In a series of fortunate events, I met the styling masterminds Storm Pablo and Marvin Douglas Linares at a Kwame Adusei dinner last year. (A year later, Pablo, Douglas Linares and Adusei are part of our 2025 Image Makers class.) As a stylist myself, I’d been noticing how over the last six years they’ve been transforming their client Bad Bunny into a fashion icon and trendsetter. There is intention in what Bad Bunny, whose full name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, is telling you through his looks — from political statements to his never-ending pride in Puerto Rico. I was already a fan of Douglas Linares’ work with his jewelry brand. We connected over our shared experiences, like selling L.A. Times newspapers door-to-door as one of our first jobs and most importantly being from El Salvador. I became familiar with Pablo because of his work with Bad Bunny and his brand CNTRA, which is an extension of his personal style and ‘90s pop culture references I relate to.
I’m not surprised at how everything has unfolded for Pablo and Douglas Linares. Luck, prosperity and abundance seem to follow them. From the story of how they met, to how they got connected to Bad Bunny, to how things go down every weekend in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where they’re based while styling Bad Bunny, his dancers and the band during the No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí residency for his latest album, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos.” There is a softness in their relationship that doesn’t exist in our industry — the way they lift each other up and respect each other’s polar opposite views and styles is refreshing to witness. With the help of their assistants, Junichi Kamata and David Gomez, they found a formula that works for them, not one that was forced but came organically. This special dynamic has resulted in them crafting an image for Bad Bunny that is classic, joyful and high-fashion.
I was fortunate enough to experience Bad Bunny’s show in Puerto Rico, along with Image staff writer Julissa James and best friend Jessica Kao, who has been manifesting seeing him on this tour since it was announced. Getting to learn about Puerto Rico through this experience was something I will hold in my heart forever because that is Bad Bunny’s purpose: Bring everyone to his beloved island, have us learn, love and respect what it stands for. I felt the resilience, pride and sazón that only lives there, especially at La Casita Blanca, one of Bad Bunny’s favorite restaurants, where my interview with Pablo and Douglas Linares happened. Their styling was an integral part of the story being told during the concert. Each look took us deeper into Bad Bunny’s history and the history of the island.
Keyla Marquez: How did you guys meet?
Storm Pablo: I was living in Fullerton in 2012 and Marvin was also living near there. We had the same friends but we had never met each other. Years later in downtown L.A., after moving there from Seattle, our friends would always tell me, “You gotta meet Marvin.” People would say we reminded them of each other, even to this day. [One day] I go to my friend Adrian Hernandez’s house where he’s having a little kickback and I meet Marvin. We just hit it off immediately. We shook hands and he gave me a ring right off his finger.
Marvin Douglas Linares: I gave him a ring I’ve had my whole life and he lost it.
SP: I lost it three weeks into the friendship.
MDL: It was my personal ring and I gave it to him that night. Long-lost brother.
SP: We were spending a lot of time together. He was working at Dover Street Market at the time. I was interning at the Lush Network showroom and also working at Bodega part time. Being in the same community, we became friends.
KM: How did you guys start working together?
MDL: Adrian [who is the founder of Ugly Primo and Need Pastel] was in school for graphic design. He got to a point where he was working for Benito during his first album. We both met Benito differently. With Storm it was through the Lush Network showroom — he would gift him clothes.
SP: At the showroom my job was getting placements for brands. Bad Bunny was one of the artists we did that for.
MDL: For me, Adrian [told Benito], “You gotta meet this guy.” He sent Bad Bunny to Dover Street Market, I met him and we hit it off. I gave him the first ring I ever made — I had gone to pick it up on my lunch break. I literally ran to make it in time.
KM: You like to give out rings!
SP: All men.
MDL: Just to people I really care about. I stayed connected to Benito’s friend group because I would send them clothes, sneakers and exclusive drops from Dover. Then some time went by and they were looking for a stylist — Adrian was like, “It has to be Storm.” Then I remember we were at Baja Beach Fest with Bad Bunny and it was his first time performing “Callaíta” and we got the call that Storm got the job.
KM: Was Benito your first big client?
SP: I would say so. I was doing things for different brands, whatever came my way, mostly for free. Marvin briefed me and told me Bunny was going to be huge. When I went to the show I saw that too, immediately. I wasn’t really familiar with reggaeton like that. Marvin was and still is to this date the biggest Bad Bunny fan in the world.
MDL: This was early on too. I just really related to his music, I really liked the sound and I saw the potential. But even the biggest vision I had of where he could be, he’s surpassed that multiple times. He keeps surpassing.
KM: Especially the way he has approached this last tour, it’s more than music. Wait, quick question, what do each of you call him?
SP: I call him Bad.
MDL: I call him Benito.
KM: It’s been really interesting seeing the trajectory of your careers grow at the same time as Benito’s career. How has that experience been?
SP: It was a Cinderella story. I had worked in the fashion industry but I had only been styling for a year. When I got in, he exploded so quickly that I was learning the most basic things on the go. It started out with me doing the MTV Video Music Awards performance. By the end of that year, 2019, we did the Super Bowl. It was a blessing because he took me with him and had loyalty. He put my career on a rocket ship straight to the top.
KM: He wears both of your brands, CNTRA and Marvin Douglas Jewelry, left and right.
MDL: From a stylist perspective [it’s never] like, “Oh, I’m gonna get my placement and I’m gonna put this on him.” It’s always happened organically. It’s: “Pick what you like.” With my jewelry it’s the same way. With Storm’s brand it’s been the same way.
KM: It’s on the rack and he just picks it?
MDL: It’s next to our favorite brands. My jewelry specifically, the intention is for it to be timeless, for it to be like an heirloom. Every piece that I have ever given Benito he puts it on and never takes it off. Everything that’s happened because of this experience for my jewelry, I could have never dreamed it. I have to remind myself of that constantly because it’s also a difficult job.
KM: It’s really great that you have each other because if it was just one person it would be really hard.
MDL: In many other industries they say don’t work with your friends, don’t work with your family. I feel like in this one specifically, you need that person that supports you, has the best intentions for you and at the end of the day is your friend.
SP: Marvin and I have taken this to the complete next level. The apartment where we stay [is where] our assistants stay and my graphic designer [stays]. Our office is next door. We have a creative compound, we share every moment together. The job is so demanding that we have to do that. We are friends every day but when it’s time to work, it’s go time.
KM: What was your first job together? What was the first call you made to Marvin?
MDL: The VMAs, Storm pulled at Dover Street Market for that. I picked it up and I was like, “Guys, Benito is going to be huge.”
SP: Dover Street Market was telling me “no” before. Every brand was telling me “no.” That’s a thing that a lot of people don’t know about stylists. I was pulling from friends’ closets, from their brands for a long time. I pulled [from Marvin] that day and went to New York and that was my trial, that’s how I got the job.
KM: What do you consider your role in these spaces?
MDL: We wear so many hats. If you look at roles that brands require, we’ve done all of them. Even on the tour, we don’t just dress him — we dress the dancers, we dress the band. We have the creative freedom to choose what they wear. At that point we are doing costume design.
SP: My main job has always been to take his ideas — and that’s what I love about Bunny, he always has an idea of what he wants to do — and elevate them to the next level.
KM: How was it pulling for this tour specifically?
MDL: It felt more personal. We know what he likes. He loves stripes right now, a lot of vintage. Then we just go ham and get the best version of it.
SP: We have also been doing this for years now, so we know everything about him. We know what his favorite scents are.
KM: What is his favorite scent?
SP: Thé Matcha 26 from Le Labo. Marvin has been telling everybody.
MDL: So we went to go watch the Super Bowl in New York and there was a husband and wife sitting next to us. The woman starts talking to us and she says she’s a fragrance stylist. We were curious, we’d never heard of that. We end up telling her what we do and what scent Benito likes. She makes a whole TikTok and it goes viral. We look like the biggest blabbermouths — she name-dropped both of us: Marvin and Storm.
KM: You both have different style approaches. How would you describe them?
SP: One of the biggest things for me is I don’t like to look like I went to the store and bought everything from the rack. I start with accessories first, then I will build on that. I don’t pay attention to trends. I might do that for other artists but not for my personal style.
MDL: When I was a little kid I always wanted to dress like an old man, that’s always been my thing. I wanted to dress like one of my tíos. When I met Storm, I was always wearing suits for no reason. Everyone at work was in full Comme des Garçons and I was wearing a suit. Our combination is what you see on stage with Benito.
KM: What are your current inspirations?
SP: Being here in Puerto Rico. I’m getting a lot of inspiration on how people dress on the streets. That’s how I treat L.A. too. You can strategically put on a fit for Instagram, but how people dress every day is what inspires me.
MDL: Benito does this for every album — he creates this world around it and we immerse ourselves in that world. We are digging deep in ‘70s style, looking at Jíbaros from Puerto Rico, incorporating that but also elevating it.
KM: I know it’s important for you both to champion designers of color. What have been some designers that you have brought to Benito that have been impactful for both parties — any from Puerto Rico?
MDL: Yayi Perez [from Puerto Rico], she does traditional guayaberas and did a bunch of customs for us. Also since the beginning we’ve liked Liberal Youth Ministry [from Mexico]. As far as upcoming designers, Benito has this foundation called the Good Bunny Foundation, where he gives back to Puerto Rico in so many ways. He does this summer camp that helps develop kids in their art courses — ceramics, digital media, fashion, painting, screen printing. We had an opportunity to go talk to the fashion department. We saw this pava that a student, Naiely Rodriguez, created and she ended up making us one. She pulled up to the show the next day and Benito wore it.
KM: How have your collaborations with big fashion houses been — the same ones that said “no” to you in the beginning?
SP: After his second album, he was undeniably the biggest, and he was going toe-to-toe with artists like Drake. How are you still telling me “no”? Reggaeton was obviously here, they just didn’t care about Latin artists like that. Now everyone is knocking on our doors. Everyone wants to dress him. We are choosing to work with bigger brands, but we are choosing the bigger brands that are aligned with us in every single way. A few of my favorites right now are Loewe and Bode — they like Bad Bunny too.
MDL: That’s exciting for us coming from humble beginnings, being in love with fashion and looking at bigger brands as a source for inspiration. Saying, “One day I’m going to wear this brand, one day I’m going to be able to afford that.” Working with them now, it’s a full circle moment.
KM: Who else is on your roster right now?
Pablo: Jack Harlow, Young Miko and we are about to start with Latin Mafia. Marvin has taught me a lot about this: Sometimes less is more. There was a time where I was like, ”We are doing everything.”
KM: How was that?
MDL: It was terrible. I was like, “I’m going to die.”
SP: I was killing myself. I got burnt out really quick. I think a lot of stylists make that mistake when you get to a certain level — you wanna see what happens when you work with all these clients. There’s a point where the quality control is out of your hands and you’re just sending assistants [to do the job]. My whole team saw that — and that’s the great thing about having a team is that they brought me back to Earth.
KM: What’s been your favorite look you’ve styled Benito in?
MDL: Honestly this last weekend. I loved the salsa look with the red jacket. The team was laughing because everyone asked about that red jacket and I got it at the mall in Puerto Rico for $100 and it looked like a million bucks. And the pants were Uniqlo.
KM: Unbelievable. I could have sworn it was designer. My mind is blown.
SP: The music video for “Ignorantes” was my favorite. He wore a jacket from the Soloist. I had styled him a couple times before that, but that was the video that I did where all of a sudden people were like, “Bad Bunny’s dressing differently now.”
KM: It felt like day and night. You elevated him and everyone started to take notes on what he was wearing.
SP: That’s what you want to hear people say when an artist is getting styled: “Who’s doing this?”
KM: Describe this whole experience in one word.
MDL: Immediately I would say, “Blessings.”
SP: We are so blessed to be able to be friends and make history together, watch it in real time.
MDL: Me and Storm always talk about how our old man stories are going to be crazy — the things we’ve seen, the rooms we’ve been in, what we’ve gotten to experience.
KM: I have one last question for you. Are you happy?
SP: I know I’m happy because I’ve been unhappy in this industry and to be able to be where we are right now, it’s very refreshing.
MDL: I can relate. Emotions fluctuate in this career, especially with this job. We always have a call before we embark on these journeys and are like, “Remember, this was our dream.” We are at a point now where we are older. We have our families, our friends, things that really matter to us and we leave it all behind to come work here. We worked hard to be here and we are getting to experience things that not many people do. Seeing our assistant David get excited when he comes out here, and seeing [our other assistant] Junichi living the dream too — this is why we did this, this is what we work for. I’m thankful for Storm.
KM: Not all of us finishing this interview crying.
MDL: These are tears of happiness. Our lives are changed forever because of this.
SP: Thank you for making us cry.
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