DTM began drawing at the young age of 3 years old, at least that is the story suggested by the earliest surviving drawing held by DTM's mother, a drawing dated 1975, DTM was born in 1972.

Born and raised in East LA, DTM was exposed to the Chicano Movement and created his identity of a strong Mexican-American, an identity he has used to inspire the creative process of his art.DTM spent five years in Mexico City and that helped cement his pride in the Azteca Culture, a source of much of his current art and designs.

In 1994 DTM headed to Atlanta to become part of the creative explosion that fed the arrival of the 1996 International Olympic Games. DTM's goal was to establish himself as a comic book artist in the small artist community at the time.

Fate had other plans, in 1995 a friend dropped DTM off at West End Tattoo in hopes of acquiring a tattoo apprenticeship.DTM's level of skill made him an ideal candidate and that started a path that took him to Super-Man's Tattoo in Decatur and