His popularity was built on a combination of intelligent song lyrics and energetic, wild stage performances. In this early stage of his career he chose his haircut and outfit to resemble Morrissey from "The Smiths". At 1988 Zagreb Fest, Dvornik first made a name for himself when he received the award for best debutant for his song "Tebi pripadam" (I Belong To You). The very same year he released his first solo album, self-titled "Dino Dvornik" followed by "Kreativni nered" in 1989. Both became huge hits and made him a superstar in short time. After two other good albums, a studio and a live album which went unnoticed because of the war in his country, Dvornik finally switched from funk to house music in the mid 1990s. His best-known song from that period is an ode to his hometown Split, "Ništa kontra Splita", which he performed at the prestigious Split Music Festival in 1995 and eventually he won the main award for it. Dino released "Enfant terrible" in 1997, his best selling and most awarded album to date. He has won several Porins, the most famous Croatian music award. Although he loved his hometown Split, he was living mainly in the Croatian capital of Zagreb for professional reasons. Dvornik was a supporter of Croatian football powerhouse Hajduk Split.