“A film that has meaning to me when it comes to a particular moment in my life is Step up 2: The Streets (2008). The movie was about a group of dancers who competed against other dance groups. Before they were good dancers they weren’t a group yet. It was kind of like that with me when I wanted to become a DJ. I began to play music on my own. I tried to learn the styles so I could be a DJ at parties. If you compare that to Step up 2, it was all about dance battles and eventually they formed groups. They did have fights afterwards and they hit a low point. I had the same. Then again I never had a team, but when I was asked to be the DJ for my first gig ever it went really bad. That was about three or four years ago and it happened at No Limit. The preparations went really well and I was excited to do my first gig and then all of a sudden everything went wrong. I don’t know what caused it, but at that moment I lost control. My sense of music was gone. I could not find the songs that I wanted to play. So I was totally lost. I noticed that people stopped enjoying the music and they began to leave the dance hall. It was a very shocking experience to me, because I had invested so much time and effort for this gig and then it all got ruined. I saw the same thing happening with Step Up 2. When their group disbanded they were all down and saddened. In my case, there was nobody around me and I fell in a deep pitfall that caused me to ask myself if I still wanted to continue being a DJ. It took me a while to get over it. Back then I used to be a more closed person so I wouldn’t really talk about my feelings. I kept them mostly to myself. I did not have many people around me who’d give me a push in the back to motivate me to keep on going.”
“I was very mad and annoyed. Every moment that I thought of how bad things went it would just stay on my mind, which is why it lasted so long to lose these feelings. I would watch Step Up 2 and when I saw that they eventually came back together to participate with a dance battle which they nailed. It motivated me, because things can’t always go the right way in life. Sometimes you have bad moments. Especially with people who try to develop their talents. You will not immediately be at the top, sometimes you fall really hard and it’s then always great to have people around you. It wasn’t like that in my case, but I’m happy I continued. Nowadays I do have people around me that I can depend on. When things aren’t going as I would have liked, they’ll give me a push in the right direction and when necessary a hug or a good conversation. I do believe that is different with everyone. Some have those people right from the start. Another person meets these people along the way.”
“Years later I am a DJ who plays at a variety of parties, for example Afrolosjes, and I also have been giving DJ lessons for the past two years at No Limit. It is ironic because that is the place where it all went wrong and now I am helping young kids from many different places. Amsterdam, Amstelveen, Utrecht, The Hague and more. It doesn’t matter where they are from as long as they are willing and excited to become a DJ I’ll help them out. And when I see that they are having difficulties with something I’ll be right there for them. I think that is important, because eventually it is not about how good you are, but it is also about the support that you get. It makes you stronger and it gives you more will power to do your utmost best with future gigs. So I’m happy that I’m teaching and I want to motivate everyone who is trying to improve their talents. Continue, even when you hit a low point or if you have nobody to talk to. Never give up, because it may start as a joke or small thing but if you keep working hard for it, it will become a more serious thing. And maybe even your career.” – Adnan
Photo taken by Feargal Agard
Story written by Feargal Agard
