Chaz was born in 1949 in East Los Angeles. Finishing high school in 1966 traveled to Guadalajara (Mexico) where he studied sculpture and ceramics, and then studied architecture and mathematics. In 1969 he joined the Chouinard Art School (now known by Cal Arts School) and also studied Asian calligraphy with Master Yun Chung Chiang (Chiang studied under Pu Ju, brother of the last emperor of China). With these influences, in 1969 he began doing graffiti seriously and went a decade strong before embraking on a life-changing journey in 1979 travelling to more than 35 countries studying how the graphics and calligraphy of each country influenced its culture. His work has been recorded in books of art history, museum catalogs and published by several newspapers, magazines and websites worldwide. He has worked for prominent films as The Warriors, Star Wars , Boulevard Nights, Turk 182 and Cheech and Chong and has even done designs for Nike.