Louis Posen (born 1971) is an American, Los-Angeles-based, record producer and the founder of both Hopeless Records and

Sub City Records Sub City Records is a record label which was created by Louis Posen and Hopeless Records to raise funding and awareness for non-profit organizations. Sub City has been active since 1999, and has now over 30 releases. The label has donated over $2 ...

. Posen is known as the “Paul Newman of punk rock” for his philanthropic efforts.

Early life

Born in 1971, Louis Posen grew up in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, United States. At age 15 he developed a passion for punk rock music after attending a concert by X at the

Reseda Country Club Reseda Country Club was a nightclub and multi-purpose venue located on Sherman Way in Reseda, California. The building started off as a Sav-On drug store in the 1950s and later became a music venue in 1980 when Chuck Landis purchased the site. ...

. As a child and teenager, he also had a love for film, and he enrolled at California State University, Northridge as a film studies major, hoping to eventually become a filmmaker. However, his career plans were derailed by a diagnosis of

retinitis pigmentosa Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a genetic disorder of the eyes that causes loss of vision. Symptoms include trouble seeing at night and decreasing peripheral vision (side and upper or lower visual field). As peripheral vision worsens, people may ...

at age 19, and he gravitated toward a music career.

Career

Posen founded Hopeless Records in 1993 in Van Nuys in the San Fernando Valley region of

after filming a music video with the punk rock band

Guttermouth Guttermouth is an American punk rock band formed in 1988 in Huntington Beach, California and currently recording for Rude Records. They have released nine full-length studio albums and two live albums and have toured extensively, including perfor ...

. He used $1,000 in savings and a self-help book on starting a record label to begin the business, which later signed bands such as

The Wonder Years ''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age comedy/drama television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol Black. It ran on ABC from January 31, 1988, until May 12, 1993. The series premiered immediately after ABC's coverage of Super ...

Yellowcard Yellowcard is an American rock band that formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1997 and was based in Los Angeles beginning in 2000. The band is recognized for having a distinct sound in their genre, primarily due to the prominent use of a violin ...

Avenged Sevenfold Avenged Sevenfold (abbreviated as A7X) is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist M. Shadows, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Zacky Vengeance ...

Thrice Thrice is an American rock band from Irvine, California, formed in 1998. The group was founded by guitarist/vocalist Dustin Kensrue and lead guitarist Teppei Teranishi while they were in high school. Early in their career, the band was known ...

The Used The Used is an American rock band from Orem, Utah, that formed in 2001. The group consists of vocalist Bert McCracken, bassist Jeph Howard, drummer Dan Whitesides, and guitarist Joey Bradford. Former members include Quinn Allman, Branden S ...

Taking Back Sunday Taking Back Sunday is an American rock band from Long Island, New York. The band was formed by guitarist Eddie Reyes and bassist Jesse Lacey in 1999. The band's members currently are Adam Lazzara (lead vocals), John Nolan (lead guitar, keybo ...

, and

All Time Low All Time Low is an American rock band from Towson, Maryland, formed in 2003. Consisting of lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist Alex Gaskarth, lead guitarist Jack Barakat, bassist/backing vocalist Zack Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson, the band to ...

. In 1999 Posen started

, which has raised over $2.5 million for non-profit organizations, including groups that support blindness research, mental health, and suicide prevention. As part of his quest to create awareness for suicide prevention, Posen founded the

Take Action Tour The Take Action Tour is an annual spring tour that not only hosts several bands, but also tries to get people alerted about the issues with teen suicide, and ultimately tries to prevent it. The tour was created by both Sub City and Hopeless Reco ...

. Both Hopeless Records and Sub City Records give at least 5% of their profits to charity.

Personal life

In 1994, a botched operation on his eye left Posen

legally blind Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...

. He is married with one child.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Posen, Louis 1971 births Living people Record producers from California California State University, Northridge alumni People from Los Angeles American blind people