Before he was Dr. Dax, Dax Rudnak was a nine-year-old kid from South Florida on the Atlanta train for the first time. It was a trip that changed his life.
“It was 1984 and my brother took me on the MARTA, and at that time it went pretty far to the extent of the metropolitan neighborhoods. I saw bad neighborhoods and mansions, I saw open land, nature, you see warehouses, factories, apartments, houses. Everything is off the MARTA line.”
He saw the city of Atlanta. He saw what would become his home for decades to come. But he also found an inspiration that would transform his life.
“I saw graffiti. Atlanta has a lot of brick, earth tones –– beautiful old buildings but not a lot of color."
"So the vibrancy of the art, that graffiti on those rooftops inspired me right away.”
Back in the 80’s, it was a time before Atlanta became the influential cultural hub that it is today, before Outkast and before the exploding movie scene took over the city. But even then, Dr. Dax was proud of his city, and knew he found his home.
“When I came here my Atlanta pride was so huge right away. Kids at my school were wearing New York hats, and I thought no, this is the best place in the world. Little 5 Points was like the heart of the world to me, it was my Manhattan.”
As Dax grew, so did the city –– both in size and cultural influence on the rest of the world. And as the city got more diverse, so too did the buildings themselves, due in large part to artists like Dax.
“Even before there was a lot of art, homes started becoming more colorful. People were taking old buildings and making them more beautiful. Little 5 points was always a colorful place for me, but very limited in size."
"So, even as a kid I wanted to add color to the rest of the city.”
Art grew into Dax’s hobby and then his life's passion, something that he says saved his life.
“I always did graffiti, which was never a paying job, it was just our subculture, something we loved and a way to have fun. I would be painting and my friends would try to get me to go to parties or who knows what else and bad stuff would always happen. If I wasn’t painting I would’ve been there."
"It became a kind of magnetic force that would always take me away from trouble.”
As Dax embraced the city, the city embraced him and his art. While he was more artistically-inclined, he started to feel pride for his local sports teams as well.
“I had so much pride in Atlanta that I started repping the teams’ sports gear. I love the unity of sports, how the pride of the city is behind all these teams. It’s almost like religion in some ways, a symbol people can get behind and bond over. Things are simpler –– a lot of anticipation and anxiety with little glorious moments along the way.”
He cheered for Dale Murphy on the Braves, and loved the red and black of the Georgia Bulldogs. He said he never thought professional soccer would come to Atlanta, but was blown away when it did.
“It was the first game and there was somehow already fans of the team, because these were people who’d been waiting for a team their whole lives."
"Then I went to the game and the crowd energy was overwhelmingly insane –– and I used to go to punk rock shows so that’s saying something. It reminded me of the Coliseum back in the Roman times.”
Dax got involved the way he knew best: his art. So when the team reached out to him about the launch of the King Peach kit, he contributed with the mural that was featured in the official kit unveil.
“I heard there was this new King Peach movement, then they told me they wanted me to do graffiti art on the railroad, obviously the city being the hub of trains for the South connecting the rest of the world. I’m also a train person, my forte when I was younger was painting freight trains."
"It’s the bloodlines of our city, and really our whole country.”
Now he’s taking it beyond the alleyways and freight cars and out into the streets, and all over the city with a series of murals that are set to be revealed throughout the year. Starting with the train in these photos, on full display behind TWO urban licks on the Beltline.
“This isn’t something you have to go to a gallery or someone’s house to see. There’s probably 10,000 people who walk down the Beltline every weekend."
"Whether you like it or not it’s here, it’s in your face. You just can’t not see it.”
Growing, taking over the city, and impossible to ignore –– a perfect way to sum up Dr. Dax and Atlanta United itself.
© 2026 Atlanta United FC
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