Steve Martinez has punk in his blood.

The Vandals, Lydia Lunch, The Damned, T.S.O.L.  and The Adolescents. These are just a few of the punk music behemoths Steve has worked with. With an eye developed from the east side streets he grew up on, Martinez is an artist who gives voice to punk, sk8 and lowrider culture in a way few others can, because he’s actually lived it.

Martinez has been designing, photographing, printing and painting from the center of Los Angeles urban art since 1979. Armed with little more than a Yashica camera and flash, he’s been capturing iconic imagery from the depths of the inner city for decades. True to his roots, he shoots exclusively on film and eschews digital manipulation for organic darkroom techniques. You’re likely to see more than a few historic punk album covers designed by Steve in the racks of any reputable record store. Through his uncompromising vision and years of hard work, Martinez has established himself as a leading authority of graphic design and photography in urban art today.

Steve’s photography and graphic design have been featured in Rolling Stone, Cream, Details, Lowrider, Concrete Wave, NY Rocker, RIP, Flipside, Genlux, LA Weekly and Another Magazine. His work has shown in Hotel de Ville, A&I and Georges galleries, in addition to solo shows across Los Angeles. He’s designed for definitive record labels like Slash, Trident, Triple X, Polyvinyl, Widowspeak, Atavistic and UFO. Taschen Books has tapped his insight alongside editor Steve Crist to lead projects such as Muhammad Ali’s “Goat” and Hunter S. Thompson’s “Curse of Lono” and “Gonzo,” as well as Hugh Hefner’s 6-volume “Playboy” collection.

His work for Playboy has been awarded multiple Adobe American Graphic Design awards, and he has spent over 20 years as Hugh Hefner’s personal archivist/historian and Playboy’s archival manager, as well as serving as a key collaborator on book, DVD and film projects.

From the streets to galleries to the pages of some of America’s leading publications, one thing becomes clear when experiencing Steve’s work: his inspiration flows from urban life.