Gary Richards (born December 31, 1970), known by his stage name Destructo, is an American music executive, concert promoter, and DJ. He is the founder and CEO of HARD Events,a concert brand that has put on popular music festivals since 2007, and which was acquired in 2012 by Live Nation Entertainment.He has performed professionally as a DJ under the name Destructo for more than 20 years, having toured around the world. He is credited with being a leader in the Electronic music business in North America, and through his events, has helped bring artists like Deadmau5 and Justice into the mainstream. Richards is included on Rolling Stone's "50 Most Important People in EDM"list, Billboard's "EDM Power Players" lists in 2014and 2015,and inthemix's list of the "50 Most Powerful People in EDM,". As Destructo, he has released three EP's titled Technology,Higher,and West Coast respectively.