DONDI (born Donal White, 1961) is one of the most established and influential graffiti artists, known for influencing graffiti style and technique. A native of the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn, he got his nickname DONDI during childhood from his parents, most likely as a result of the comic strip by the same name. He got his start as a graffiti artist as part of the TOP crew (The Odd Partners) who worked primarily on the M and J subway lines. By the late 1970s, he became known for painting entire train cars. He formed his own crew, CIA (Crazy Inside Artists) in 1978. For the next two decades, he would be recognized as a stylistic innovator, pioneering many styles and techniques still in use by modern graffiti artists today. He died of AIDS related complications on October 2, 1998.