just meet them on the sidewalk. I’m not an online guy at all. Only thing I do online is art.
Snowden: So just cold approach?
Nicholas: Yeah, cold approaching. Go to the gym, work out, put some cologne on. Just talk. But you got to talk! You can do all that stuff, but if you can’t talk to them, you’re not going to get anywhere.
Snowden: What do you look for in a woman on the street?
Nicholas: I look for receptiveness. When I walk up to her, if I say, “Hi,” and I’m flirting, and she’s giving a constipated energy, like she’s got to go to the bathroom or she doesn’t want to be bothered, I just walk away. But I do that dozens and dozens of times.
Snowden: What do you do on a date?
Nicholas: I like to do art dates, like you can come with me and animate, or we can do some drawings.
Snowden: Do they ever ask about your living situation?
Nicholas: Oh yeah, I tell them early, upfront, that I’m homeless. Sometimes I have a place and I tell them that, but when I’m homeless, I tell them I’m homeless.
Snowden: Do some think that’s cool?
Nicholas: Some admire it, or they don’t believe me. They’re like, “You look like you take a shower!” But then other women might criticize it more. But my situation with women has literally been the same as when I had my own apartment as when I’m homeless. It’s been the same situation—the same type of women, the same energies.
Snowden: If you don’t have an apartment, where do you go?
Nicholas: With the right spot, I sleep in the woods, but I normally sleep in Condesa. I have a little cubby hole spot where I sleep around here. I go to the gym and shower, they have a lot of showers in the city, cafes.
Snowden: Is there anything you’d want to say about Mexico?
Nicholas: Mexico is an amazing country. I think the people—this is just my opinion, don’t shoot me through the roof—the people are more happy in Mexico than the US. I’ve been to Guadalajara, Tiajuana, Zapopan area, Tulum, Cancun—they’re happier than in the US. The US got some happy people, but not like here.
Snowden: Well, you’re from DC. DC is miserable.
Nicholas: DC is miserable. Everyone is working, very political. You guys (NB: Nicholas thought I was Mexican, presumably because he heard me speak Spanish) are political too, but there’s more of a balance with the people here. This is like a home base city.
Snowden: What are your long-term goals?
Nicholas: I’m going to make more animated films that I can sell to people online and offline, travel to more countries, and get better and better at illustration each year. I’m not really big on having millions and millions of dollars in the bank, or having a nice car. I’m more into experiences. When I came here I was like, “Wow, this place is amazing!” I met so many cool people—I need that more than I need a fancy car. I’m not working for that kind of stuff. If I’m working hard with my craft it’s to travel and experience.
Snowden: Do you think you’d ever want to get a wife and settle down?
Nicholas: Well, I was almost married a few times. so I’m not really stressing the wife thing right now. I’m 31. I had a few situations where I was almost married. like in my 20s. 25. two times when I was 27, 28.
Snowden: What made you back out?
Nicholas: They would back out—they’d change their mind. They wanted something else. So I’m not really pressed to be married. Now, when I think about marriage, it’s like, it’s a cool idea, but it’s not like in my mind. I love my lifestyle—traveling, drawing.
Snowden: It seems like you do.
Nicholas: It comes with pitfalls, though.
Snowden: Yeah so tell me, what are the things that have happened to you?
Nicholas: So I’m going to be very cautious and friendly with what I say… So you’ll have guys in certain communities—we’ll put it like that—if you’re homeless, they will solicit you. I’m not trying to throw them under the bus, but it is what it is. This happened in Guadalajara, and it happens in the US, too. If you’re a homeless guy, and you’re like me and you go to the gym and work out and shower, then people from that community will make themselves known, and be like, “Hey, I’ve got some money for you, what you want to do?” And sometimes you’ll get cougars that want you to live with them.
Snowden: Oh, that’s nice.
Nicholas: But they might have a control issue—so I don’t want to jump right away to your house. So you’ll get people in several communities that show interest… But if you’re a homeless guy and you don’t take baths, it’s going to be difficult. You’ll get more empathy than lust. But if you work out, you can get attention, and get somewhere to live. Sex appeal is needed if you’re a homeless guy. It’s needed for everybody, but it really helps if you’re homeless. [laughing]
Snowden: Have you ever been robbed living outside?
Nicholas: Someone attempted to rob me in Mexico City last year when I first came.
Snowden: Around here?
Nicholas: No it was near Parque Alameda—not too far from here. He was an addict, though. He didn’t succeed since I was more sober than he was. And someone stole my phone from my tent in New York.
Snowden: Do you think Mexico is safer than the US? About the same?
Nicholas: I feel like it’s safer… because in my city (DC), people die for small stuff, like sneakers, everything. So it’s like—I think in Mexico City, they hustle harder, like Mexicans in general. There’s crime here, but there’s way more people hustling here than where I’m from. Where I’m from, and in many parts of the US, people will just rob you. They don’t offer you anything.
Snowden: People here will work a crappy job, or sell you something.
Nicholas: Yeah, they’ll work a crappy job, they’ll sell you something. That’s why I don’t get mad when they solicit. Back home, they’ll just rob you! [laughing]
Snowden: Have you had any encounters with gangs?
Nicholas: I’ve had run-ins with cartels. In Cancun, they kicked me off the beach. They wanted me to get permission, and they wanted payment because I was making really good money.
Snowden: They were extorting you?
Nicholas: Yeah.
Snowden: Do you know what group it was?
Nicholas: I don’t know what group it was, but they own Cancun specifically, and they were like, “You need to pay or get out.” But in Tulum—not to shit on the cartels completely—in Tulum and Playa del Carmen, they were cool. The cartels that ran Tulum and Playa del Carmen, they’d give me sales. They’d be like, “Oh, you can draw my girlfriend, my boyfriend,” you know. I ran into quite a few of them in the beach towns. But in Mexico City they don’t really bother you.
Snowden: I know there are parts of Mexico you probably can’t go.
Nicholas: Yeah, I wouldn’t go back to Cancun it’s so hard.
Snowden: Interesting because it’s a resort area, but they still have a big foothold.
Nicholas: Very big foothold. Here, they told me they don’t really worry about me because they make way more money than me.
Snowden: How do you meet these people?
Nicholas: If you’re in the beach towns, and there’s a lot of tourism, they’re going to check in on what you’re doing, like, “Hey buddy, what you got there?
Snowden: You said you were robbed, but you haven’t dealt with any violence have you?
Nicholas: I had one situation in Tulum, where they thought I was somebody else. I was with this guy from—I think he was from Austria—we was going to a club, to a party, and they thought we was somebody else. And they had machine guns and were about to start blowing us with bullets. Then they were like, “Oh, sorry, sorry!”
Snowden: So they thought you were other cartel members?
Nicholas: Yeah, I don’t know what they thought we was, but they thought we was, and they was about to spray us with bullets.
Snowden: Shit, what did you say?
Nicholas: I was just like, “What’s going on?” but they looked at us and they was like, “Wait, it’s the wrong people!” and they drove off.
Snowden: I’ve heard of people being misidentified and killed.
Nicholas: Yeah, I came close that day. Almost spraying me with bullets… [laughing] But overall, I love the country.
Snowden: Anything else you’d want to say?
Nicholas: Not really. You can check me out on Tik Tok, ifill93.
Snowden: Cool, we can wrap it up.
Nicholas: And where are you from?
Snowden: I’m from the US.
Nicholas: You’re from the US? I thought you were from Guadalajara! They’ve got white guys like you there… Where in the US?
Snowden: Memphis.
Nicholas: Ah, you like banana pudding?
Cool interview