Born on September 20th, 1953 near Hamburg. Studies of Visual Communication in Wuppertal, then free-lance graphic artist. 1983/84 two years in New York (ad agency), then founding of own agency.
Since 1986 active in the fetish scene as a publisher of fetish magazines (German Skin Two, <O>, Marquis, Heavy Rubber, Terminatrix, Megaboobs, Marquis Style) and books (Bizarre Beauty, Dita – Fetish Goddess, Fetish Divas, Vintage Dita, Superdolls), editor, author, photographer, producer and director of roundabout 50 fetish videos (Fetish Academy series, White Room series, Rubber Discipline series, Transparent Dreams series, Dita High on Heels, etc.), organizer of fetish events (Terminatrix, Art Bizarre, Ball Bizarre, Night of Marquis, Night of O.), and designer of latex fashion collections. Since the mid-1990s, focussing on fetish photography.
"I'm into all kinds of things — latex above all, plastic, vinyl, corsets, high heels, ballet shoes, ponyplay, masks, gags, inflatables, vacbeds, big boobs, nylons, feet, ass worship, you name it. After well over 3,000 shootings, with more than 500 models, and over 500,000 photos in my archive, I think I know how it's done."
His early shootings with Dita von Teese ("Vintage Dita", 2008) have made him famous outside the fetish scene. Czernich is one of the best known fetish photographers worldwide.
Career
- 1975–78 — Studies of Visual Communication, free-lance graphic designer
- 1979–82 — Self-employed advertising graphics artist
- 1983–84 — Creative Director in New York
- 1985 — Own advertising agency
- 1986 — Premiere issue "Skin Two – Deutsche Ausgabe"
- 1989 — Premiere issue <O> – Fashion, Fetish, Fantasy
- 1989–94 — Editor and publisher of <O> until issue no. 23; Ball Bizarre (Wuppertal, Munich), Terminatrix show (Flora, Cologne) and Night of O.; latex and vinyl fashion collections; director of various video productions, a.o. White Room
- 1994 — Premiere issue Marquis
- 1995 — Editor and publisher of Marquis; Night of Marquis; Art Bizarre three-day fair for fetish art and fashion (Cologne)
- 1996 — Premiere issue Terminatrix (magazine for fetish art and comics)
- 1997 — Premiere issue Heavy Rubber
- 1998 — VENUS Fetish Award
- 1999 — Purchase of the company building in Solingen
- 2000–01 — Construction of a large photo studio in Solingen
- 2013/14 — Sale of Marquis Fashion and the domain marquis.de
- 2015 — Sale of Marquis (trade marks, magazines etc.)
- 2018 — Getting back the rights to Marquis
- 2019 — Licensing/sale to Andreas Reichardt (U-BOOKS)
Magazines
- German Skin Two — 1986–1987
- <O> Magazin — 1987–1994
- Marquis — 1994–2019
- Heavy Rubber — 1996–2019
- Marquis Photospecials — 1998–2005
- Megaboobs — 2007
- Penthouse Deutschland — 2007 (cover)
- Playboy Deutschland — December 2008
- Bizarre Magazine (UK) — 2007–2008 (column)
Books (single author)
- Bizarre Beauty — Marquis, 1996
- Superdolls — Edition Reuss, 2004
- Fetish 101 — Hylas, New York, 2006 (German edition Bassermann, 2007)
- Vintage Dita — Skylight, Zürich, 2008
- Fetish Photography — Marquis, 2012
- Heavy Rubber Book — Marquis Edition, 2014
- White Room Book — Marquis Edition, 2015
- Dominatrix — self-published, 2017
- Fetish Fashion — self-published, 2018
- Fetish Academy — self-published, 2021
- Dita von Teese – The Early Shootings — self-published, 2023
- The American Shootings — Marquis, 2025
Books (several authors, excerpt)
- Sex – Take a Walk on the Wild Side — Carlton, 2002
- Burlesque & the Art of the Teese — Harper Collins, 2006
- Fetish Dreams — Skylight, Zürich, 2008
Exhibitions (excerpt)
- Art Bizarre — 1999
- Erotic Art Museum Hamburg — 2001
- Art Bizarre Essen — 2006
- WAVE Gallery, Brescia, Italy — 2011
- GO Gallery, Amsterdam — 2013
- Etienne's Art Gallery, Luxembourg — 2017
Events & Shows (excerpt)
- Terminatrix Cyber-Fetish-Show, Flora Cologne — 1992
- Marquis Ninja Show, Essen — 2016
- Peter & Friends – A Collection of Fetish Icons, Avantgardista Munich — 2025
Press & Interviews
Four decades of interviews, in their original language — read them here.