Based in Southern California, Diva began experimenting with video equipment at age 13. As a piano and cello player, he performed in several orchestras and was the lead singer for the band "Vyncent Flaw”. His YouTube channel is eclectic - a mix of parodies, skits and music videos. In 2011, Diva's "Sexy Sax Man" video featuring saxophonist Sergio Floreswent viral. In 2012, Diva collaborated with fellow YouTube stars Joe Penna, Tay Zonday, Corridor Digital and DeStorm Power to create the YouTube group and channel BAMMO. Diva also appeared that year as Bruce Lee in episode 25, "Clint Eastwood vs. Bruce Lee", of the web series Epic Rap Battles of History. In 2014, Diva was listed on New Media Rockstars Top 100 Channels, ranked at number 77. In February 2016, Diva's trap remix of the 1989 film "Special Friends: Starring You On Kazoo" went viral. Diva has produced official music videos for 3OH!3, Kill the Noise, Peter Pepper, The M Machine, Mindless Self Indulgence, Savant, and, most recently, Lil Nas X. Most of his music is on SoundCloud. In 2017, Mike co-wrote and directed a stylized horror spot for Halo Top Creamery titled "Eat The Ice Cream," produced by Lord Danger. The commercial was awarded , and put him on the map as an up-and-coming commercial director. He has since worked with clients including Yelp, Microsoft, LA Metro, GSN, and with celebrities including The Lonely Island and Steve Aoki.
2016 election videos
In June 2016, Diva's video Japanese Donald Trump Commercialトランプ2016 gained international attention, with some 8 million views on Facebook and almost 300,000 views on YouTube in its first 24 hours. The video masquerades as a Japanese commercial that seemingly promotes the presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Slate described the work as "a dizzying, sorbet-hued phantasmagoria that gestures toward the coming end times." Diva's intent was to "seem obnoxiously pro-Trump" while doing the opposite, with the production quality so good that viewers would ask: "Why would a Japanese ad agency make this?" Indeed, many early online comments mistook the video for a genuine ad, despite Trump's being depicted as giving a Nazi salute amid swastikas and ultimately transforming into an earth-destroying robot. The video was shot over a month and a half with virtually no budget and stars the cosplayer and wig stylist known as sushimonstuh. Diva talked about the video when interviewed with KABC-TV. On August 11, 2016, Diva released a video poking fun of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for the Super Deluxe channel. The video depicted a fictionalized Clinton attempting to connect with the millennial generation by various internet memes such as Dat Boi, Damn Daniel, and Nyan Cat, as well as performing The Dab and telling her supporters to "Pokémon Go to the polls". The video was said to be paid for by "Hillary for America", although that was not the case. In an interview with Creativity, Diva explained that the purpose of his video was to show that "Hillary is just kind of a dorky mom, and it's so hilariously cringey when she tries to appeal to a younger audience,".
Commercial work
Diva has directed commercials for clients including Halo Top Creamery, Yelp, Microsoft, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, GSN, Capcom's Devil May Cry 5 and others, with celebrities including Danny Trejo and Steve Aoki. Diva's dystopian robot nightmare Halo Top advert "" made headlines in Adweek, AdAge, , , for its spooky, bizarre approach to selling ice cream. Mike wrote, directed, did post production, edited, and did music for the branded content, which went on to win a number of awards including . For the Los Angeles CountyMetropolitan Transportation Authority, Diva wrote, directed, edited, and composed the music for two music video themed campaigns featuring anime-inspired character Super Kind, played by actress and YouTube celebrityAnna Akana. The campaigns included online videos and print etiquette posters to raise awareness about proper transit etiquette onboard Metro buses and trains, with Super Kind persistently battling the antics of Rude Dude. The first campaign, which aired in 2017, included three spots: , , and . The second campaign, released in 2018, included , and , featuring Danny Trejo. On July 16, 2020, after a viral Twitter post in which a woman criticized a "Cartoon Network after hours" video, Diva responded, explaining that he made the video "cos at the time I -thought- it would be funny to make music outta cartoon babies. sorry it upset you, but there is no deeper meaning here. I'm just a guy that made an absurd video in poor taste".
YouTube channel deletion
On June 24, 2018, Diva announced via Twitter that YouTube had deleted his channel for "spam, deceptive practices, and misleading content". On June 25, 2018, his channel was live again.
Personal life
Diva grew up with a brother in Sacramento, California. Later, he moved to Los Angeles. In terms of religion, Diva describes himself as "Atheist leaning agnostic".
