Professional independence can be liberating for any creative. But for tour direction pro Martinez and his collaborators, Kevin and Tyler Henry, it was an obstacle. “I remember saying to the guys, ‘We’re never going to work with the top artists in the world if we’re just freelancing,’ ” Martinez says of the 18 months he and the Henry brothers spent doing gig work in the mid-2010s. “ ‘We need to create some momentum for this thing we’re creating.’ ”

Their creation: Los Angeles-based production house STURDY., which has made a name for itself designing and directing shows for some of the world’s biggest artists.

“There was a lot of middlemanning,” Martinez says of another impetus behind launching it in 2018. “The middlemen in those situations were not understanding what it was that the artist wanted, and my goal is always just to understand what it is they want and help elevate that.”

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Martinez and STURDY. have applied this thinking to collaborating with one of the most inventive artists on the planet. After working on a 2020 Apple Music performance for Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican superstar’s team reached out to STURDY. to help assemble his P FKN R shows at San Juan’s Estadio Hiram Bithorn in late 2021, which marked Bad Bunny’s return to the stage following the coronavirus touring shutdown. The two-night event cost over $10 million to stage, according to Noah Assad Presents and Move Concerts, the producers of the shows, and proved STURDY.’s ability to deliver for Bad Bunny.

“They needed a tent team, so we reconnected and the rest is history,” says Martinez, 36. Since, STURDY. has worked on the Grammy winner’s 2022 treks El Último Tour del Mundo and World’s Hottest Tour, his 2023 Grammys and Coachella performances, his history-making 2025 No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí residency at San Juan’s José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum and his latest tour, DeBí TiRAR MáS FOToS, a 57-show run that ended July 22 and became the highest-grossing and best-selling tour ever to not play the United States. Bad Bunny has now grossed more than $1 billion across his career — the first Latin artist and the first artist who doesn’t perform in English to do so. The enduring partnership has validated Martinez’s initial mission statement for STURDY.

Bad Bunny’s No Me Quiero Ir De Aqui residency. Eric Rojas

In 2022, another major Puerto Rican star, Rauw Alejandro, reached out directly to STURDY. on Instagram to help with his live shows. STURDY. worked on Alejandro’s 2022 Billboard Awards performance in Las Vegas, his Saturno tour, assorted festival performances and 2025’s high-concept Cosa Nuestra tour, which grossed $117.3 million and sold 869,000 tickets in 2025, more than double his previous career best. “It’s become a relationship,” Martinez says of his work with Alejandro. “There’s a lot of creative respect there and I love his music. I’m very lucky to be able to work with artists that I actually listen to.”

Looking ahead, Martinez says STURDY. plans to become “a three-headed monster,” covering creative direction and design in the live space, creative design in music and album campaigns and focusing on experiential. As fans are paying more and expecting more from live shows, STURDY. plans to help artists make them bigger and better. “What we’re seeing a lot more of,” Martinez says, “is artists caring about executing and building their world on a much greater scale than we’ve ever seen before.”

This story appears in the Aug. 1, 2026, issue of Billboard.