We recently connected with Will Hatcher and have shared our conversation below.

Will, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

My name is ESCAPEHATCH and I’m a DJ. In today’s world, there are many industries where it is exceedingly difficult to make a living doing just one thing. It often seems that the people at the very top, executives, directors, owners, founders, superstars, are the only ones making a substantial living with one job. I have four distinct jobs in different industries (seven if you separate acting, modeling and stunt work) and even with a busy schedule and lots of responsibilities, I still lack financial stability. Fortunately, I have never been very motivated by money or things. Ideologically, the core guiding principles in my life are creating purpose, continuing to grow and living an interesting life.

Will, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am older than many of my peers for this stage of a music career and have been able to apply life and work experience to a fairly chaotic industry. I graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science in kinesiology, nutrition, philosophy and conflict resolution. I have spent the last 15 years in the fitness industry as an athletic optimization specialist, predominantly working with athletes and the highly active portion of the population. Aside from using music in my classes and being obsessed with it from a young age, I had no inclination whatsoever of having a career in music until by chance I met my mentor, Micah. He gave me confidence to try to learn by pointing out; “There are plenty of people DJing, producing music, and performing who all learned those skills. You can too.” I was extremely lucky that, as he taught me how to DJ, he didn’t let me cut corners or rely on a lot of the modern tools DJ’s now use such as waveforms, pre recorded sets, or the dreaded sync button. Learning the basics without shortcuts has allowed me to play unfamiliar equipment on the fly, to not worry about technical difficulties like my cue points not working, and to creatively solve problems when issues inevitably arise. For years I didn’t take DJing seriously and only practiced or messed around occasionally. It didn’t seem realistic that I could develop a career in music as I had no formal training, only a deep affinity for music. Micah continued to encourage and work with me until I committed to a disciplined regime of skill development, maintenance, and a drive to constantly improve.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

They say that if you don’t want to work 9-5 you have to work 24/7 and I have found that although this is somewhat true, it’s immensely rewarding to be my own boss able to set timelines and goals that aren’t dictated by anyone else. As with anything, I find that there are peaks and valleys with creativity so, in the moments when I am deeply inspired, I can immediately begin to shape my ideas. Conversely, when I am feeling burnt out, I can focus on something else. One of the strategies that has helped keep me on track with improving my skills is by disciplining myself to spend a minimum of thirty minutes a day on production. On a day where I am not feeling it, I stop after that time and move on, while on other days I can spend 4-8 hours just focused on a project. The freedom to do this is immensely empowering. The ability to express myself creatively doing things that I love has led to me really enjoying my work, so most of my time is spent doing things I care about deeply.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

People tend to start things for the wrong reasons, becoming an actor to become famous, becoming a fitness trainer to make lots of money, starting martial arts to win fights. New projects can be exciting and fun in the
beginning but, after that honeymoon phase wears off, discontent can grow because the reality of the situation often doesn’t match the expectation. As I learned how to DJ, I had no expectations for where it would lead me. I chose to learn it as a skill that I was interested in just for me, so when the opportunities to perform professionally arose I was surprised and elated. That said, I have no expectations for the future other than working hard, continuing to grow as a professional artist, and to see where the journey takes me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ESCAPEHATCH.WTF
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/djescapehatch
• Twitter: https://x.com/escapehatchx
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DJESCAPEHATCH
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/djescapehatch

Image Credits

Micah Cruver

Bryce France

Cailee Stangl