by his own account, he made his first recordings at age thirteen under the name taeb zerfall on his own zerfall tapes label. in 1984, he changed his name to lightning beat-man, performing "a mix between elvis presley and die einstürzende neubauten". he then presented a one-man wrestling show – "the idea was to fight on stage against myself, sometimes me versus my guitar...and always win!" – before it became a two-man show and then a wrestling circus.