Risk One can do it all, from teaching himself to play the piano by ear as a child to wearing the hats of manager, booking agent, web designer and travel agent. As a kid growing up he attended an after school program for teens where he learned to deejay. His mentor pushed him to enter battles and ultimately lead him to produce music and make beats of his own.
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Though Risk had a passion for music at an early age he didn’t plan on making a career out of it until later in life, ” I was always a visual artist. I used to draw all through grade school, which eventually led to a few years of graffiti. I was convinced I was [going to] do graphic design for a living, and was headed down that path. I started the design program at University of Washington, but it was wack so I switched majors my junior year. I also realized I didn’t want to sit behind a desk all day and work for other people, so I transitioned my focus. I came to a crossroads after college where I was offered a 70k web design position at a big company, but it would be 40hrs a week and very little creative freedom. I passed on the job and decided to go for broke with deejaying,” explained Risk.
Clearly he made the right choice with deejaying; his success and reputation has lead him around the world to deejay in well known clubs in various and exciting locales. Though he has had opportunities to travel to many corners of the world he doesn’t mind being close to home; “some of my favorite places to play are really close to home; San Francisco and San Diego are among the best nightlife in the country in my opinion.”
Jetting back and forth can have its perks such as copious amounts of air miles which he uses for last minute flights among other things– make sure you sit next to him if you catch him on a Southwest flight, “I have a ridiculous stack of Southwest drink vouchers if anyone wants to get wasted on the plane with me sometime.”
Most well known deejays are male but Risk has a lot of respect for the females in the industry so long as they use their talents to earn their success not their sex appeal. I have some really good female deejay friends that are dope. The only thing I disagree with is exploiting your gender and body parts to get ahead. If you have to wear a bikini top and pink headphones to get booked, you belong on a stage swinging from a dirty brass pole. Also, don’t settle for being good “for a girl”. That’s not a compliment. Respect to all the female deejays that have a reputation for their skills and branding.” Ladies in the booth as fans are a different story though, “If you are cool and don’t touch anything, then its all good. It can add to the vibe if you have girls getting loose in the booth. However, when they start wanting to wear headphones, choose songs, and scratch records, they get booted with the quickness.”
His deejay career has been dotted with amazing gigs but when asked about his proudest moment in music Risk answered; “one big one was recent, getting a Las Vegas billboard for my gig at HAZE. I think that’s one of those things that almost every deejay has on their bucket list. Something about seeing your name in lights right off the freeway, in size 5000 font. Pretty awesome stuff. Tons of deejays play in Vegas but not everyone gets their own billboard, ever.”
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