Diego
Andrés
Martinelli
Diego Andrés Martinelli is a brand strategist, creative director and experience builder. He is driven by a desire to better understand humanity, consciousness and value systems.
Diego founded Defy Culture in 2014, an independent, full service brand agency with an honesty at all costs approach, and value-based philosophy. Diego and his team have provided insights and executed successful strategies for client organizations like Airbnb, Budweiser, Stella Artois, Beck’s, Red Bull, Perrier and Perez Art Museum Miami. Defy specializes in forging sincere connections between brands and people, while also helping many of them bring meaningful contributions to culture in city communities.
Diego's career flourished working in the electronic music industry for over 20 years, earning him a reputation as a leading operator and curator in North America. While helping develop many successful music brands and properties, he has also produced over one thousand world-class live events. Diego continues to inhabit the urban music scenes that shaped him, studying cultural economies and communities in cities across the globe. He is also a founding partner and curator at two renowned music venues, The Electric Pickle Co. [2009-2019] in Miami and Public Records in Brooklyn. Safe Sound, a community project he co-founded in 2007, remains one of America’s longest running underground dance parties. Since a teenager, Diego has been a dedicated record collector and DJ. He also trained at UMass Medical School as a clinical meditation instructor. He now lives in Denver with his dog Carlin.
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