My Journey from DJ to Therapist
The Military Exposed me to the Rave Scene
Ever since high school, I was always interested in live music. I loved the excitement of the band on stage, the buying of the t-shirt at the show, and the listening of loud music pumping from a car stereo sound system to and from the venue. Even when I joined the military after a failed semester of university studies on scholarships, I chose my profession based on where I would be stationed for A-school and if they “had any good shows there”.
Music was and still is a major part of my life. My first duty station in the Navy was onboard the USS Los Angeles, a fast attack submarine out of Pearl Harbor Hawaii, and it was in Honolulu that I became an integral part of the rave scene in the late ’90s. I had heard about raves when I was in high school and even tried going to one locally in South Texas with friends, however never really experienced the thrill of the DJ and the atmosphere.
Joining the military did expose me to rave culture. Stationed in Orlando I visited the Firestone in ’97, just after the Edge closed down, and got my first exposure to the Breakbeat sound that I would go on to base my DJ persona off of. After attending a couple more parties on the East Coast it wasn’t until I ended up in Hawaii that I thought while standing on the dancefloor in a sweaty warehouse that I wanted to “become the DJ”
The Transition
After attending shows and being inspired to join this movement which combined the music I had never heard before, the rebelliousness of youth, and the ultimate cool factor, I was set on my journey to spin records until the sun came up.
Fast forward to 2012, I had been DJing for almost 15 years, starting in Honolulu, Hawaii then headlining a show overseas in Melbourne, Australia after I pitched myself to a street team. It was in Austin, Texas while pursuing my bachelor’s that I found myself at a crossroads. I had spent a considerable amount of time trying to make a living performing while holding down administrative full-time jobs in non-profit development software front-end database management. The DJ pay was a smack in the face in Hawaii and non-existent in Texas for a supporting DJ. The dream had faded and I went back home to South Texas to sort through life.
Despondent, I searched for answers. At the time my grandmother was also living with us and had Alzheimer’s. I visited her in the hospital and from that moment knew that I wanted to work in one. But how and why?
When I would DJ I used to think of the vinyl I “spun” as emotions, evoking a certain feeling in those on the dancefloor and giving them euphoria, not already enhanced by the massive drug scene. Now I wanted to heal others on a one-to-one basis and help the downtrodden. I purchased the career guide, “What Color is Your Parachute” by Richard Bolles, a book I had heard about in business school as an undergrad, and searched for answers there.
After finishing that book and working through the exercises, career choices were before me. In addition to working through the career guidance, I had taken the Myers Briggs several times and found that my extroversion had changed to introversion. I had also taken a 16pf personality assessment with a psychologist in Austin. I was drawn to these personality assessments even in high school, then ENFP now INFP.
Also drawn to mental health because of previous life experience from 2003–2005 which I call my “lost years”, I started to see a path open up to me. Not a stranger to therapy, I envisioned myself pursuing a PsyD, wanting a practice of my own and serving as a guide for others and their struggles with mental health. I didn’t pursue the PsyD, thinking my GPA was not high enough but settled for pursuing a Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling locally at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. The mantra from Teddy Roosevelt, “Do what you can with what you got where you are” rang in my head, opting out of running away from my small town again to the big city to pursue options. This was the best career decision I had ever made.
A Foray into Mental Health
I started my employment as a Mental Health Technician at Corpus Christi’s prominent psychiatric facility Bayview Behavioral Hospital. There, I assisted the nurses with floor operations and witnessed firsthand the reality of psychosis, suicidality, and drug and alcohol addiction. I worked through grad school there for over 3 years until I graduated, got married, and became a father.
After graduation I worked for the other psych hospital in town, Spohn Memorial for about a year then tried out working for a practice in the community before landing a position which I currently hold at Texas A&M University-Kingsville in the Counseling Service arm of Student Health and Wellness.
My main motivation to become a therapist and telling my story of trying to make it in the music industry as an aid to land me a position. I found my situation to be unique and a great life journey.
To further my vindication of correct career choice based on my personality, I found that an artist whose work I respect, British native Matthew Benjamin aka Bushwacka of Layo & Bushwacka fame, had also made the transition to becoming a therapist from working in the music industry for 30 years. I saw him perform in Melbourne Australia at the Two Tribes festival in 2003 and he was one of my favorite artists, owning several of his slabs of vinyl.
This transition from DJ to a therapist was a natural progression that I have enjoyed. I take painful experiences from my past to serve as an uplifting story for others, like the hermit that guides others through the use of his lantern through the dense fog. This is my gift to the world now, one client at a time.
