A native Minnesotan born to a Swede and a Wisconsinite, Peter Madsen lives in Brooklyn. A longtime contributor to Thrasher magazine, the bicycle messenger works in Manhattan, where he has conducted over 250 on-the-spot interviews with New Yorkers, largely panhandlers, for his ongoing "Word on the Street New York" project. He spent his entire advance for this book on a gold chain. He loves your cat.