David was a photography student in Los Angeles who saw Angel in action during his early days in Los Angeles. Impressed at the power and authority Angel demonstrated, David went on to set himself up as a faux Angel, creating his own office and going to great lengths to mimic Angel's look (Albeit to ridiculous excess, such as his being gelled to a ridiculous spiky appearance that prompted Cordelia to reflect that he could use his hair as a weapon), claiming to his clients that he was the "real" Angel while the Hyperion Hotel was the "secondary" office with a "doppelganger" on staff to draw attention away from him.