He came a long way from that provincial town boy who failed to get into art school. Before he became Shank, Mohamed Fathi, a native of the sea-side town of Ismailia, worked in his father’s import/export business. Like many young people, his dreams were stunted in large part due to a system that promoted mediocrity and killed individuality and creativity. His first experience with the system was being denied entry to the College of Fine Arts.
Refusing to draw what was asked of him on the entry exams and, rather, drawing what he wanted, Fathiimmediately failed the exams. But refusing to be shut out of the art world and realizing that this was his passion, he looked for ways to get in. In an effort to catch up with artists his age, but likely a personal challenge he took on for himself, Fathi pushed himself in different learning spheres and began to teach himselfdifferent forms of art ranging from fashion design, graphic design, graffiti, puppet making to film directing. In less than four years, he worked his way up the ladder from a Graphic Designer to an Art Director to an Associate Creative Director in one of the biggest advertising agencies worldwide.
Fathi is now working his way on his first short movie and dreams of opening a design school to give people opportunities that he did not have.
