We recently connected with Alex Hayward and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Alex, thanks for joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

My Mom did EVERYTHING right. I wouldn’t be the man I am today had it not been for her. She allowed me to do basically whatever I wanted, within reason of course. If I wanted to play sports, she let me. If I wanted to sing and dance, she let me. When I started orchestra in middle school, she bought me an Antonio Stradivarius that I still have today and will play occasionally. She also taught me a lot about my freedom. I’m very adventurous, and I think that comes from my mom always telling me “Yes” and that “I could do it” growing up that I live with that mindset now. I could go on, but that would be a novel.

Alex, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am Alex D Hayward also known as Alex the Lion. I’m currently 26 years old and based in Los Angeles, Ca, but I’m from Tallahassee, Florida. I would say I am a Renaissance Man. I’m a United States Marine Veteran, I’m in school for film, I dance, sing, act, Dj, and I did photography and videography for a while, but I fell out of passion for it because I realized I like to be in front of the camera more. Right now, my main thing is Djing until my acting kicks off which is my number one goal in life. I’ve been Djing for a little over a year now and it has been GREAT! I’ve Dj’d on tour with Jacquees, in Okinawa and Tokyo, Japan, Belize, I Dj a monthly festival in LA called Black on the Block, I’ve gotten residencies, and more. I got into it because an old friend of mine said “If you take my pictures, I’ll teach you how to Dj.” When I tell you that was the greatest exchange of my life. I learned in a day and bought my first controller the next and the rest is history.

I’ve had a few challenges. The biggest challenge for me at first was building a crowd. As a Dj, you kind of have to be a promoter too because who wants to book you if no one is coming out to see you, you know? So learning how to build that crowd and community was a massive challenge for me. I wouldn’t say I’ve built my crowd fully yet, but I’m definitely getting there. I found my social media niche and things are going pretty smooth right now.

I’m most proud of my drive. I say I’m going to do something, and somehow someway over time, I make it happen. I remember saying I want to be an international Dj and I made it happen in under a year and that was the craziest experience. I was stationed in Okinawa, Japan in 2018, so when I got booked in Tokyo and Okinawa, I was ecstatic! It felt like a big family reunion except I got perform for them for the first time as a Dj.

These days I’m making mashups, pushing my content and just trying to stay booked and busy as possible while also trying to balance my school life. That part is a consistent struggle for me, but I make it happen best I can. You can find me Djing on my instagram, @NahImJustAlex. I also post flyers and such so if you’re ever in LA or I’m in your area, you can see me spin live!

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

YES! There’s this book called The Third Door by Alex Banayan. Basically this book is about a guy who goes around and interviews the most successful people in America and gets their story on how they became the person they are today. It may sound boring, but it’s incredible. A gem I got from that is, The Third Door itself, “the door that allows regular folk to achieve extraordinary things by skipping the line, finding hidden opportunities, and thinking outside the box.” I’ve lived by The Third Door theory ever since. I got into Coachella one year doing that. Read the book!

Have you ever had to pivot?

Absolutely. I got out of the Marine Corps in August 2022, but in April 2022 I was able to move to LA through a internship program called Skillbridge. When I got to LA I immediately went out to search for jobs. When I tell you that was an absolute STRUGGLE. For months all I got was “No”. I was struggling financially real bad, was behind on rent and pending eviction. I remember it was right before or after the 2023 new year and I saw one last email from indeed saying I didn’t get the job and immediately was like “I will never apply to another job again. From today on I’m working for myself” And that’s what I did. I locked in on my photography and videography for a bit, learned how to take headshots and edit. Eventually I enrolled in school, and learned how to Dj and life has been looking up ever since. I refused to let LA win and move back to Tallahassee, Fl. Nothing against the city, there’s just nothing for me there as far as a career goes.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nahimjustalex/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0Kj-zGvC9VzMrdxFMyD1Pw
• Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/PZ2cY8gzepXVNzNP9

Image Credits

Credits:@XIVProductions, @CarterLacyy, @Ceazetm, and @Andrewaguilarphotography