Andrew Champion

Education

He attended the first show and then regularly for the next ten years.

Career

Growing up in the East Bay straightedge and hardcore community in San Ramon and Berkeley, he was involved in the San Francisco scene of the early eighties prior to the East Bay becoming popular in the mid to late eighties as well. Working as a volunteer in almost every capacity at the Gilman Street Project, Andrew was closely associated with the club He was also one of the first four to get the original United States. Thugs tattoo from Eric Hogan in Sacramento.

Eric and Andrew had been friends from when Eric had lived in Alameda and Oakland years before.

His vocal style has been likened to Shawn Brown, Dave Smalley, Dave Vanian, and others with a vibrato singing style while still being straightforward and "edgy". Having spent some time in England as a teenager, Andrew was heavily influenced by early eighties and late seventies punk and power-popular music as well as more obvious genres like new wave and rock.

Having lived all over California, Andrew has finally returned to the East Bay and currently resides in Oakland California.

Achievements

• Andrew was a seminal member of United States. Thugs, where he gained the name "Champion" when he had rushed to get a tattoo for the crew"s original name (The "East Bay Champions"). He was the only one to get the tattoo prior to the final selection of United States. Thugs as the crew"s name (Champion and Lars went to the tattoo shop in San Francisco together, but Lars didn"t have enough money at the time to get the tattoo by Daniel Higgs of Lungfish fame). The name Champion however stuck as Andrew"s stage name from then on and to this day people still use lieutenant

Membership

He later had a falling out with one of the members of United States. Thugs and had his tattoo covered but stands by his friends who are still involved.