Age: 33

Job: Lead singer of Avenged Sevenfold

Bio: Shadows, whose real name is Matt Sanders, was born and raised in Huntington Beach. At Huntington Beach High, he played varsity basketball and, in 1999, formed the metal outfit Avenged Sevenfold, with guitarists Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance and the late drummer Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan. The band has released six studio albums, the last two debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart. He lives in Huntington Beach.

Why he’s an influencer: In 2014, Shadows and Avenged Sevenfold cemented their status as the most globally popular music act to emerge from Orange County, filling venues from Santiago, Chile, to Stavanger, Norway. The band, which once played 250-person clubs in Orange County, headlined a day of the prestigious Download Festival in England, playing for 80,000. The band was second on the bill to Metallica at Germany’s Rock im Park and Rock am Ring fests, which drew more than 120,000 fans. The band also expanded its video games presence. After appearing in “Call of Duty: Black Ops II” in 2012 – by releasing its own app-based game, “Hail to the King: Deathbat.”

Work Philosophy: “For us, its about keeping our integrity and doing what we do, however, changing slightly with the times (with social media) to make sure everyone is involved. At the same time, we stay hungry. We don’t ever want to put out a bad record.”

Thoughts on entrepreneurship: “I think you just have to be positive. If you’re good enough, things will change for you and with you.”

Inspiration: “I love listening to music and creating it. Everything else that happens is just icing on the cake.”

Can’t do without: “Golf is, like, an obsession. It’s almost as bad as music for me.”

What’s next: Shadows and his band mates will wrap up their current tour next month with a swing through Asia, including stops in China, Indonesia and Malaysia. The rest of 2015 will be spent preparing material for their next album, slated to be released in 2016.

Contact the writer: 714-796-3570 or kfadroski@ocregister.com

More arts influencers: Anne Shih, Oliver Bogner, Jodie Gates, Jason Schiffer, Mark and Jane Hilbert, John Walcutt, Oahn Nguyen, Todd DeShields Smith

View the full list: 100 people who influenced Orange County in 2014