After years of the Innsbruck party lifestyle and subsequent drug addiction, AZ 23 broke up with his then-girlfriend, moved out of his house, and spent some time in rehab. During this time, it developed AZ DREI, its alter ego. "I don't want to put too much weight on it, because in some ways it's just a name that I came up with. But I guess if I look deeper, I do feel like I had lost my identity in general. I really didn't know what was going on or who I was anymore. Adopting another name helped me open up an avenue to get back."
AZ23 developed AZ DREI into a messianic figure, saying "It was sent down to Earth to kinda heal and save mankind, but it kept getting distracted by girls and falling in love."