Espé was born Sébastien Portret in Mazamet, Tarn, in 1974. He pursued a scientific direction while at high school, but eventually ended up at the School of Fine Arts in Toulouse. He created the fanzine Broute and got acquainted with several artists from the area, such as Aris. He first used his pseudonym Espé when he worked as a stringer for the musical magazine Groove.
