david sacco

Photographer

After Dark

Born and raised in the state o...ually split up when he was 18.

Born and raised in the state of Wisconsin, he grew up in the city of Milwaukee.
He describes his childhood as “idyllic” and full of love and the only suffering that he experienced was the emotional violence of growing up in an alcoholic household.
His parents eventually split up when he was 18.

"At 16 I was already ...with cells all over the world.

"At 16 I was already an alcoholic, just like my father alcohol took possession of my life and that was the time when I decide to became a white power skinhead. The thrill of violence became a habit for me. "

Later, Arno would become one of the founding members of Northern Hammerskins, one of the largest White Supremacist organizations in the world during the 1980s / 90s and now known as Hammerskins Nation with cells all over the world.

"I spent my days drin...at was the mindset. "

"I spent my days drinking gallons of beer and indiscriminately attacking afro-americans, latins, gays and other ethnic minorities for fun, often hitting them so hard that more than once I even had to call the police to make sure I had not killed anyone. "

"All those who are not white are an enemy, all the whites who are not on your side are traitors, you convince yourself that the government is out to get you, that the police are out to get you, that the media is out to get you and not only for you but everyone like you.

That was the mindset. "

Arno was the frontman of a Whi... tear someone apart "

Arno was the frontman of a White Power Metal band called Centurion, whose CD "14 Words" that sold more than 20,000 copies around the world. He remembers to have hooked on this music by listening to Skrewdriver, an iconic British band among Skinheads in the nineties. Music was not only the most effective recruiting tool, but also the largest source of income for white supremacist movements.

" Every time we played someone was taken out in the ambulance, and it wasn’t our audience beating other people: they were beating each other up to the point of hospitalization. It was brutal, and we liked that, we made our music to provoke that level of violence. We wanted people to get crazy to the point they wanted to tear someone apart "

"I was 21 when my daughter was born ..."

"... just two years later my relationship with his mother ended and becoming a single father was, paradoxically, my salvation, I decided to be a good dad first and foremost, living a life filled with hate just wasn't possible if I wanted to do that. "

In 1994 after seven years livi...I denied to myself.”

In 1994 after seven years living the life of a white power skinhead, Arno Michaelis left the movement for good.

"At first the idea of leaving the movement was intimidating, as I was a big deal within it. I was one of the first hammerskins. I was the lead screamer of Centurion, we had groupies. It was sex, booze, and rock-n-roll. There was a lot of people who were afraid of me, a lot of people seeming to respect me. I was a bit of a legend. I was a very important person in the movement.
Outside of it I was an alcoholic high school drop-out working in a shitty factory job. I was nothing. I was behind of nothing. I was less than most people because I didn’t achieve what I was supposed to achieve.
So, it was intimidating at first, but once I took the first peek outside the ideological and spiritual box that I put myself in, I realized that there was an amazing world that I denied to myself.”

He continued to battle alcohol... the point of view. "

He continued to battle alcoholism for another 10 years, immersing himself into the Midwest rave scene, where in spite of the many questions about the swastikas and other white power tattoos, he met very different kinds of people who welcomed him despite his past.

"I started thinking more consciously about what was around me. Very quickly I was keen to experience diversity. I wanted to be in places with different kinds of people, different cultures, religions, food and everything … music… the more diverse it was the more I liked it.
I was changing the point of view. "

On Aug. 5, 2012, a mass shooti...eople are valued and included.

On Aug. 5, 2012, a mass shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, rocked the community and the country. The shooter, 40-year-old Wade Michael Page, was reportedly a member of the Hammerskin Nation, the skinhead gang Arno helped create. Feeling driven to do respond in a positive way, Arno connected with Pardeep Kaleka, whose father was the last person murdered in the shooting. They were both members of the Against Violent Extremism network, and they decided to meet in person.

"When we first met, he asked me a simple question. Why? and I replied: Practice. When you practice violence you become familiar with it and things like love, compassion and kindness become uncomfortable so you reject them, you find yourself literally running away from every situation in which you experience humanity"

Today they are the closest of friends, and co-founders of Serve 2 Unite, an organisation centred around youth of all backgrounds mentoring and peacebuilding, in an effort to steer vulnerable kids away from all forms of extremist ideology and cultivate a society where all people are valued and included.

" Wade Michael Page i...quo;m no longer him."

" Wade Michael Page is a reminder of who I was. He was a white power skinhead, he was part of the gang that I helped to start. He was quite likely a fan of my band. It’s frightening but at the same time I’m grateful everyday because of people like Pardeep who had the bravery to defy my hostility. People like a Jewish boss, a lesbian supervisor, blacks and Latino co-workers who had the courage to treat me with kindness when I least deserved it. Because of them, I’m no longer him."

“All violent extremi...emist organization.”

“All violent extremist groups gain members by answering basic human needs that are not met otherwise. In places where there is social instability those may be very core basic human needs like food and water, or a job. In places like Europe or the United States those are more emotional. Every human being needs a sense of identity, purpose and belong. Fortunately, most people find answers to these needs in a healthy way: it may be through a great family, sports, music, whatever. But when those needs aren’t met in a healthy way, violent extremist ideologies of all sorts are out there to give a toxic answer.
In my human experience I’ve learned that hurt people hurt people, healthy people don’t. Everybody suffers, but If you are not able to process your suffering in a healthy way, that pain can very easily be transferred to someone else.
That’s how radicalization starts; you look for someone with those needs unmet, typically someone with some background of trauma People who haven’t experience trauma are simply not capable of hating and hurting other people. You look for suffering. When you find it, you have someone ready to be a recruited in a violent extremist organization.”

"Once, a black woman ... to acknowledge his dark side.

"Once, a black woman at McDonald's saw a fresh swastika tattoo on Arno’s finger, and told him: “You're a better person than that.” " I will never forget it."

The swastikas tattooed on his right arm had been covered up by other ink, but they could not be erased. He decided to tattoo a demon’s face to acknowledge his dark side.

“Human beings will n...f spiritual growth”.

“Human beings will never be free from pain, nor should we ever be. Pain is an unvaluable teacher as well as a builder of character and vehicle of spiritual growth”.

“The political situa...art of the problem.”

“The political situation in the United States and Europe are quite similar: the political poles influence each other. The more noise from the far Right, the more push back for the far Left, which pushes the far Right to amplify, which pushes the far Left to amplify. They are feeding each other. This political dynamic is driving people from the center to the edges of the political spectrum and that’s why both movements are growing so much. And no one involved wants to acknowledge these social mechanics as they refuse to admit that they are part of the problem.”

In 2007, finally sober and wit...about their unusual friendship

In 2007, finally sober and without the numbing effects of alcohol to blunt his emotions, he began writing his first book My Life After Hate, which pulled in a influential readership in the world of humanitarian activism.

En 2018, Arno y Pardeep co-wrote The Gift of Our Wounds a book that tells about their unusual friendship

I’ve lived your life

You haven’t lived mine

Today I joyfully go everywhere You fear to

Everywhere I see great human family

This is your family too.

Open your heart and mind

You’ll come to understand that if you love the world

the world will love you back.

PLAY

STOP

GRID

FULL
LOVE

Thumbnail of Born and raised in the state of_tually split up when he was 18.

Thumbnail of "At 16 I was already a_ with cells all over the world.

Thumbnail of "I spent my days drink_hat was the mindset. "

Thumbnail of Arno was the frontman of a Whit_o tear someone apart "

Thumbnail of "I was 21 when my daughter was born ..."

Thumbnail of "... just two years la_ do that. "

Thumbnail of In 1994 after seven years livin_ I denied to myself.”

Thumbnail of He continued to battle alcoholi_g the point of view. "

Thumbnail of On Aug. 5, 2012, a mass shootin_people are valued and included.

Thumbnail of " Wade Michael Page is_squo;m no longer him."

Thumbnail of “All violent extremis_remist organization.”

Thumbnail of "Once, a black woman a_e to acknowledge his dark side.

Thumbnail of “Human beings will ne_of spiritual growth”.

Thumbnail of “The political situat_part of the problem.”

Thumbnail of In 2007, finally sober and with_ about their unusual friendship

Thumbnail of I’ve lived your life _d the world will love you back.

Public Project

After Dark

Copyright David Sacco 2025

Date of Work Jan 2018 - Mar 2019

Updated Dec 2018

Topics Abuse, Activism, Black and White, Community, Confrontation, Discrimination, Documentary, Editorial, Education, extremism, Fear, Gangs, Hope, Minority, Oppression, Peacekeeping, Photography, Photojournalism, Portraiture, Racism, skinhead

Arno Michaelis was a founding member of what went to become the largest skinhead organization on Earth.

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