Of Mau5 and Man: 50 Dope Photos of deadmau5 Through The Years

Love him or hate him, one has to acknowledge the power that is deadmau5. Ranking No. 5 in DJ Mag's Top 100, we take an in-depth look at EDM's bad-boy. ~ Compiled by Sarah Polonsky and Jessica Wunsch

Before he became famous, Joel Thomas Zimmerman was just a typical teen who sported frosted, spiked hair and Pikachu backpacks.

Over time, Zimmerman's fashion and attitude had matured (somewhat). As we can see here, he ditches the spikes for the baseball cap he still dons today, and the backpack has been traded in for an analogue booth. The CDJs in this photo were sold by the the mau5 man on Ebay.

deadmau5 rocks a guitar pick with fellow musician, alternative country/rock singer Ryan Adams.

Hey fan of deadmau5 knows that the man loves his tattoos. They've somewhat become his life-force, both figuratively and literarily, for his fame grows stronger with each ink.

Here's the latest ink to be sported by deadmau5 and if fans don't like it, then they can refer to said tattoo.

Zimmerman's passion for tattoos is so strong, that he spreads the love (and ink) whenever he can to friends and fellow artists. Here, Zedd is the lucky one to receive an honorary tattoo from Zimmerman.

Before we go further into Joel's life, let's take a second to honor the iconic helmet that made him the notorious M.A.U.5. he is today.

An early prototype, this helmet says it all in displaying the crossed-out eyes and oversized ears. deadmau5 is born.

The Mau5 shine things up a bit with this all silver-incased mouse head, putting into motion a series of evolved looks in Zimmerman's dance music career.

Whoa, you don't want to get caught in the mau5trap! Don't let the cute ears and bug-eyes fool you - this producer's got attitude.

Truly a helmet for the fans. Enveloped by signatures and well-wishes that cover the entire head, this mask shows that there is a soft side to deadmau5's hard edge.

Things get digital this time around, giving new life to deadmau5 and his booth.

Look who's the Lord of the Bling! Zimmerman's revamped helmet shows that this artist has some stunna style.

Joel embraces his inner-geek in the Battlestar Galactica-themed head, proving that the man still stays true to his roots despite reaching celebrity status.

One man and the masks that made him a legend.

His helmets even got him some celebrity attention. Wonder if he ever performed in Paris?

Ok, now enough about the helmets.

Let's take down these masks.

And set them to the side for now.

I've think we've already established who this man really is by now.

Yup, he's even got an official day in Las Vegas!

Zimmerman is quite the ~~ladies~~ Playboy bunnies man.

But even if you're not sporting some hot T&A, he'll still give some mad love to video game producer, Shigeru Miyamoto.

And to his young fan base.

But now that he's in a serious relationship, the hotties will have to hold back for a while.

Since September, Zimmerman has been in a relationship with tattoo artist/reality TV star Kat Von D. Match made in heaven?

When they shop, he holds the bags. Our kinda a guy.

Public hand-holding is so hot right now.

They've even been seen wearing matching costumes. Kat Von D went as deadmau5 (and even matched his tattoos) while Zimmerman dressed up as Pin Head.

"I'm gunna marry this chick one day" ~ deadmau5 on his Twitter account.

Of course, no female relationship can top the friendship between Joel and Skrillex. The two are known for their elaborate pranks.

Looks like one's about to go down now. Watch your head Sonny!

Though it appears that someone got back at Joel.

Notorious pranks and jokes aside, deadmau5 is dead serious when it comes to his work. Just see how hard he concentrates in the booth. Is that someone praying to him?