British-Kenyan photographer Thomas Seward heads into Nairobi’s eastern suburb of Buruburu with Escape.Pln for this high-octane story. The Nairobi-London collective, headed up by Amari Möto, spans disciplines across fashion design, photography, archival and visual research, and this mission brought Seward into the circle of their two-wheeling kin, the 12 Oclock Boyz.

“The challenge I set myself was to develop a series that would not only resonate with Amari’s enterprise, but with Nairobi at large, while building bridges between the two capitals,” Seward recalls. “As an image-maker torn between two worlds, I’m interested in how cross-cultural influence plays a significant role in these places. So, with the 12 Oclock Boyz, I was interested in their potential to break out of their status as an underdog group, and their role in Nairobi’s delicate cultural fabric.”

The experience of hitting the roads with them was electric as the crew lent into the art of extreme stunts and wheelies. “From riding off of the back of a supercharged Boxer motorcycle at over 80km per hour, to breathing in the vapour of scorched tyres and clouds of exhaust, I documented their story the best way I could,” he recalls. “I experienced an unconstrained air of expression and togetherness, where each individual plays their part and ensures a sense of comradeship, regardless of this area’s economic realities.”

This devotion to each other, and their locale, is what they share with his hosts. “Escape.Pln think and make outside of prescribed sandboxes. It’s that quality that gives their name meaning.” So, hitch a ride with them to escape from normalcy into the dirt roads of Kenya’s unfettered creativity.