• Hardwell: The Path to #1 DJ in the World

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    There is a new #1 in town!

    Hardwell has just surpassed the legendary Armin van Buuren, who has held the #1 spot for a record 5 times, from 2007-2010 and 2012, as the #1 DJ in the world, according to DJ Mag.

    Hardwell, pictured above with myself and Damian “The Voice of Ultra” Pinto backstage at Ultra Buenos Aires, has had an incredible year. At that show in February 2013, Hardwell told me in an interview that he was taking his career to the next level. He didn’t put it in terms of “#1 DJ in the world”, but he was definitely putting in an amount of time and effort into sets that is somewhat unheard of in the DJ world. In BA, with Ultra Miami still a month away, he had already clocked in weeks on his one hour set. Some DJ’s just wing it for festivals! For those new to the DJ scene, Ultra Miami is a very important festival for the DJ community as it sets the stage for the rest of the year.

    And what a stage Hardwell set.

    With his mainstage performance on Day 2 of the two weekend festival, we at UMF TV had our highlight! Swedish House Mafia also had their last performance as a group at Ultra Miami 2013, but for myself, and many fans out there, this set was clearly something special. The first 20 minutes will leave your mind blown. Consider yourself warned.

    I was on stage during that performance, and not even half way through the set, people were already starting to predict that this 25-year-old from the Netherlands would dethrone the seemingly invincible Armin van Buuren.

    As you can see in this interview after his set, Hardwell clearly knew he had accomplished what he set out to do. It was hard to contain the enthusiasm, myself included. Yes, somehow “mystery” was “history” in my head.

    Hardwell interview after UMF Miami 2013 set from Dis Guy on Vimeo.

    Hardwell was one of my first interviews when I came on board as the live stream host for UMF TV. I have always been impressed by his enthusiasm as well as his willingness to collaborate. Live streaming music festivals is slowly becoming the norm, but when we first came on the scene just in 2012, no one was really doing it. Many of the DJ’s/managers were extremely skeptical and actually refused access to interviews as well as streaming their sets. Hardwell was always very open to it.

    I have to think Hardwell’s attitude to embrace social media has only helped him, and help catapult him into the #1 spot. His set at Ultra Miami 2013 will go down as one of the best of all time, if not most definitely this year. And it was seen all around the world thanks to social media. He literally broke Twitter because 30% of Twitter’s bandwith was used for Hardwell after that set. This I heard directly from Robbert himself, who told me in disbelief about the email he received saying they were shutting his account down until the chatter quieted.

    Hardwell’s rise is a great lesson for many people, regardless of your profession. Not only does he have talent, but he went above and beyond in his work ethic this year, to outstanding results. He’s also embraced social media, seeing it as what it is, a great promotional tool, instead of being afraid of it. Obviously, music and internet have not had the best relationship in the past, but it’s 2013 and the internet is not going anywhere.

    Armin and Hardwell are consistently the two DJ’s who are most available, open, and easy to work with when it comes to live streaming and press coverage. The top guys are clearly on to something…

     

    Congratulations Hardwell on becoming the #1 DJ in the world!

     

    Photo credit: Alejandro Safdie

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    Behind the Scenes with Les Stroud

    Hello from Puerto Rico!!

    I’m here in PR right now for an awesome new survivalist game show called Samsung’s SOS Island: Survival of the Smartest. Eight contestants are marooned on a deserted island and, taking a cue from Survivorman’s Les Stroud, they must survive on the island all while documenting their experiences in real time via their Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom smart phones and Samsung NX cameras. Oh, and the winner gets their own private island!!! That pretty much has to be the coolest grand prize for a game show. Yes, I think it’s a sexier than just straight up cash, even if it is a million dollars.

    This past week the 16 Survivalists have been training with Les, all of which have been livestreamed and can be viewed here. On Friday, Les and I had the chance to get together as the eight finalists were chosen and he handed me the reigns for the start of the competition. Bootcamp is over. Now it’s time to put Les’ training to the test: no food, no shelter, no AC, not even any toilet trees. That toothbrush is going to feel like heaven for our finalists after a few weeks on the island. And in the video above, you see why I have a vested interest in our contestants’ hygiene.

    I was only with Les for a few hours, but I had a great time working with him. You would think he is super intense like he is in his show, and while he’s really passionate about teaching our survivalists, he is also really laid back and has an excellent sense of humor. If you don’t know who he is, check him out on The Discovery and Science Channel; what he does is incredible.

    The behind the scenes video above was taken by Graham Hughes, one of the eight Survivalists. The still shots below are courtesy of SOS Island.

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    Les Stroud and I talking to the eight finalists.

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    Explaining to the Survivalists about the challenges ahead.

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    Les training the Survivalists shortly before the elimination.

  • 7 Myths of a Juice Cleanse

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    Myth: They’re Kind of Expensive

    Truth: They’re REALLY expensive

    Three days cost me over $165. And I was told that was cheap! Do you know how many steaks I could eat with $165? More than my now shrunk-ified tummy could handle.

     

    Myth: You’ll Have Diarrhea

    Truth: It’s Much Worse

    It hurts to type this. Do you know what Sharting is? I now know what it is. I. am. so. very. ashamed.

     

    Myth: Mmm, They Taste Good!

    Truth: Have You Ever Tried Chlorophyll H2O?

    Oh, you haven’t had the pleasure? Please, do look at the diagram below:

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    Myth: The First Day is the Hardest

    Truth: It’s an Even Tie!

    Sure, the first day hurt the most as my stomach was shrinking itself.. and screaming while at it. I have to give the little guy some credit, he’s a howler! Then, everything starts to hurt: my brain for trying to think without carbs, my bladder for constantly being filled to the max, and my soul for being so weak compared to all these other LA girls who make starving look so easy.

     

    Fotor0918132832Myth: You’re Skin Will Glow

    Truth: Your Skin Will Glow… Around that Giant Zit in the Middle of your Face

    The whole point of this social experiment is to purge your body of all the harmful toxins that have accumulated over the years. Since your skin is your body’s largest organ, the toxins purge not just through your bladder, but also through your skin, causing you to look gorgeous break out. You do end up having beautiful skin and very white eyes, but there are a few “bumps” in the road.

    Translation: It’s like having a facial, except you don’t get any of the gooey moisturizer, heated-to-perfection towels, extra neck message or relaxing East Asian music that you get at a spa. I could eat that gooey moisturizer right now.

     

     

    Myth: You’ll Be Happy You Did It

    Truth: You Will Be the Skinniest Pregnant Person

    Sure, I was skinny. But you know what else I was? I was pregnant- minus the fetus- and exhibiting symptoms of what normally would be caused by hormonal changes without the intellectual ability to actually articulate my anger/frustration/irritability. I went to the bathroom approximately every 20 minutes. And yes, that included 4 times during a movie while on a date. I don’t suggest going on dates during a cleanse.

     

    Myth: “By day five, you’ll have more energy than you ever thought possible. You’ll crave broccoli instead of bread. Your clothes will fit more loosely. Your skin will glow.” — Lauren Conrad

    Truth: Only if your name is Lauren Conrad.

    Ahh, if only life were as easy as it seemed on The Hills. #LAGirlProblems

     

  • I’m in a Music Video

     

    Usually I am starring in parody music videos, but this time around I am in an actual music video. Sure, it was difficult trying to be serious for a change, but don’t worry, I got this whole “sleeping beauty” thing down.

    Special thanks to Baby E for a great day on set. I had the honor of listening to both versions of “Sugar Don’t Let Me Down”– one with auto-tune and one without- and they both rock. I look forward to more from him in the future!

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    Ultra Miami 2013 Official Aftermovie

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    “A perfect 17-minute after-movie masterpiece,” is what the Miami New Times called the Ultra Miami 2013 Aftermovie. And I can’t agree more, although we can agree to disagree on the spelling of aftermovie. I have watched it several times and experienced the symptoms of many of my peers: goosebumps, elation, excitement, awe, and, yes, even sadness.

    Ultra is arguably the most important music festival in the EDM world. It is held during Miami Music Week and the Winter Music Conference, when the annual IDMA Awards (International Dance Music Awards) are given out. Translation: it’s like the Grammy’s of the DJ world. It’s held in March, unofficially kicking off the summer music festival season. It is pretty much the only time during the calendar year when all the DJ’s are in the same place at the same time- most of these guys go in and out of countries within hours. And with all those eyeballs, a DJ’s set at Ultra can set the tone for the entire year – good or bad.

    This year was even more important as it was Ultra’s 15th year on the block. We went big, as we most definitely were not going home without a party. Ultra became the first EDM festival to cover two weekends, with a record breaking 330,000 people in attendance. And at UMF TV, we wanted to break some records of our own… which we did. We became the most viewed festival event in North America to date, with 10 million unique viewers; over 200,000 of which viewed concurrently for Swedish House Mafia’s final set, making it the highest concurrent number of views for any US non-sponsored music stream, as declared by YouTube.

    For me, personally, Ultra Miami 2013 was the culmination of a whirlwind year. I moved to Los Angeles in March of 2011 as an aspiring TV Host. I gave myself a year to turn that aspiration into a reality. Exactly one year later, in March of 2012, Charly Friedrichs aka Final Kid, the mastermind behind the masterpiece, randomly saw my demo reel online and e-mailed me to be the new UMF TV host. In fact, he had to e-mail twice as I didn’t receive the first e-mail! Damn you, Spam! It was a dream job. I was literally looking at flights to go to Ultra! So, to not only be going there, but to be the host, was truly an honor and a no-brainer.

    Then, EDM exploded and so did Ultra. I remember speaking to some of the guys about my travel goals for 2012, specifically Ibiza and Buenos Aires. By May, I had been to both, thanks to Ultra. While I cannot confirm this, I strongly believe I booked my other dream- being an MTV VJ– because of my experience and expertise in the music world via Ultra. By the end of the year, I had to think of new dreams as I had accomplished everything that I thought was once so unattainable! (I totally feel like a self-help book writing that.)

    So while many people experienced the symptoms above because of the incredibly cinematic genius that is Charly’s work, I experienced those on a different level. Goosebumps, elation, awe, excitement, and, yes, a hint of sadness that such an amazing year had come to an end. If you follow me on my various social medias, you know the journey still continues with Ultra – and is only going to be getting bigger! – but I guess, nothing compares to your first time, right? It was my first year living my dream- owning it and breathing in every moment – and I couldn’t be more thankful to an organization and the dance community for embracing me and making those dreams come true.

    Without further sappiness, here is Relive Ultra 2013: The Official Aftermovie. You will notice a familiar face around the 3:40 mark.

     

     

    And here is my own recap! My behind-the-scenes video of what went down at Ultra Miami 2013 on the day of Swedish House Mafia’s last set.

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