Lighting the Torch: Who We Choose to Be as DJs Starting Today

Today Is Not a Beginning or an Ending.

By: Mike Garrett (2 DJ’s & 1 Mic)

Today is January 27, 2026.

Not the edge of something.
Not the anticipation of what is coming.
But the middle of real life.

We are already here.

The calendar has turned. The year has started moving. Events are being booked. Flights are being taken. Speakers are being lifted. Nights are already being worked. Life is already happening.

Which makes this moment important.

Because reflection does not only belong at the end of a year. And intention does not have to wait for January first. Growth does not arrive when the timing feels clean.

It arrives when we decide to stop running on autopilot.

So today is not about what 2026 might become someday.

It is about who we are choosing to be starting now.

Looking Honestly at What We Just Lived Through

Before we talk about where we are going, we need to talk about what we just came through.

What did your 2025 actually look like?

Not the wins you shared publicly.
Not the moments that photographed well.
Not the nights where the room was packed and the energy was high.

But the private moments.

The long drives.
The exhaustion you normalized.
The stress you buried.
The relationships you either strengthened or slowly neglected.

What did you truly accomplish?

Did you grow as a person, or did you just stay busy?
Did your business mature, or did it just survive another year?
Did your family feel more connected to you, or more accustomed to your absence?
Did your friendships deepen, or did they remain transactional and convenient?

These are not questions meant to shame.

They are questions meant to clarify.

Because clarity is the foundation of change.

A Year That Took More Than It Gave

For many DJs, 2025 was heavy.

The industry kept moving faster. Expectations increased. Competition intensified. Technology evolved. Clients asked for more while often valuing us less. The line between passion and pressure grew thin.

Some of us expanded.
Some of us struggled quietly.
Some of us burned out while convincing ourselves that burnout was just part of the grind.

And then, this past year took something from us that cannot be replaced.

Honoring a Life That Modeled What Matters

In 2025, we lost Jorge B. Contreras "DJ Go".

And his passing hit differently.

Not because he demanded attention.
Not because he sought the spotlight.
But because of the way he lived.

Jorge carried humility in a world that often rewards ego. He gave in an industry that sometimes forgets how to receive without taking advantage. He showed up consistently, even while carrying burdens that most of us never fully understood.

Even in sickness, even while enduring far more than people realized, he remained available. He remained generous. He remained committed.

He worked for his family.
He worked for his future.
He worked for the community.

He helped people who asked for help.
He helped people who did not yet know they needed it.

He did not slow down because life was difficult.
He did not withdraw because things were heavy.

He lived with purpose even while his body was failing him.

And now, he is gone.

What remains is his example. And that example does something powerful. It forces us to look inward.

Because his life leaves behind a question that cannot be ignored.

While we are still alive, still capable, still present, what are we doing with our time?

The Responsibility of Still Being Here

Loss reframes everything.

It strips away the illusion that time is unlimited.
It exposes how fragile plans really are.
It reminds us that presence is not guaranteed.

When someone like Jorge leaves this world, it challenges us to ask harder questions.

What kind of DJ am I really?
What kind of person am I becoming?
What kind of impact will remain when my name is no longer being called?

Are we adding real value to the spaces we enter?
Are we honoring the trust clients place in us?
Are we delivering truth, or selling polished promises?

This is not about perfection. It is about alignment.

Alignment between who we say we are and how we actually operate.

Because branding without integrity eventually collapses.

Community Cannot Be a Buzzword

We often speak about community in the DJ world. We say it frequently. But words lose weight when they are not backed by action.

Community means showing up even when there is nothing to gain.
Community means helping quietly.
Community means addressing issues directly instead of gossiping indirectly.

Too often, we retreat into cliques. Conversations happen behind closed doors. Criticism replaces compassion. Fear replaces collaboration.

But moments of loss remind us of something we conveniently forget.

We are connected.

Every DJ was once new. Every DJ needed help. Every DJ learned from someone else.

No one builds a career alone.

When we forget that, we lose more than connection. We lose perspective.

The Cost of Ignoring Our Health

Starting today, we need to be more honest about health.

The DJ lifestyle is demanding. Physically. Mentally. Emotionally.

Yet many of us treat neglect as normal.

We lift heavy equipment repeatedly.
We work late nights.
We eat poorly because convenience wins.
We sleep irregularly.
We suppress stress and call it professionalism.

And as men especially, we avoid doctors. We ignore warning signs. We treat pain as something to push through instead of something to listen to.

This is not strength.

Strength is sustainability.

There are only so many speakers, lights, controllers, cases, and cables the body can lift before it responds. There are only so many nights the nervous system can stay alert before it demands rest.

And health is not just physical.

What are we feeding our minds?
What are we feeding our spirits?
What emotions are we refusing to process?

An unhealthy diet in any area eventually leads to breakdown.

Most of the emergencies we react to could have been prevented if we had paid attention earlier.

Proactive Living Instead of Constant Recovery

Our industry has conditioned many of us to be reactive.

We react to burnout.
We react to injury.
We react to illness.
We react to loss.

But what if we chose a different approach?

What if we treated our bodies as essential tools rather than disposable resources?
What if we treated mental health as maintenance instead of weakness?
What if rest was seen as preparation, not laziness?

Being proactive does not mean slowing down.

It means being intentional enough to last.

Longevity is not accidental. It is designed.

Becoming Better Begins With Self Respect

Growth does not happen by accident.

It happens when we implement boundaries, habits, and systems that support who we are becoming.

Not who we were.
Not who we pretend to be.
But who we want to sustain.

Even if you do not see yourself as a leader, you are influencing someone. Someone is watching how you move, how you handle pressure, how you treat people.

And even if you believe no one is watching, you owe yourself care.

Because when you respect your own well being, you model something powerful.

Leadership does not always speak loudly. Often, it simply lives.

What 2026 Is Asking of Us Right Now

January 23, 2026 is not asking us to wait.

It is asking us to act.

To be more honest.
To be more accountable.
To be more supportive.

To help instead of whisper.
To teach instead of hoard knowledge.
To collaborate instead of compete from fear.

This industry does not need more noise.

It needs maturity.

It needs people willing to put ego aside for something bigger than themselves.

Each One Teach One Still Matters

There is an old phrase that continues to hold truth.

Each one teach one.

Growth multiplies when knowledge is shared.
Healing multiplies when honesty is normalized.
Strength multiplies when community replaces isolation.

If we want this industry to be better, we must be willing to be better within it.

That starts with daily choices, not yearly resolutions.

The Question That Matters Today

So here we are.

Not waiting.
Not anticipating.
But living.

January 23, 2026.

The question is no longer hypothetical.

What are you willing to do starting today to be better?

Better for yourself.
Better for your family.
Better for the people you work alongside.
Better for the industry that has given so many of us opportunity and purpose.

Will you prioritize your health?
Will you pay attention to your mental well being?
Will you show up with integrity even when no one is watching?

Will you light your torch?

Because if each of us lights our torch today, not someday, and we walk in the same direction, we do more than improve ourselves.

We create visibility.
We create warmth.
We create guidance.

We honor those we have lost by how we live.
We protect those coming after us by how we lead.
We build an industry rooted not just in sound, but in substance.

2026 is already moving.

The question is whether we are moving with intention.

Starting now.