Chi Cheng was born on July 15, 1970, the son of Chinese immigrants. Like most California kids at his age, he was a skateboarder, which is how Stephen and him first met. Although they shared similar social circles, Stephen and Chi didn't become friends until the accident that led Stephen to pick up his guitar again. Chi too was a musician, and had been playing the bass guitar since his early teens. His elder brother Robert had given Chi his guitar... handing it over when he realized his younger sibling had much more natural ability than he did. Since then Robert has been a strong supporter of Chi's musical career, and sometimes accompanies the Deftones on their tours. Chi's first inspiration was British metal band Iron Maiden, and they remained his primary influence. Although he wasn't averse to more contemporary acts. Stephen introduced him to the new wave of American heavy metal, and it wasn't long before a musical partnership was formed. Practicing in Stephen's garage, the two friends began learning as many songs as possible, focusing on recent rock hits. Soon the limitations of bass and guitar began to annoy them, and the pair started searching for a drummer... and happened to stumble onto Abe Cunningham...