Brad Warner was born in 1964 and first started studying and practicing zazen in the early 80's under the instruction of Tim McCarthy who was a student of Kobun Chino. He was ordained in the Soto School of Zen Buddism by Gudo Wafu Nishijima. Nishijima and his student Mike Cross produced the best and most complete translation of Dogen's Shobogenzo ever published. He was the bassist for ODFx (or Zero Defex) a hardcore punk band. He then signed to Midnight Records and made five albums under the band name Dimentia 13. The he worked for a company founded by the special effects man behind the classic Godzilla films. Brad wrote a book called: Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies, and the Truth About Reality which was put out by Wisdom Publications. He taught weekly zazen classes and led retreats in Japan for several years before moving to California.