When Steve Holmes shot his first scene in November 1996, at age 35, he was embarking on his third career. As a teenage school dropout in Germany, he started working at a fashion store, and worked his way up to assistant buyer for seven stores. In 1985, he found a second career at a computer show in Munich.

He didn't use a stage name for his third career until a reporter needed one for a story: "He asked me what my stage name was and I said I didn’t have one. He suggested Steve Holmes because I was really skinny, and tall, with a big dick, and he said I reminded him of John Holmes. 'You could be his young brother or cousin.'"

Holmes started working for American companies in Europe in 1999, and came to the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo in 2002. The trip paid off with work in the U.S.. Along with performing, he has produced and directed for companies including Bang Bros, Evil Angel, Legend Video and Red Light District, and since 2015 he has been producer and director of the Public Disgrace website for Kink.com.

"I've shot in Chile, in Brazil, Canada, Israel, Turkey, 21 different countries. I estimate 2,500 scenes. I just hope it continues as long as possible and I enjoy it so much more than at the beginning," Holmes told AVN. "I loved it from the first moment."