I taught myself how to play the guitar when I was thirteen. I attended Huntington Beach High School, and formed Avenged Sevenfold there with M. Shadows and The Rev. Before Avenged Sevenfold, I was in a punk band called MPA*, which stands for Mad Porn Action. I came up with my stage name "Zacky Vengeance" because I wanted to get back at all the people from my youth who doubted my potential. I also came up with Johnny's stage name "Johnny Christ,". I was also responsible for the creation of the initialism "A7X". Despite being left-handed, I recall the first guitar I learned to play on was actually a right-handed his parents had bought me for my thirteenth birthday. I learned by playing upside-down, watching my favorite bands and other people I knew who played, and practiced as much as I could. I also read each edition of Guitar World cover to cover, learning the tabs of the songs published there and watching the professionals perform them until I could play just as well.