Born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, Catalyst was raised an only child to Southern Baptist parents. Other than a year in Germany on scholarship, he remained there until he attended Hendrix College, where he started As If magazine and received a Bachelors in English with honors distinction. Upon graduation, Catalyst went to San Francisco, where he earned a Master of Arts in Writing degree from the University of San Francisco. He said he knew he was gay from a young age, but identifies with the term queer in regards to his orientation.

Writing in the LA Weekly, Linda Immediato called Catalyst a "Midwestern ex—meth head who came to L.A. by way of San Francisco, where he was a goth art-club darling ... the most photographed model of the underground." In Los Angeles in the 1990s "he became the most sought-after nightclub... guest-list gatekeeper, wooed by seemingly every hip promoter in the city."

His awards include the Isaac Andrew Campbell Memorial Prize for Poetry, The Congress/Bundestag Scholarship, First Place in the San Francisco Levi-Strauss "Poetry Slam", First Place in the Mixed Media category, Second Place in the Short Story category, and Second Place in Poetry for the annual Murphy Foundation Programs in Literature and Language competitions.

In 2000 Manic D Press published Catalyst's book Cottonmouth Kisses, which developed a cult following. The first section of the book, Caresses Soft As Sandpaper, was originally a chapbook published independently by Catalyst. Cottonmouth Kisses went into its second printing in 2007, when it was described as a "cult hit."

While touring together in the year 2000, Catalyst and artist Michelle Tea came up with the idea to solicit first-person narratives for their 2004 anthology Pills, Thrills, Chills and Heartache. Described by literary magazine Publishers Weekly as a "celebrat[ion of] the avant-garde," the book reached #10 on the Los Angeles Times non-fiction paperback bestseller list in its first week of release. Moreover, the book was a 2004 Lambda Literary Awards finalist in the Anthologies/Fiction category.

In 2004, Catalyst and writing partner Darren Stein co-created a proposed drama The Flyover States in a development deal with Touchstone/ABC.As an associate show producer, he worked for three cycles (2005—2006) on the reality series America's Next Top Model.

In the 2007 short film In the Spotlight, Catalyst was cast opposite Guinevere Turner as a charlatan named Bell Wartock. Catalyst also appeared in Darren Stein's 2007 short Color Me Olsen in a small role as an Oompa-Loompa impersonator. He also plays the role of Járéd Silver...a parody of Catalyst's close friend, the designer Jared Gold--in Lisa Hammer's feature film, POX.

In February 2008, Catalyst won the first place for TV Host in CBS's Big Shot Live contest. His role for the followup winner's episode was red carpet commentator for the 50th Grammy Awards. In November 2008, Catalyst had a cameo as the stylist for Antoine de Caunes in Allez a L.A.!, a five-part series that ran on the French Cable Network Canal Plus. In March, 2009, Catalyst appeared as a special guest in an episode of the reality television series Germany's Next Topmodel, hosted by Heidi Klum.

As 'Himself', Catalyst appeared in a celluloid version of the off-musical comedy Forever Plaid, shown nationwide in theatres for one night in 2009 to celebrate the play's 20th anniversary. However, his recent role as 'The Writer' in Matthew Mishory's short "A Childhood Portrait of Derek Jarman" has been screening at festivals around the world since its premiere on September 5, 2009 at the Portobello Film Festival in London, including the 2009 Raindance Film Festival in London, as well as Microvision's ShowMX series at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. "Delphinium" won the Eastman Kodak Grand Prize for Best Short Film at the 2010 United States Super 8 and DV Film Festival.

Catalyst has also been cast in Matthew Mishory's feature, Portland, as "Sid - the Emcee." Initially scheduled to commence production in early 2009, due to the untimely demise of the film's male lead--David Carradine--mere days before filming, the film has now been scheduled for pre-production in 2010..

Ramzi Abed's psychological thriller Noirland is still listed as "in production," though from press the film has already generated, Catalyst is credited in the role of 'The Baron.' Conversely, in Hilary Goldberg's experimental cross-genre feature recLAmation (2010), he has the role of 'Gaylord Wilshire [a] Queer Superhero.'

Catalyst has appeared as a spoken word performer at events including the Bumbershoot festival, Outfest, the Dark Arts Festival, Writers With Drinks,and Convergence 9.

Catalyst has had a variety of modeling assignments, including appearances on the covers of books, including The Best of Alice Joanou and the anthology Sons of Darkness: Tales of Men, Blood and Immortality. In March 2008, Catalyst was chosen to appear in a national Peta2 "Fur Is Dead" campaign. Moreover, From May 3-August 31, 2008, a portrait of Catalyst, along with a filmed version of his spoken word/performance piece "To Push Away Or Clutch" was on display in The Andy Warhol Museum (Pittsburgh, PA). Deemed an 'Uberstar'--along with designer Rami Kashou, photographer Dirk Mai, journalist Rose Apodaca and internet celebrity Cory Kennedy--Catalyst was hand-picked by sculptor/visual artist Glenn Kaino to represent his 21st Century take on Andy Warhol's Superstars.

Catalyst was a celebrity judge for the Asian Pacific AIDS Alliance Quest Beauty Pageant and was hired by Paper Magazine as a judge for Audrey Kuenstler's 'High Fashion Wrestling' event. He has also been hired as a guest host for magazine release parties and social events - he was Buzznet's official red carpet host for the 2007 Emmy Awards.

Catalyst has been described as the "muse" for avant-garde designer Jared Gold, and has worked as an event producer for some of Gold's fashion shows. In November 2009, the duo released their first collaborative design effort: a set of prize ribbons with awards such as "Epic" and "Hedonist."