I always want to make a show that's unique to me. The Guinness Book of World Records most traveled musician on the planet. Having you in my life for the last couple of years has really allowed me to go, wow, this is how I can optimize even further the ability to share these experiences. That is a core of being the ultimate human. Everyone's like, damn, you're tired. Are you going to do the show? I'm like, don't worry, just watch what happens. And.

You mean?

Hey guys, welcome back to The Ultimate Human Podcast. I'm your host, Gary Breck, a human biologist, where we go down the road of everything anti-aging, longevity, biohacking and everything in between. Today, we've got a really, really special guest. The entire podcast could really be the intro to this man's life, all the accomplishments he's had, his his absolute stratospheric rise to stardom, and his ability to maintain his level of dominance in a very competitive injury industry for a very long period of time. He's a two time Grammy nominated producer, DJ, electric electronic dance music entrepreneur and founder of the trendsetting record label, events lifestyle company and apparel line Dmcc. Denmark Records has been the launch pad for some seminal acts like The Chainsmokers, Block Party, The Bloody Beetroots and The Gossip. I mean, these are things that when I did some research for this podcast, I was absolutely blown away. He started Denmark in 1996 and a college dorm room. The rumor is that he named it from. To pay homage to his childhood superhero, Bruce Lee.

His career has boasted some incredible genre discography that includes seven studio albums, collaborations with Lil Uzi Vert, Maluma, beats, Linkin Park, Louis Tomlinson amongst many, many, many others. Born in Miami, grew up in California and Newport Beach, went to UC Santa Barbara. He actually graduated with two degrees, two BA degrees, one in feminist studies and the other in sociology. In college he produced This is hilarious. He produced do it yourself records and ran underground concerts out of his living room. So this has just been in his blood for a long time. And a little fun fact his father, Rocky Aoki, was a former Olympic wrestler and founded the restaurant chain Benihana so I could not be more proud to bring to the Bring to the Ultimate Human podcast, my good friend Steve Aoki. Welcome to the podcast.

Thank you. Thank you.

It's it's super to be here and this room. I wish we could actually show some images as this room, but I mean, this is the coolest studio I've ever been in in my life. I appreciate that. I mean, so tell me about this place. I mean, it's.

Well, it's got a name, so I call it the Neon Future Cave. Okay? And it's when I moved to Vegas, you know, it was important that I build out a studio and I was looking for studios outside of my home. But then I found the ultimate home, which turned into my compound creative space. And. And then I saw at the basement level, the bunker level of the house. Yeah. I was like, oh, that's the cave. Most people take.

A man cave down here. But yeah, this entire house is a giant man cave. Yeah, it really is. You really feel like you're 13 again running around here? I mean, not only all the biohacking stuff, the cold punches, the pools, the saunas, the red light therapy, the PMF, the oxygen. I mean, he has it all. Which is why I'm a huge fan of yours and been part of this journey with you, which has just been amazing. But, I mean, he's got the foam pad launches in there, he's got a gym. He's got every arcade game known to mankind. Like, if you want to ride the pandemic out, this is the place. This is the best house for that.

This is absolutely the best house. We we had activities from like 9 a.m. till 12 a.m..

So the pandemic didn't bother you at all?

You know, because my family also my my mom lives around the corner. Yeah. So my mom and my sister circle around the corner and and and then my girlfriend at the time, she just ended up moving here from LA because it was just there's nothing to do in LA. Yeah. So we just had like breathwork for an hour, then yoga, then meditation, then cold plunges and sauna. Yeah. Then like we eat healthy, we, we just like did like the healthiest routine as a family. But there would be like, six of us lying on the ground doing breathwork, and then we'd get into meditation pose and then we.

Just it's so awesome. It was actually a really.

Really fun.

Time for crazy fun facts about this house. I mean, it's the deepest pool in the state of Nevada, maybe even in the country.

Yeah. Because, well, it's like it's usually like for the ten feet deep Olympic sized pools. Yeah. They only go to like 10 to 12ft deep.

Because know even when they're diving off the high board. Yeah.

After 30, 33ft ten ten meter high board. And here it's like 22ft 2120 two feet. And so it's a lot less than a ten meter. But I had the ability to go further. So I was like, let's go. Let's go four more feet further because it was at 12. And they're like, okay, good. We haven't hit the stone that you can't break through. Yeah. And which you can find in various parts of Las Vegas. And we're like, let's just make it 16. So I could do like, you know, my like just like, you know, scuba.

Diving training like you. Really. I mean, feel free to blow your eardrums down there. Yeah. And then you turn the water feature into a cold plunge. Right. What was that? It was. It was actually just a water feature. Yeah.

So, like, I hate you having useless space, you know, at least it's like. Yeah, it was a great thing for just something to see, but I'm like, this will be a great, you know, not necessary because I don't even use a Jacuzzi. But this would be a great cold feature, a cold, cold plunge feature because it holds 20 people at least. Yeah, and I have my solo tanks, which are great. Yeah, but the the party, I call it the party plunge.

Yeah, that is a party punch. So what's the highest number of people that you've had in the cold plunge out there? Because I've seen some social media. Yeah.

Yeah. Throw Steve-O in there. But like Thanksgiving. That was a funny one because we had 23 people come over to Thanksgiving. I got all 23 in the cold plunge.

Oh my God.

And they had no idea. They come. They come to have dinner. They're wearing, like, you know, their Thanksgiving. Nice clothes, like some like, you know, like my, my little niece.

Fell down in their underwear. I'm like.

Guys, after we eat at, like 11 p.m., you know, it's Thanksgiving. So, yeah, it's cold in Vegas at night. I'm like, it doesn't matter how cold is because it's much colder and the cold plunge. But. And I convinced everyone and we all we did like two rounds. One was 13 people and the other was ten. Yeah. And and everyone did it. So that was pretty cool.

So that's that's so cool man. And I love how into the biohacking you are. When we first met and we started our journey together, you know this this guy is super into his blood biomarkers. He's super into, you know, the functionality of different biohacking equipment. We talked about red light therapy for hours, PMF mats, the oxygen tanks because he just wanted to know everything. I was really I love your intellectual curiosity. Yeah, you're you have a childlike fascination with biohacking, and I assume that child like fascination is what's transcended to you in the music industry.

I, I attribute my success to my curiosity. Wow. That's that's a big part of the the reason why I feel like that. I have risen to any level of success that I've had so far, because I'm curious. And then I engage that curiosity. Yeah. And I arm it and I and I really dive in there and I'm. And I might not be the expert, but I, I do my best to learn.

You want to know. You want to push the boundaries. Yeah, yeah.

And never go in there with an ego. And just always like walking humbly into these new cultures or new communities and learn from, like, you know, all the incredible people that you meet in these different worlds. Right? And and then find what's applicable to your life and, and, and also be of service, you know, like you walk into these different worlds and you want to be of service the best you can. And the best way I'm of service is through my music. So I've been lucky to be able to to talk to different scientists like yourself and different in different worlds that really help my life and enrich my life. Yeah, whether it's in business, entrepreneurship, obviously music, fashion, art, whatever that. Like that really pulls on me that really like, like has that challenge of.

Like all in. Yeah, yeah. I think, I think intellectual curiosity is like the greatest attribute that someone can possess, especially in medicine. You know, in, in my field, I think the intellectually curious practitioners are really the ones that are trying to act in the best interest of the patient. And it's probably that intellectual curiosity that just lets you show up over and over and over and over again for so long.

Also the most, the most exciting parts of what what interests me because the curiosity is also imaginative. Yeah. So it's like like I'm always interested in what we can't accomplish or what we can't do and how can we get there? Like I always say, like my, you know, my foundation, Aoki Foundation sits in the middle between science fiction and science fact. Yeah. Because like, that's where that's where I'm really interested. I'm really interested in the scientists and researchers that are like, this was science fiction, but we are doing what we can to make it science fact and and how do we get there? And the ones that have already historically done that, those ones I'm like, yo, can I talk to you? Can we do something? Can I help you? Kind of help. Like, you know, like all the people that are interested in what I'm doing, right? Help you raise money into whatever you're doing in the field of brain research, whatever it might be. Yeah.

And that's what you know, for those of you that are not familiar with the Aoki Foundation, it's geared towards brain health. And, you know, you lost somebody very close to him to to brain cancer. And was that the impetus for investing and trying to back non pharmaceutical backed companies that are sort of leading the the the science in brain health.

So for for me, the big the big kind of moment that a lot of things changed in my life as far as like this is even previous to me starting the foundation. Me just understanding health and nutrition was really just like understanding what death was like. In my first, the first death in my life that really traumatically hit me was my father passing away 15 years ago. So when I saw him die and I was 15 years ago, I was I was 30. And up until that time, you know, I was I was very punk rock lifestyle. So like live fast, die young, go hard and party and and just live in the moment. But like, you're not thinking about the next day, right? You know.

Yes. You're taking whatever the moment has to offer. Right, right.

And, and and I didn't think about nutrition even though I was like vegan or vegetarian for 15 years. It was not for nutrition or health reasons. It was more for ethical reasons. But regardless of the fact that that death rocked my inner core and made me question a lot of things about life and what's important in life, and then I started thinking about the people I love that are alive. Like, what can I learn from this death that I can actually help my mom, who's, you know, she's she's 80 now. But, you know, at the time she was, you know, six, I guess 65. Right. So. Right. But like, I was just thinking about life and how do I live my life in a different way? How can I change my course? And then that led me down, you know, like eventually it led me down like my my serious interest in health, nutrition, biohacking. Yeah. You know, and and then and then later on into Aoki Foundation and what I can do with brain research, brain science and my fascination with the brain.

Yeah. And and the foundation is I know it's brain research, brain science, but you're specifically trying to find those people that are, like you said, between somewhere between fact and fiction, somewhere between science and science fiction. They're trying to make science fiction fact. I love that description. So what are some of the innovative things that the foundation is, is funding right now? Like what? What if they're listening to this would be exciting to know about the foundation and their research on brain health. I love the term, you know, mental fitness. I hate the term mental illness.

Yeah, I love that. One of the main studies that we're focusing on is, is a study on heat therapy on patients that that have severe depression. Wow. And and we we actually funded this woman, Dr. Mason, out of San Francisco, who I met through Rhonda Patrick, who is, you know, obviously she's she's studied a lot on, on on heat exposure. On cold exposure. I met and I met her through Joe Rogan, who was also as we we both know, all very curious about this whole super, this whole realm and, you know, so eventually I found this. I met this doctor and she was telling me she's doing this research, and I told her I'd fund it for her. And and the studies showed so far from from what she's able to accomplish with her. I don't know how many patients she's had is that it's I definitely like I know I don't want to I don't want to say wrong information, but from what I understand, 100% of the non controlled study that that were she was able to raise the heat in their body, right.

Not their brain but the body to raise it to, to this fever like temperatures like 103 degrees. Wow. So it's a very dangerous temperature, right. But she, you know, it's like a head out sauna. Okay. So she keeps. Yeah. She's not heating the brain, but she's heating the body. Right. That it had like 100% of the patients had had the results she's looking for.

You mean remission of symptoms from depression?

Yeah. Just for like for like very long period of time with no drugs. No, like prescription drugs. So I don't want to give away, give out the wrong information. But whatever we're doing is actually showing incredible research that that this heat this like you know, having heat exposure to the body actually does something with the brain that, that that helps with depression in a, in a really big way. So I'm really happy that we were able to fund her and and see some of the results there.

I would love to dig into that. See, now I'm intellectually curious, and now I want to see the research because I want to know exactly what that pathway might be. You know, there there there's hoards of evidence now that is coming out on depression that is disproving the old serotonin hypothesis, right? That low serotonin causes depression and high serotonin is the absence of depression. It's not that simple of a seesaw. And it's amazing to me when we start tapping back into the body's resources to heal itself, right? Things like platelet rich plasma, you know, taking your own platelets and spinning them down and putting them into the side of injury and having, you know, accelerated healing. And I'm a huge fan of research that uses the body as the chemical factor. To try to find a fix to a solution, right? As I've kind of always believed that disease and pathology doesn't really exist the way that we think it does today, that it really is nutrient deficiencies or deficiencies in the human body.

So that's really fascinating. So you you started this foundation in 2012.

Yeah. So 2012. We started it.

A while ago.

Man I know, I know, it's crazy because I don't realize sometimes you don't think about how long something's been started from, you know, when you're just going along the road. But yeah, it started out because in the beginning I just wanted to to engage my fans at my shows. Really it was I had this whole mission, the party with a purpose. So when you come buy a ticket at my show, I donate $1 from every ticket to a crowdsourcing fund that would go towards different areas of need. Right? And then it later on became well, the main, the main area of focus for me is the human brain, because I really believe that, you know, there's so much that's undiscovered there. There's so many things that if we.

Learn.

And understand, if we're really if we're really funding the right researchers and scientists that can dive into the brain more, we could do more of what I'm saying. Take some of these science fact science fiction ideas and and and have them become science facts so that we can apply in our life. Yeah. Like, you know, like I think the main thing is, you know, how do we extend our life as far as.

Possible and not just our and not just our lifespan, but our health span? I mean, and that's why, you know, like I said, I love this term mental fitness, right? I mean, we think about becoming fit physically, but we don't think about becoming fit mentally. You know, what are the things that are not just able to heal and repair the brain, but what are things that actually can feed the brain and make it really, really healthy? And I know that you you do a lot to take care of your own brain. I know that you're into meditation. You know, you do a little fun fact. I mean, Steve won a Guinness Book of World Records for for the most traveled musician in a year. Is that right?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

300 shows in in in one year. I mean.

It's so.

Here's the craziest award to win ever. That is so random.

This is like this is like the kind of funny part about it. So I won that award. Is the most traveled musician in one calendar year based on one website, Bands in town that documented 168 shows at this many miles traveled. Right? Right. But I really did 300 that year. But but bands in town didn't document the other ones because for whatever reason, they didn't put it in the site. And Guinness Book of World Records is like, we can only adjudicate from this website. No, I beat that number. But in order to get the record, I had to just go with.

Right what that.

Was on the site.

Wouldn't that be funny? If you like, resubmitted the same information and broke your own world record? Yeah, yeah, I.

Mean, I should have done that, but like once.

You have it, you're.

Like, okay, I'm.

Good. Yeah. And there's not a lot of people going, I'm going to, I'm going to break that milestone. It's not like the four minute mile or something, you know what I mean? But but so on the foundation of that kind of travel, you know, it really begs the question, you know, what are you doing for your for your mind? I mean, I know a lot of what you're doing. We've worked together. And, you know, I'll say without disclosing any health information, your blood work is perfect. We just went over it before this podcast. And and I mean, I appreciate you so much. And he's always so curious about it. I'm like, dude, what are you expected to see in here? It gets it goes from better to best to better to best. I mean, and and we actually just talked about it. We're getting ready to slide him onto a younger scale because some of the markers for liver, lungs, pancreas, kidneys, some of these immune markers are so good that you're you're literally beginning to age in reverse.

I appreciate you starting.

And like this is the kind of information that that gets me excited. Yeah. It's it's like it's really I really gamify everything. Yeah. And when I gamify it. Yeah. So like my whole like my I have challenges with like whether it's like shows or music or whatever I'm doing, I need a challenge. I need like a deadline, I need a goal, and I, and I need to gamify it.

Because you you're in, you're like, what is that? How can I move that number? Yeah, exactly. And it's like.

Okay, this is what I had before. This is what I could do to make that number. Yeah. So I mean, I'm a gamer at heart. You know, I've been gaming since I was a little kid, and you always want to level up your character. But what's better than leveling up your your, like, your fake character in the game, but leveling up like you. Yeah. I mean, that's the best character you can level up. Yeah. And we're literally because of your help and the data. And I'm a big data guy, right? Right. Just like in gaming, it's like your XP and your and your HP. It's like. This is my way of leveling up me. But I need you and a scientist to come in and show me the data so I know what my real HP is. You know what my real XP is?

What my real power is. I love working with clients like you because you're coachable, you listen, you're curious, and and every time we, you know, we get together, it's like you're like, I can't wait to see the data. I can't wait to see the day. Like you were itching to see the data. Like I actually tried to walk away from the table. He's like, hey, by the way, can we go over my shit memory? So it's awesome. And I think if more people would actually be into the data on their own bodies, you know, even gamify it. Yeah. It makes it so much easier to play this health game. Yeah. Because you have you have some things that you're striving for and not just I'm going to try to eat, clean and drink more water, but like I'm going to try to get this number down into the optimal range. And I'm going to try to get this up into the optimal range. That's like so.

Like some of this stuff I talked to other people. I'm like, you just got to make it fun. Yeah. You know, they don't realize that like it's oh, but it's like you think, oh, it's too boring. I don't know, like, I already just eat healthy. I'm good. Like, but if you know, like the, the details and you could fine tune them, you can, you can have a better performance at your show. You can, you can have more quality of life. Because I think of quality. Life is more energy. I want to have more energy through the day. Oh, amen. I want to have more creativity while I'm in that space. And actually, that space is not just being in the studio, right? Creativity happens all day and it's about being able to capture that. And and those moments of capturing that have led to hits have led to like big successes in my life. And if I wasn't able to capture it because I was so bogged down or I was so, you know, just like, like in a zombie state, because I'm lacking energy and I don't have the resources and all I could, if only I could have done x, y, z from a specialist like you, that can help guide me going, well, this is what you do if you're lacking this or deficient here, right?

Like you know, so like having you in my life for the last couple of years has really allowed me to go, wow, this is how I can optimize even further. Thank you. Because this life is more exciting that way.

Yeah, yeah, it really is. So I want to talk about some of the the habits that. So you were, you know, rock star balls out, you know, live life to the fullest. Burning the candle at both ends. You have a catastrophic traffic event in your life rattles your cage. You take a step back and you're like, this is not the direction I want to go. And from that time, like, what are what are some of your travel hacks? What are some of the things that you're doing on the road to maintain that level of insanity? I actually was watching your Instagram this week and you did three shows in one day.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's I mean.

I'm in five cities in seven days and I think I'm a baller. Look, this game was in three shows and one day. So I was about to post about my difficult travel schedule and I saw your shit. And I was like, fuck, man, this guy, it's like blowing the doors off me. Yeah.

So I mean, a big thing is just like resets. It's like mini resets. Having these moments to just to find your balance again. Yeah. Because you can't just be in red the whole time and, and and you definitely can't do it artificially. Right. So if you're doing it off like certain other things. Yeah, whatever it might be like eventually. Like your body just can't sustain that. Right? So I just like there are certain things it's like first of all it's mindset. Right? So I really think of myself as an athlete.

Wow.

So I'm always in competition. So when you're always in competition, if you're actually an athlete in competition you are you have to focus on what you need to be efficient in so that you, you know, like everything has to be for the.

So you're like, embrace it. You're like, I'm gonna do this.

Exactly.

So the third show, bring it on. Give me a fourth show.

I always say that. Yeah. You know, I did five shows and in 40 hours, and I was like, we could definitely do six. You know.

Your team is.

Like. No, Steve. No, no.

My team is also on the same kind of regiment, like, all right. Like, you know, like they they drink, they have fun, whatever. You know, I don't, I don't like, limit their level of fun of what they think is fun. Right. But, you know, as long as they're within a certain.

As long as they're performing. Yeah, it's got.

A boundary of like, responsibility. But for the most part, like we all like know they know at the level of the pace that we move. Right? And I mean, to be honest with you there, they interchange so that they can like I go full scale 200, 250 shows a year. And then I have teams that change in and out so they have time to rest. I just keep going.

You're just balls.

Out and and it's like there's a couple of things obviously like, you know, I need my time to reset my meditation. Meditation is really important. And and there's. There's different devices to actually see if you're meditating. Like, I have a device that I wear on my head and it actually.

Checks for theta.

Waves. It checks if like it gives you a game of fives things once again. Yeah. On like okay your theta waves really went down here. So you have like high level of efficiency on meditation. So I can just know I can like learn how to meditate better. I can get my brain to this very, very, very low state that I needed to go. And obviously the sleep is the hardest part. But yeah, I, you know, I got my hoop data. So I'm always looking at my REM and deep and although it's minimal right. You know if I was to show you it was pretty scary how low it is. Right. It's it somehow allows me to be able to deal with the jet lag and the traveling and and all that. And then the most important thing is the music. Like like like this. Like playing a show is my true love. The stage is where I'm destined to be literally. It's like.

Yeah, because you put on a show like I'm.

Meant to be.

You don't play and step back and wave your hands in the air. You're up on the table. You're taking people, which we're going to get to.

In a second due to time.

I got to know, like what the impetus was behind that. But, you know, you're taking people, you're jumping around. I mean, you're singing into the mic like you're so present for these shows. It's it's fascinating to me to watch an athlete that can dominate a sport for ten years, 12 years. It's fascinating to me to see somebody that actually can stay at a level, you know, the upper 1% and cruise at that level and maintain and not burn out for so many decades. And so you're driving to some of the points, you're curious, you gamify everything. But I often talk about the the frequency and the energy that we get from other people. Absolutely. And you get absolutely from these crowds.

It's like, I actually want to see more of a study. Yeah, I heard this. I would love to see that too. I think there is a study of something to do with because like one of my shows and you definitely want to put this in the video, but there's, there's a, there's a video of me clapping. Yeah, in Chile and clapping. And then there's like, I don't know how many like 100,000 people clapping at the same time. So like this moment of complete like being in sync with this, many people doing the same action, the same motion and the same energy that's being produced, there is something cosmic happening. And I'd love to see more research behind that, because I don't want to get too metaphysical because I'm very scientific with a lot of this stuff. But there's something quantum happening. Well, there's certainly yeah.

There's something quantum for sure. Like, I mean, I've never I've never been in front of the kinds of crowds you have. But sometimes when I'm on big stages and I feel super connected to the crowd and, and, and there's like an interaction you get like you get high from, oh, the highs just like. And the high is like a level of like mental clarity and alertness and happiness. And you're like, I don't want to be anywhere but right here in this one moment, like.

Like, for example, I could be like, you know, when I do these three shows in a day or, you know, like these, you know, all these different cities and the jet lag. Yeah, yes, I do. I'm human, I get tired, I get tired right before the show and but I never like before, you know, I'm like I learned like different things before I would grab the Red bull and take a sip. I would take like one sip because I really try to take the minimum dosage I need from like, anything like artificial, right? I don't touch it anything anymore, really. I literally like I'm okay. Everyone's like, damn, you're tired, how are you going to do the show? I'm like, don't worry, just watch what happens. I'm like, my.

What happens.

Literally wakes up on its own. On its own. It's a complete natural. It's like it's it's I'm so alert, so connected in that moment. And yes, like after the show, I do like, yeah, I do ride this adrenaline. And then when the adrenaline drops my body just immediately like, get me to a bed before I crash out, like.

Wherever I'm at. Yeah, I'm the same because I will.

Sleep anywhere, you know, like. Yeah. So it's it's incredible. Like you said, there, there is like this natural high that's so much higher than any drug, any artificial external upper. Yeah. That that it can't come close because it's mixed with, with, you know, serotonin, endorphins like like all like the happy feelings going on in your brain and just and the connecting which I realize this is what I love to do is I love to connect with strangers. Yeah. With my music. Amazing. You know, and I talked about that during Covid. It's like during Covid we connected with family with familiar faces. Right, right. And we're but really. As a species, we want to connect with people we don't know, right. And that's why gatherings are you can't take them away, right? You can't take away a gathering. You can't take away a sporting event, you can't take away a festival. Music events, because we want to be around people we don't know.

Experiencing a hi. Yeah. And it's like I get to conduct that. And I remember I was talking about it on stage. Yeah. To a crowd. I'm like, I care so deeply to connect with with this, with all of you I don't know. And to like turn that into something that I know. Yeah. To make it like a real connection. And when that, when that really does happen, just like you said, when you're at the stage and you finally connect, the high gets higher. It's insane, elevates you.

You're almost disappointed when the show ends. Like like.

Yeah, you're like, that's it.

I like stages and I see my clock go down. And again, it's a fraction of what you're experiencing. But you know, my clock goes down and I'm like, God, I really enjoy it. I could go like another two hours. Like I've just I've so much to share. And you guys are receiving it so well. And it just is that it's that it's that high. And maybe that's a piece of what keeps you creative, because you're not just doing the same show over and over and over, like you're creating new music and you're creating a new experience. And no two crowds are probably the same. No. Right. Yeah. So you get different energy from right from, from each one. But when it's really on, it's got to be the best.

Thing in the.

World. Like there's nothing that replaces.

There's nothing that comes close to that high. Yeah. It's just I mean I don't I've never done like, you know, cocaine, I've never done MDMA, I've never done like the certain popular drugs that that are the uppers that, that get you really high. Right. I've done like, lots of coffee and stuff like that, you know, but. And I've drank myself silly to, you know, like that's, that's a high as well. Smoked weed. Smoked weed a little bit. But that's a, that, that actually is not a high for me. Right. That's like that's like an internal suck in. And it's not really. Yeah. It's just like didn't I sucked into myself.

I'm like like all of a sudden like, you know, like it's like when I was your dick when you go to the coal plant. Steve. No, I'm just like, he's like fucking like I'm just like a turtle that do a little ball. I'm like, what do I do? So I was like, this isn't really for me. But I mean, it's.

I'm sure if it's for other people, but for me, it was it didn't give me the high that regardless of what.

Right the like.

It's just I can't imagine there would be a greater high, you know.

Yeah. Just no.

I can't, I can't either. And that's why, you know, sometimes I want people to experience things like coal plunging and, and, you know, red light and infrared sauna and breathwork because it's a different kind of stimulus and high for your body. And when you learn for that to be your drug of choice, then all the benefits are positive. Yeah. Right.

And but that's.

Definitely my addiction. Yeah I mean.

It's the crowd.

It's. Yeah. Yeah. And I like I said I'm like I'm meant to be a performer. I'm meant to be on the stage. And I feel so naturally myself when I'm, when I'm, when I'm able to communicate at that level, you know, there's.

There's actually a law in physics. It's called constructive interference. And you might know this as a musician, but it says that if two frequencies of equal wavelength meet the size of the frequency doubles the size of the wave doubles. So if two waves of of of equal wavelength meet, then the size of the wave doubles, which for the people that believe in the universal law of attraction, this this is some physical proof that it exists, right? It means you can get energy from conversation. You can get energy from from other people. Like I'm getting energy from this conversation. Like I'm amped right now.

I'm like, I'm really seriously, I'm.

Enjoying this this interview. It doesn't feel like work to me. And and when you're performing, I bet the frequency coming from that crowd.

Yeah, it's like has. Yeah, it really is. And obviously just like anything a great conversation to to to a great reception. Receptive crowd. Yeah. It's like it just keeps bouncing back and forth and it just keeps growing. Yeah. You know I mean like there's like it's difficult to play my music to a dead crowd because that would drive you crazy.

But that like, well.

There's destructive interference too, which is opposite wavelength.

I mean, like when I first started deejaying, you know, it was a different story, you know, like, I'm trying to play everywhere.

You showed me a picture out in the hallway of you playing to five people. Yeah, yeah.

So like, there's been like, I think you made five bucks that night. You said. Yeah. So I mean, in those cases, it's like.

I'm hoping those five people, I'm like, like, at least pay attention.

At least like.

Give me your attention.

You know, like, because I, because I.

Could see I could see, like right into your pupils. Like I can see.

Everything, you know, because, like, I won't let you.

I won't let you, like, talk to someone.

Thank you. All of.

You for coming.

To the show. Like, I know all.

Of your first names.

But. So.

So to go from doing this in your college dorm room to five people, literally, as you said, sleeping on a beer soaked floor to where you are now, I mean to you, do you look back and and and just think, there's so many times that I almost gave this up, or did you always know in your heart this is my purpose? Okay.

So when I was playing in my college apartment.

It really was my apartment. I wish we.

Could cut to this picture out there, because first of all, you look like you're.

12 years old. And I think.

You're actually singing.

Into a microphone. Yeah, yeah, I used to sing in a band too. Yeah, yeah.

So because my first, my first evolution of music was, was, was rock. It was like, you know, punk. Yeah. Playing guitar, playing bass, singing. I played all different instruments. Awesome. And and, you know, we always played in front of like literally 5 to 40 people. 40 is a lot. Wow. Yeah. That was 40 was like, oh my God this is crazy. You know. So and we toured all over I toured the United States by the time I was 21 like 14 times. Wow. Playing to 5 to 40 people, how could you guess? I mean, we would either, like, we would either just put all the money in the gas or. And we always stayed. We never stayed in hotels. So the 14 tours, I never stayed in a hotel. We'd always stay at a fan's house that would allow us to stay there or in the van or friend's house. No. So at the end of the show, I'd be like, hey, if there's a house we can crash, you know, that would be great.

So one of the five, like, you.

Feel guilty, you know, like, imagine if you said that to a crowd now. Yeah. Hey, guys.

Thank you for for coming tonight. By the way, if anybody has a couch, I can.

Sleep on 31,000 offers. Yeah.

So, I mean, obviously on those tours, when you're when you're doing it, you're not. We're not doing it for the money. Right. Yeah. We're doing it because we love playing music. I love making music, writing music, recording reviews, records and hoping that, like, maybe one knows a lyric or two, right? And like, listen to my. Because actually back then.

Oh, you were playing your own. You weren't playing cover band.

No, no, no, we played only our own music. Wow. And we only released it on vinyl. Oh my God. Yeah. So like, it was only like limited to, like 500 copies that you'd have to actually buy the vinyl and drop the needle and read the lyrics sheet to even know the music, because it wasn't available digitally or on CD or on cassette. Wow. So it was like you really had to discover this kind of stuff. And so of course, we're only playing to, you know, dozen people at a time.

And the $3 a ticket.

Yes, exactly. So like, I like the boot camp of that life of touring. Yeah. It really set me up to become the Guinness Book of World Records most traveled musician on the planet. Right. Because I was already touring with my band, you know, like driving to city to city, playing in front of whoever would show up and loving every minute of it.

Wow.

And showering once a month or and but like, we were like, pouring our hearts and sweating our faces off and, you know, at these living rooms and basements that we could find to play. Yeah. And so later on, you know, to my, my next evolution of in music was becoming a DJ. Yeah. Then, you know, I was like, wow, I get to actually stay in some shitty motel this time.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I got, I.

Got and like, you know, like instead of getting paid, you got the shitty motel and you got, you got a drink tab. You know, I'm like sweet.

Oh, yes. That's a score. Yeah. Like.

And maybe like, you know, some money, you know, maybe a meal, but like, so it starts off there, but like that's a major upgrade you know. Yeah. So like everything because I was lucky I think that this boot camp lifestyle of like, understanding what it's like to love what you do at the core principle because that really tests you there. That's, that's like stayed with me through, you know, like all the touring that I do now because everything is it's so much nicer. Even though I hit the road so hard, I my, my like, I'm just, I'm a soldier in this kind of way, you know? Right. So like, there's an artist that blows up off a song which is most DJ's blow up is like, you have to make the music and then you deejay and their first, their first understanding of what tour life is, is the DJ life. You you already are eating caviar at the top from the get go, right? You know.

Right. So for the people that are in bands, especially punk bands, yeah, I literally like, like give all my respect to be. Because they really are.

Truly.

Doing it for the love. Yeah. And they're they're living a hard heart in life. You know, they're like punk rockers, like, you know, doing whatever they do just to have fun. And.

And and they're going from small crowd to small crowd and and. Yeah. And just happen and then.

And then be famous but then come home and having to work as at a bar, at a bar, being a bartender or know doing whatever job they can find in their home. And then three months later, they go back out on the road, come back still broke. Yeah, because that's like 90% of of musicians are.

Like, yeah, yeah. I mean, the tour just pays for the tour and doesn't actually feed the lifestyle. Yeah. So when you're on the road and you're, you know, you're going show to show the show and you're traveling the way that you are and you're, you know, winning Guinness Book of World record for the most traveled musician, which I still think is just mind numbing. What are some of the hacks that you do? You said you meditate, but I mean, when and where and how do you find time for it? Or you doing it in your hotel room? Yeah.

So I do it everywhere. I actually do it a lot on on transportation. So cars, plane like the plane is like my that's like where I just sit back and close your eyes.

Exactly. And you start to. And how do you get yourself into that meditative state? I mean, for somebody that's never meditated, I mean, what does that look like? Yeah.

I mean, for me, it's like it's just finding I find a center I have, like when I meditate, you know, people have different ways of meditation. I got to meditate through transcendental meditation. I was like the first real lessons of meditation I took in 2015. I had a vocal cord surgery. Okay, so I couldn't talk for a month.

Whoa.

Yeah. So, like, so before I got this surgery, I actually got a coach like a life coach because I thought I would go crazy. Right? Because you can't express yourself and you get stuck in your head and you're like, you feel stuck in, like, caged.

I didn't know that. Yeah.

So I was like, I need to talk to someone to help me through it. And one of the things they suggested was fill up your time with things that can help you. And so what I did was like the I just started creating a schedule of things I wanted to learn and to better myself. So I was like, I did meditation, like I got a meditation teacher and I know it's uncommon, but I just got one. They came in two hours a day for for like two weeks. And then.

We just spoke to.

You. Yeah, yeah.

No, just meditate with them.

And we would meditate and we just get into the rhythm just like anything, you know, you do it consistently.

And you just you just focus your mind on it. And.

Yeah. So what I've done now before, like with TMS, you have a word that's given to you and you repeat that word. So there's that. That form of meditation that the TM uses. Another form is, is follow your breathwork or breathing. Right. For me I follow I have like this image in my head. It's literally a point with a triangle balancing at the top of the point, and a triangle that's holding the point. Wow. So it's like it's like two mountain peaks with like this, this really I think about this, like this, this circular orb that is so powerful, it can hold two mountains balanced between two mountains. So I just think about this, this in my when I close my eyes and I see the pattern and I just focus on the circle, like.

Focus on that orb. Yeah.

With your eyes closed.

Yeah. And then, and then I, you know, as being a data person, I want to make sure, like, I'm not just not. I'm just thinking about this, you know, I want to see, like, hopefully I'm doing something. So then I wear the device and make sure that I'm actually, you know, getting to this lower state.

Are you getting that.

Information in real time or do you get it afterwards? And you say, okay, I was focused and I got into theta. Yeah. For that there's.

Two devices like I've used, there's one from Japan called V, okay. And the other one, I forgot the name of the other one actually let me find.

And so these are these are measuring your theta wave.

Yeah I don't know.

Exactly what what it is measuring but it's.

But when is it accurate enough that when you, when you look at it and it says you've had a good meditation, you also feel like you've had a good meditation, because that's sometimes the things with the aura watches and the or rings and the and the whoops is like, you can go, man, I feel pretty good this morning. And then you look at your aura and you're like, oh, actually I don't. I really had a shitty night's sleep, you know.

Yeah, I.

Know I.

Get so.

That's that's like one thing I have to be careful with because I get so obsessed with the data.

Yeah, that it's like it affects Eve.

You're at a really shitty nicely.

You're really. You are really tired. You know what I mean? Yeah. No, that was going to suck. Definitely affects me.

And and it kind of it like really scared me a bit. So I that's why I like I used to wear the aura ring and that showed very conservative REM sleep. It scared the living like hell out of me. Like just scared me a lot because I was getting like ten minutes of REM, 30 minutes of REM, right? And I'd sleep for seven hours. Yeah. And then the.

And your brain foundation is like, Stephen, that's really bad.

Well, I.

Share the data with Matthew Walker, and he was like you. If you were like a close family member, I would tell you, you really desperately need to fix this, or else you're going to have severe brain issues in the future. And and then I wore the whip at the same time. And the whip gives me different data. And I have an Apple Watch that gives me very similar data to the whip, which I'm assuming is because it's on the wrist. Yeah. Versus the finger. Right. And the whip gives me. More REM. Okay.

So now your device surfing. I'm like, you know what? I'm going to take this off, and I don't even if it's like you're more honest, it's like getting to the therapy level here. We need to fucking.

Dive into.

This dude. So now he's device surfing.

He's like, you know what? I'm not actually going to change my sleep. I'm going to change my device to tell me which one.

Yeah, I'm not saying that doesn't work.

I'm just saying, like the whoop shows I get better. REM. Some like this at least allows me to, like, live my life even though data is important, right?

So no, it is. I mean, if.

You can't measure it, you can't change it, right? You can't fix it. So by being at least you know where you stand. But I think a lot of that's probably made up by meditation because theta wave REM sleep is that that part of the sleep where the brain is repairing and detoxifying and eliminating waste dividing, and it's doing all of those things to to heal itself. And there's evidence that that happens in meditation too. So it's probably a good way for you to offset, you know, the lack of. Yeah.

Yeah, sleep.

I think all those little mini mini breaks that I use at time to completely drop. And another thing I learned is there's this app called True Diagnostic, which checks your your biological age. And it shows that my biological age is 33 and I'm on the top percentile of my age group. I was.

Actually, without knowing that data, telling you that tonight too, that you were moving into the 30s, remember?

Yeah, yeah, you did.

And you told me about the true, true diagnostic. So it shows you that, you know, what do you say to those people that say, I just don't want to know. I don't want to know what's going on in my blood work. I don't know, want to know what's going on in my genes or if my bacteria is off in my in my gut. It's I just don't.

It's like, if you don't understand a baseline of where you're at, then you can't improve, right? So it's like, if you don't want to improve, then that's okay. You know, everyone's different. Like, I actually know a few people close to me that don't want any of that information because it gives them too much anxiety. I'm like, it's okay, but you won't understand what your baseline is so you can improve to be a more optimal human, to be the ultimate human.

Okay. Yes. That one's.

Going viral.

Cut that one off, Max in the back. I mean, like I care.

I truly care about being the ultimate human. Like I really gamify it so I can have fun with it. And I could be a better person. And I can, you know, like, just give better shows, give better, like, have my quality of life engaged more. Yeah. And I want to live. The most important thing is I just love life. Yeah. That's the end of it. Like, I love life, I do too.

I always say, man, I keep talking to my stuff on the ground. But I always say, like, I wake up in the morning and I'm like, fuck yeah, another day. Like, I don't like sleeping. Not because I actually don't like to sleep. I enjoy sleeping, but I don't like to not be awake. Yeah.

In the same way. Yeah. Before literally that way.

And other people, they're like, they don't get that. No, no.

I used to be like that. I used to hate sleep because I needed to. I wanted to be awake to to do more, to experience. Yeah. To experience as much as possible. Yeah. Like I thought that was the most important. And then I started realizing I like fogginess of certain memory. I'm like, oh, that's because I'm not sleeping.

Yeah.

So memories are part of your experiences. So yeah, like, you know, I started changing like, you know, putting the sleep as a major tenet of what's important to my, you know, what's important to me. Right. But I think the basis of all of this, the basis of this data and this gamification, all the stuff that I do and touring so much, whatever it is, is that I just love life. Yeah, I really, truly love life. And I love spending it with strangers, as well as spending it with people that are very close to me. Right. And, and that's, that's that balance is, is something I'm working on because I like follow this addiction to be on the road. And I come home and I see my mom and I just give her a big hug and I'm like, I just never want to let her.

Go to your mom. I see that man.

And yeah, and it's like forming and it's. But it's like, not enough time, right? You know, like, you know, and then you're like, when you're in those moments, you're like, I need to balance that more. So that's one thing I'm, you know, maybe I have to gamify that. Yeah.

Start measuring the amount of time you spend.

With your mom.

Get it, get it, get a chart. Yeah. So, you know, on this massive, you know, journey, this, this, this career, you know, they sometimes they say being like the lead rhino in the herd is difficult because there's no one to follow. So. Who are you following or who is inspiring you? And what is keeping you inspired to just continue to create and to make music and actually try to deliver a better experience for.

I think it's.

Okay. So there's different people inspire me in different worlds because I'm involved in a lot that that really pull my curiosity and then allow me to create in those spaces and in music it's, you know. It's, it's, you know, there's I mean, there's there's tons of DJs and artists out there. And the great thing about EDM and the music culture that I'm part of is that there's not like beefs really. Everyone gets along generally, you know, like.

No, I work with a lot of DJs. You guys all speak highly of each other. It's really kind of an interesting it's.

The most harmonious music community I've ever experienced. Yeah, of all the communities. That's what I would say.

Yeah, yeah.

I agree everyone like like because a DJ's you know, nature is to play other music. So if like if you're, you're, you're like competition is makes a banging record that would like essentially like well it's your competition. You can't support that. You play that right. It helps you. Yeah. So like when you support your your contemporaries, you support your colleagues or your competition, you know that that could be your competition. Yeah. Like it like benefits your show and and then they get excited and then like, you know, your idea is like, you know, can I make a record that other DJs will play?

That's so funny that.

You say that, because I just had Cedric Trevor's on the podcast and he said almost those exact words. He said, I've made my greatest music. When I was just trying to make music for my friends.

I just wanted to make music.

That my friends would want to play like that other DJs would want to play. And, and you know, his his Grammy Award winning song, he said he just was making that in the hopes that his friends would just play his music. Yeah. It's true.

And the songs that everyone plays that, that, that eventually becomes part of culture, right. You know, those are the songs that that live the test of time. They become your legacy. And then for me, there's also this, this pursuit to tell a story that is that creates almost like a shell to not be played by other DJs, which is a problem because I care so much about storytelling. Oh, so like, you know, I have a whole series called Neon Future. I did four albums of Neon Future, and I did a comic book series with Tom Bellew around Neon Future, and I did an NFT like I was just building this whole world, and each album had scientists and and people in science on each album to really bridge the two worlds together of science and music. Wow. I had Ray Kurzweil in the song. I had J.J. Abrams on a song, Bill Nye, Brian Johnson before blueprint when he was just.

Doing the song.

What's that? What did they do on the song? I just record them, like, really? Yeah, really. So we could do a song.

Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So that's.

Yeah, that's easy. We could do a song because like, you know, with dude, I'd.

Love to do a song. That would be so.

Cool with Brian. I was at Colonel just. He was showing me all the brain technology he's working on, which is really exciting. I can test the age of. Of your brain. Wow. With his. With his non invasive headgear. So. Which I'm excited to check out because the one I looked at was like five years ago. Wow. So he's advanced far further on that. And back then he was still doing the leading research on brain technology. Wow. And I'm big in the brain. So I met him and I just recorded him. I was like, talk about a neon future. What does the future look like for you? And then, you know, he he went into what that was. I asked Bill Nye the same thing.

And you just.

Played those.

Vocals.

I just I just use the vocals and then I would write music under it. So like, they didn't have to write any music, like, you know, you just have to talk about your version of the future. But Neon Future has since. You know, I've tabled it because I've created a whole new IP called Hero Quest, which, you know.

This is the tour you're on now.

Yeah, exactly.

So I have like two albums. Second album dropping November 17th. But, you know, doesn't mean that it doesn't eliminate the fact that we're going to do a song. We're going to.

Do a song. All right? Alison won't be part of that. Yeah, yeah, we'll do something.

Yeah.

For sure. That's so cool. Yeah.

Do a song. And if it becomes a smash hit, you know, maybe I'll start.

Yeah. This will be your first. I don't know.

If this will be your first Spotify.

Song. Yeah. So definitely be my first Spotify song, for sure. Let's do it.

Dude, that's so cool. So, you know, so you're, you know, you're out on the road, you meditate, you know, you you're gamifying your health. And like, how much has that impacted your ability to keep up that pace?

You know, it.

Just I mean there's a lot. So there's meditation. There's there's diet. Diet is a big one two, you know like and it's really tough to be on the road to, to have like the diet that I want because I am an impulse eater. Yeah. Like I just eat what's in front of me. Yeah. So the ways I can control that is by just making sure my rider is a clean rider. So when I go into the dressing room, I have like my vegetable tray, I have my water, you know, whatever, like the basics are and of course, like there's the party stuff, right? You know, the drinks and everything else. Right? And that's for everyone because we have if anyone wants to come and enjoy themselves. But I have like my impulse bites if I need it. My little energy bites.

So, so.

So your crew knows that this is what we put around you?

Yeah, exactly.

So I have that around me as well as well. My hotel and I just I have like a very restrictive diet. I try not to eat too much on the road and plus like before a show, I don't like to have a big meal anyways. Right? So I try to be efficient, try to eat like, you know, non processed foods and that's been a game changer.

That's a.

That's a game.

Changer. Game changer. Yeah.

Not eating.

Junk food.

Listening to this.

Yeah it's a huge thing. So not not having junk food having eating as much non processed foods as I possibly can. I can't control that entirely. But I try to do my best with that. And meditation, these little resets naps whenever I can and and like you know I just I don't I don't get sloshed. You know I think that's one of the main things is before up to 2009, it was part of my shtick to like, be like downing a Grey Goose on DJing. And it's like the.

The best thing for me explain is like this.

It's like literally like, so at a club, when you're at a party and it's like raging. When you do that, people go crazy, right? So it was like always like, oh, that's my shtick. Because I always like was like I was consistent with the theme. Yeah. And then at one point I had a raft and I was riding on a raft. So I was, I was thinking about, like.

I got to entertain these motherfuckers out there. You're undertaking yourself. Yeah. Let's be honest. Yeah.

So when I'm doing that, I'm like, no longer. I don't even see the crowd anymore. They don't exist. I'm just, like, lost in my own, like, crazy.

Like.

Place. And I. When I stopped doing that in 2009, I stopped. I'm like, I can't do this anymore. It's not sustainable, right? That's when I started thinking, like, about the crowd. That's why I started thinking about, like, different ways to entertain them and not myself, just like you said.

Yes.

And that's when the cake, you know, the cake idea came out.

Is that where it came from? What was the impetus for that? Where you were like, I'm actually going to start smashing people. Okay.

So the impetus was, was Coachella 2009. I had my first time, I had a stage where I was like, okay, I have a really big crowd. I played 2007, I did this was my first time playing, and it was kind of like a tough show for me because of like just technical issues. But it was really eye opening. 2009, I was like, okay, now I'm prepared to be able to put on a show. I'm not just a DJ anymore, I'm an entertainer. That's how I started mentally thinking. So at these different moments of the show, it's almost like a play. I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this. I'm going to jump in the crowd here. I have like, you know, like these girls that helped me make these crazy outfits. They're going to jump on the stage with me. We're going to shoot like shoot water with Super Soakers in the crowd. And then here's a really interesting idea. We're going to get a raft out, four of them, and we're going to just jump on the raft and raft on the crowd.

Wow, I did that. And then all of a sudden I'm in you.

You put the song on and.

I put this on.

Like it's a seven minute song. I got to be back to the fucking booth by seven.

No, it's three minutes, three minutes. And then the song ends like half the time the song ends.

And you're like, you guys got to get me back. I'm just like.

Like a sailor in like like a pirate. Just going, like, pointing this way.

And then she starts pushing me forward. Yeah.

So that's happened a million times when it's the song just ends and I'm just like, guys, I got to get back on stage. Yeah, yeah. But anyways, that was my thing. I got on the cover of another cover I got in rolling Stone magazine. I was like, Paul McCartney was in the page. And then there's a small picture of me. So it was a big deal. It was a nine, like, who's this Asian guy on a on a rap that's a.

DJ playing.

At Coachella? Yeah. So then I started thinking, like, then I did every show, right? So then I was like, I got to be consistent with this thing. And and then I started like, dude.

That's just.

Having fun with that. I did that for three years and then 2011 ish. Then I was like, I got to come up with something new, right? And then I was like, oh, if I take someone at a show, I wonder how that would go. So I went to a bakery and then, you know, and this is like, by the way, up until this point, I'm traveling totally alone. Wow. I'm doing like in 2010, 2011, I'm doing two 5300 shows, but I'm doing it totally alone.

You're traveling by yourself and just by myself, plugging in all your shit.

And plugging everything in like. Like I never thought about having a tour manager until 2011 midway through.

Wow.

Because, like, it was just I was playing bigger shows and actually I had a long talk with with Skrillex at the time, we were playing a show together and he had a tour manager and and he's like, I don't know why you don't have a tour manager. It just makes life so much easier. And then he broke it down for me. And then I was like, you know what? You're right. I'm going to do that. I'm actually going to bring someone out on the road with me. I never thought about that before. Right. But anyways, in 2011, I was like, oh, let's let's see how this would go. And I got the local guy to film. Yeah. And I just brought the cake. I was like, showing the crowd like the cake and. Yeah. And just like, crowds. Completely confused. Yeah. Like someone's birthday, like.

What's going on? Yeah. Like, what's he doing? And then like, there's.

You know, at every show it was always like that. But it's always like, without a doubt, it happens every time. There's always one person at the very least that's like, please cake me.

Yes, dude. It's birthday.

And. Yeah. And I just wanted I'm just so like like lit right now.

I want this on my face lit right now.

And and then like, I started caking people and we started filming, you know. So I started going viral pre pre Instagram.

Posts on YouTube.

Major viral now.

Yeah.

And then yeah. So it's 13 years later and I you know cake like now cake like ten do ten cakes a show. Yeah.

So you do ten cakes of show.

Yeah. So it's like over 20,000 people I've caked at this point. It just now you know I retired doing I retired doing the boat because I used to have a boat and I used to have an inflatable bed.

Inflatable that's like a mattress. Yeah.

I have this inflatable mattress. And then I would climb to, like the second, like the balconies, you know, dive off the balconies into this inflatable mattress and. Yeah, because, like, you know, like I'm a punk rocker. So I come from like a world in punk rock and hardcore where people would do the most insane stage jobs in the crowd. I'm like, oh, if you stage IV onto an inflatable mattress, yeah.

At least you're spreading the inner shell. Exactly.

So and then I eventually retired all that and then but the cakes I never retired because I did for for a short stint, like in 2015, I wrote a whole like to cake or Not to cake four page kind of.

I don't know what you call memoirs.

Yeah, yeah, kind of like why I going to retire the cake and put it up in the Daily Beast. Like it was a whole. Like it was a whole statement of why I'm retiring the cake. Yeah. And I retire for, like, a year, but everyone's demanding the cake. Really? And I just like. Okay, I'm bringing back.

Really? You wrote back.

In 2016 or something like that.

And I.

Just haven't gone back.

Since. It's just it's just dude, it's so.

Awesome because I actually see I mean, so many like a montage of probably 20 or 30 cakes I saw on Instagram or TikTok or maybe something somebody sent to me. It was it was hilarious. But every single one of them was like.

Yeah, yeah, people are like begging for it.

And you're pretty accurate now. I mean.

You're like a major.

League pitcher now.

You don't miss.

You never.

Whiff.

No, no, I mean, I mean that's that's like anything is experienced, you know.

Yeah. But it's like throwing a cake is like a piece of plywood. Yeah. A wind. And you got to make sure that it doesn't hit them sideways. Got to hit them flat.

I got it all down. Yeah. It's just.

Like when you see somebody so perfect in slow.

Motion, it's like.

Yeah. Chariots of fire. Yeah, yeah yeah. That's that's video. That's the video right there.

But just like anything when you watch like a, you know, someone do a remarkable throw. Yeah. In football or in baseball like how do they judge engage it with all that. And you know it's just I mean experience.

Anybody ever get really pissed.

Off and be like, fucking threw a cake on.

My face? Dude, listen, matter with you, bro. I think I think when I hear some music, the problem.

Is, is like, now Steve Aoki is synonymous with cake. That's the.

Problem. Oh, it's so, so, so it's like it's.

A good and bad thing.

Because it's like, yeah, yeah, the Cake Whisperer. I definitely have the Cake Whisperer for sure. Yeah. Have they gotten.

Cheaper and cheaper? I mean, are they just straight whipped cream now or.

Oh no, it's like some of these cakes are like I mean they're pretty pretty grandiose cakes. I mean, yeah, I mean, the bakers come to my show.

They're excited to take.

Pictures of me, and they tell me, like, we spent two weeks making these cakes. I mean, because we have a really we have a six page cake writer. So, like, cake writer, it's it's like the promoter has to adhere to this cake writer and sign off a dimension. Yeah, it's just everything. It's like the material, the ingredients. You know, this a lot less cake, to be honest. It's kind of no pun intended. Yeah.

It's not.

It's not that much cake in the cake.

Yeah, yeah.

And because it's too heavy I mean.

Yeah. Exactly.

It's more explosive. And it's just it's just a mess. Yeah. It's just a total explosive.

Mess, you know? Yeah. Yeah. I think that's just.

So awesome that you still having fun with it. Is that part of, like, that part of putting on the show. And I said this before we got on, like, you know, I watch your shows. I mean, you're on the DJ booth, you're throwing cakes. I mean, you're engaged, you're grabbing the microphone. I mean, you're you're super in that moment for them. And I think at some point that's got to contribute with why people love to see your shows live so much.

I always want to make a show that's that's unique to me. So they're like, oh, we want to we want to like go to see a Steve Aoki show. Well, that was a Steve Aoki experience instead of just any ordinary DJ. So it's like that's the difficult part is how do you create something that is unique to your show as a performer? Because whether you're a DJ, whether you're a rapper or singer or band, we all we're all trying to do something that's unique to unique, our experience. Yeah. And just saying, hey ho, right, sit down and jump up. Everyone do the mosh pit. You know, it's like those are things that are historic with all music and big live shows and.

And I'm sure you follow other artists and, and what have you, but are there any artists that you would just love to collaborate with?

If there's a lot, the list is really long. I mean, because and they are all.

Different genres, different reasons.

See.

Yeah, exactly. So because I crossed so many genres, the list is actually like increasingly, increasingly getting bigger and bigger. And when I get into a new genre that I haven't, haven't collaborated with before, then as I collaborate with those artists in that genre, it opens me up to a whole plethora of.

Yeah, new, not just.

New people.

New listeners.

And not just like who like the big the big movers and shakers in that space, but the next ones coming up, because that's what excites me as well, right? I want to work with the next ones coming.

That vocal that's like about to break.

Yeah. Getting the artist that's like, you know, is bubbling and like you want to work with them before they. Break because like, I'm an A&R at the end of the day, right? Like, I think with everything I've ever done. Just, you know, I always say that curiosity is a big part of my success. Being an A&R is also a big part of my success, and the A&R is in everything. It's in being an entrepreneur, you have to like, know which which you know, companies to invest into and put your time into which as a record label owner, which bands to to like, focus your energy and and and you want them to blow up and scale up.

So you're not really following a trend. You're trying to set the trend. Yeah.

And then with artists I collaborate with, it's like, of course like to work with Post Malone or Drake or any of the big names out there would be a dream, right? But also to work with the artists that just about to blow up. Yeah. You know, like, not that now Kano from Mexico, he's this artist you've heard of peso Pluma from Mexico? Well, Nathaniel Cano is in that same world. And we made two songs with each other last year. Really? He's, like, dominating Sinaloa, Santa Fe clan in Mexico. So, like in Latin, I'm going and working with a lot of the, you know, the underground are just about to blow up. And right, right after I released with them. It's amazing to see a Santa Fe clans and other artists from Mexico that just literally exploding now, you know, just literally exploding. And you.

Try to stay true to their music or true to your music, or do you try to create something brand new.

And unique?

It kind of goes in all different directions. It's a matter of our connection. You know, in some cases, like they want to go more traditional in their space, in their space. And I'm more of the producer. Right. And I will I will follow them. Right. Okay. So like I go into each each session in a very humble.

Manner expands your horizon too, because then you're not always dictating and directing. I mean, it's probably good as an artist to take some direction and see what you can create.

Yeah, that helps me.

With my kind of cool.

Production prowess, for sure. So I definitely grow my caliber of production and my just expansion of creativity when I allow them to lead. But in some cases they come in here like, what do you got? I'm like, okay, good, sweet. Well, these are the ideas. So I kind of let them, you know, it's just like hosting at your house. Yeah. You know, you want to make sure everyone's comfortable first and then when everyone's comfortable, we can. Now we can truly party.

You know, it's also.

Like you want people to listen to it and go, Holy shit, that's Steve Aoki.

That doesn't sound like Steve. Yeah, yeah, I love that badass.

I love that, yeah. And then I also love that sounds exactly like Steve Aoki.

Yeah, yeah. You know.

Like, I like both, you know what I mean? So I like having the surprise and going, wow, I can't believe he did that. You know. And that's cool too. Yeah. So I mean, some of my biggest successes was, was doing something complete outside of my, my world, like working with Louis Tomlinson from One Direction. And we had we had a massive record. It's got like over 5 or 600 million streams and, and you know, my first collaborative collaboration with beats, that's 1.2 or 1.3 billion views on YouTube.

Wow.

Yeah. So like and that was like the first big K-pop breakthrough song in America. It was the first time a K-pop artist broke in the Billboard Top 100. Really. So that was a massive one for K-pop, right? And and that's why I love to work in different areas and fields. Yeah. And and and I, you know, my new album, I'm working with this country artist named Ernest.

Oh, I was going to ask.

You if you've done anything in.

The country. Yeah, I.

Did, I did a song with Kane Brown, my last album. Yeah. And this new artist, he's going to blow up. He's, he's, he's wrote for Morgan Wallen. He's, he's an incredible writer and he's awesome.

Country roots or you just use in the country. It's twang to his voice.

And there is it's like, so the Kane Brown record had a lot of like hoedown country, kind of like what I imagined, what I wanted people to be TikTok dancing to and and in in the in the country culture, this one is more of a electronic record with the twang. Okay. So it's like every record has a different kind of trajectory.

Yeah.

And when you sit down with the artist, you don't have this preconceived notion. No, no. You're like, let's.

Open minded.

Collaborate and and are most of the artists open to that? Are they like, hey, let's see kind of where this goes?

I like, like just like with anything, like with everything I let I like to let them lead first. And if they're like, okay, let's hear what you have. Yeah. And then I mean, that's easy.

And how does this because.

You know, I don't know much about producing music. So how does this come together. You come into a studio like this.

Yeah. Yeah. So a lot of.

A lot of my, my sessions are here, but a lot of sessions are just sending stems back and forth. Okay. So with artists that are really far away, chop it up.

You send it exactly.

Like, you know, like with with beats. For example, there's a song called The Truth Untold, which also did fairly. As an album cut that. I mean, I think I did like, you know, 100 million streams or something, and it's just an album cut. Okay? And I don't know the exact number on the streams, but it did really well and that song delivered it to them, like, you know, with, with the, the melodies and the music and in some cases they just sing it and in some cases we write together, in some cases they write it. So there's so many different ways, you know, I have songwriters that come to the house and we'll do camps here and.

And just.

Take up the whole house.

And like, are they, they're writing the lyrics, but what else do they do? They pull in the vocals. Do they, do they help put the song together?

Yeah. I mean, in some cases, like I have other producers in here that will work together on different aspects of different songs. I'll have different musicians come in here just to write different riffs. With Tom Morello from Rage Against Machine, we, we made a song together. Yeah. And so I had him send me like 16 different riffs, you know, just different, like just different, like guitar slides and stuff. And I would take, like, I took like maybe three of them. And then I would start working on our track. And then once I had a beat to it and I had like some, some like electronic drop to it and get his approval on it, then we're like, okay, let's think of a singer that fits that. So then we send it out to wow. Yeah. So then we sent out to rise against the singer of Residence and he loved it. And he wrote the lyrics and he recorded that in his session. Tom Morello recorded guitars at his studio.

I'm doing, you know, I'm putting the record together and putting it all with the electronic production underneath the guitars and the vocals here in my studio. Right. So, you know, it's everything is different.

And then how do you.

Just try it out on a crowd? I mean, do you, do you sort of sneak it into your set and just.

I sometimes, I.

Sometimes like, like this is my new one, Tom Morello have no idea what it's coming out. Let's hear it.

Really? Yeah. And you just see how they're like, yeah. Are they feeling it? And you get that vibe from the crowd and you're like, we're on to something.

Yeah, exactly. And sometimes they hear the crowd hear something that never comes out. Yeah, that happens a lot. Really? Yeah. So I always tell.

You try it out.

And then you just end up not liking.

It or changing.

The whole song, really. Or the song never comes out. So sometimes I even say you might not ever hear, like you're the only people that will hear this version. Yeah. So let's like Las Vegas special because, you.

Know, that's kind of another thing that another DJ was explaining to me. He's like, look, we're not like. A traditional artists where we go into the studio, we put a whole album together and then we're like, okay, I hope everybody likes it.

We dropped this album.

It's like you kind of get the luxury of, you're out there every day.

We're modulating like we're.

Yeah, we're we're always evolving in real time. Yeah. And and we need the crowd.

Something's good. You can dig into it. And if you fucked up, you can drop it and you're on to the next show and you kind of, you kind of get that feel like in real time.

And like, you know, with everything, it's like you need to feel it with other people, right? So like, here are my studio, I'm going to hear it in the best quality. Right, right. And of course, I play it in my car and I'm on like my phone because all the different ways people listen to music. Right? But I really need to play in front of people. Yeah. To to like.

Really get the true.

Sense of your own.

Head. Exactly.

Okay, I really like this, but maybe I've heard this beat so many times, I'm so more familiar with it because I've been in the studio mixing this thing for so long, but then you just drop it on the crowd and.

Then I'm like, okay, this drop, this drop does work, or this drop is way like, it's just not what you expected. Yeah. And you go back in the studio and what I like to do is I like to go right back to the studio and tweak it right away. Right away. Yeah.

Or like and then you'll bring.

It right back out again and drop it on another crowd. Yeah.

And drop version two. And then sometimes I'm up to version 50. Really? Yeah. Like I've gone up to version like more than that, you know, like, and sometimes I've had songs that never came out for years and, and then I find out that the band breaks up.

Or I find out the time. You're making them famous. Yeah. Something happens and like.

It's just like, okay, we they're too big now and they don't want to release something from the past. So sometimes that happens like I've had, you know, like incredible sessions.

Perfect. You guys ready?

Literally like like some of the most insane sessions with some incredible musicians and artists that. I think people would would drool to hear it, but like, they'll never come out, you know. And then after a number of them, you just, you know, just like anything, you're not as hurt because you've dealt with that and you're like, this is part of the nature of how things go, right?

That's so awesome. So looking forward, I mean. Where's. Where's Steve Aoki going? Like where is Steve Aoki in the next five years? Like, what's exciting you on your horizon? God, I'll be 50 then.

Not biologically.

Brother.

No, no, not biologically. You're. You're in your 40s with your health. I'm gonna stay.

Like, in my.

30s, at least forever.

Yeah? Yeah, exactly. I can't imagine not doing what I'm doing, but like so whenever I think about what I'm doing five years from now, always think about what I would have thought five years ago and where I'm at now. Yeah. Because like.

That's a great.

Because like obviously.

That's a great way.

To think about it.

I know what I'll be doing in the next year. It's already planned. Yeah, I'm.

A schedule plan.

I already have like my album, my release schedule, even like I have an idea that I like to stay online, even with requests. I have like at least minimum four albums under that. So, like, I know that's going to go out for the next two more albums, right? Right. So I mean, I mean, two more years after this because I have request two dropping in November, so I have that going on. So that's like a guiding line because my career is so stable with what I do. Right? It's like when you're younger, it's a lot more choose your own adventure of where you can go. And as you your career gets so structured. Yeah, it's easier just to know what five years looks like than ten years ago, because you.

Have a lot of the same venues and, you know. Yeah. And they're booking you in advance and.

You're like, yeah. And like you just it's more about maintaining because you've reached a certain level that like, you know, of course it's like I love to play in bigger venues, right. But I'm also like very content, like just controlling it in this space as well. Right. And just maintaining, at the very least maintaining. And if there is this pipeline or this moonshot moment that happens, right. You know, where like I have a couple of breakthrough songs and all of a sudden I'm playing somewhere else. That's a bonus that. Yeah, never, never thought that was in the equation. Yeah. But that's.

That's, that's got to be that's like.

Fun of the career. It's like you don't truly know where it's going.

Yeah.

I mean you always want all your songs and all your things to be hits and, and like when, when I leave the studio and I finished a song, it's already a hit to me, right? I've already been happy. I'm not putting my songs on someone else's, like, you know, roller coaster ride. And I'm just like, letting that just go up and down because it will do that regardless of what I think, you know? So I'm just like, if I release it, then I have to be okay and be proud of that. And that's, that's the it's already a hit to me. Right. But yeah. So in the the next five years I have a pretty good structure of where I'm at, of where things are going I can't imagine doing. Anything but music as my main core. Right. Because it really.

I mean, you're involved in a ton.

For 30 years, you know, but like, I know I'm going to get deeper into understanding my body. Yeah. And, and and, you know, try to reverse my aging process as much as possible, you know, like that's a big, big passion project for me, right. It's a it's a hobby. Yeah. Because it requires.

Very good at.

It. Yeah. And I love it. Yeah. And I think like, you know, the amount of time that I do in all these, these little, little hacks that I do to, to, you know, to like slow down my aging process. Right. And to give me more energy whether it's doing it or not. I really enjoy the process. Yeah. You know, it's like going back to me as a kid when I was playing in the bands, playing for 5 to 40 people. I really enjoyed it. It wasn't about, how much money did we make at the end of the day? Right. So it's like it's like with everything. I think as long as you enjoy the process, I like, enjoy going in the red light bed and the hyperbaric chamber and the cold plunge, which we're going to do later.

I know we are.

And the song I like, I enjoy it, even though I enjoy sitting in the pain and like going, fuck, this feels like fucking hell.

But actually, opposite of hell. It's the opposite of hell. Yeah. But like ice, hell yeah, I sell, but I love it, you know?

So, you know, I think that's like. That's part of it.

Yeah. So I wind down every podcast by by asking the same question. There's no right or wrong answer to the question, but what does it mean to you to be a superhuman, an ultimate human?

The ultimate human. Uh. Well. I think I think, you know, going to what I was saying earlier that, you know. Understanding the basis of why I do what I do, that I love life. Yeah. And and I and I love. Sharing these moments with people, strangers, strangers and and like close people around me. Like the ability to share these experiences. Like that. That is a core. That is a core of being the ultimate human. Because from that. Only great things can blossom. Only then you. Then you care about longevity. Not just for yourself, but for the people that you love and for the people that that can you can inspire. I mean, I think it's something really interesting. It's like you inspiring people that you don't realize. You inspire you don't you don't feel or see that that's going to have an effect. And you're like, okay, that's great. But when you meet someone that's been inspired by, you know, you just being you.

Yeah. And you see them and they like and you hug them and you have this moment and you're like this, this human, real human moment. Yeah. You're like, that's that's what you live for. You're like, fuck, that's really cool. Yeah. You know, like, wow, these songs touched you. Yeah, in a way, that's.

Exactly what you, you.

Know. Yeah. It's like they touch you so deeply. Like, I met this, this woman in Chile, and she had this line. She was in a wheelchair. She looked like she was probably, like, between 50 and 60 years old, and and I came down, and then I took a picture with her, and she was, like, talking in Spanish to me. And she was crying, bawling. But her heart was so open and vulnerable and like, so giving and so loving. And we're like, I was like, hugging her. And I was like, crying with her. And I didn't know what it was, but like. Like, I could understand some moments like that. There was these deep connections to. Whatever I was doing that made her life meaningful. And it's like, so fucking powerful.

Yeah.

It's so fucking powerful. Yeah. Like those are moments that I cherish, you know, like it's. You playing for all these people? If you don't look deep into the crowd, and if you just look over the top and glaze over all of them, you can literally just pass by life in a blurry way. And it doesn't. It doesn't have this impact on you. But when you go deep and you like, see that person, that's like meant like this song or whatever, this moment, that like moment has changed. Like they're waiting for that right to connect with you for this moment and you like, and they're crying or they're screaming and they're, they're just fucking, like, completely vulnerable and free. That's everything. That's fucking everything.

Powerful, man.

Yeah, just those singular moments. And I and I look for that every show, every single show you. I find those people that are like that, like, are waiting to be connected from that song that, like, got them through this, this moment in their life. And I don't know what it is, but I can read it. And we're connecting. We're totally connected. I don't know what their story is, but I know it's meaningful and I'm. And I'm telling them I. I appreciate everything that you. Why you're here?

Yes.

And then. And then when that gap. When that like that. The circuits connect. That's the magic happens, you know?

That's so awesome. Wow. This has been one of my absolute favorites, brother I have I have enjoyed every minute of this. I know this is going to this this podcast is going to explode because that was just so good, man. You dropped so many. Thank you. You're so vulnerable and you're so sincere and you're clearly so passionate. You're on God's plan for you for sure. And I really want to thank you for coming today. And, you know, being a guest on the Ultimate Human podcast. And as always, that's just science.