As the founder of the Church of Satan in 1966, Anton LaVey became one of the most provocative and visually iconic figures of American counterculture. With his shaved head, goatee, and theatrical presence, he cultivated an image that drew equally from carnival showmanship, occult symbolism, and a deep rejection of postwar moral conformity.
LaVey’s philosophy—rooted in individualism, skepticism, and the inversion of traditional religious authority—found an audience among artists, musicians, filmmakers, and outsiders who saw in his work a form of cultural rebellion rather than literal mysticism. His influence rippled through underground film, glam rock, punk, industrial, and goth scenes, where his imagery and rhetoric became shorthand for anti-establishment attitude and ritualized performance.
