Joe Says:

“For a little background on myself, I'm currently going to ACC in Littleton, Colorado. However, I will hopefully be moving on and going to CU Boulder in the fall. I'd like to think of myself as an emerging photographer, but I don't like the idea of being seen as another person without talent calling themselves one. I got into draining a few years back after going into the storm sewer known as the Cherry Burster in Englewood. I never would have called myself a drainer until a year or so later when Dave and I started actively pursuing it. After I started draining, I've never looked at tunnels and manholes the same.”

Why?

“I  think some of the reason why I'm so interested in draining is the mystery behind what might lie behind the darkness. I guess a lot of it has to do with the ideas of how sewers work in my head since I was a kid, just from watching TV shows and movies with absurd sewer complexes and black markets full of assault weapons. There is probably a deeper psychological reason behind my fascination with sewers, but I think most of it just comes down to curiosity.”

Dave Says:

“I'm a freshman Journalism major at Colorado State University. I dabble in photography, writing, and pretentious poetry. I can't say draining came naturally to me, because at first it was pretty nerve-wracking. At this point in my life, though, there's no place I'd rather be than a mile from the surface in a dank and twisting drain. I think my fascination with drains stems from the thrill of unbridled discovery, or at least re-discovery. When draining I feel like I'm doing something truly unique, and seeing something that only a handful of people can ever say they've seen.”

Why?

“There's a thrill, too, that comes with the ever-present potential for new systems to explore. The fact that all this danger and discovery is constantly just below peoples' feet makes it all the more subversive.”