Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mike Justis. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Mike, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you 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?

Absolutely — but it took years of consistency, risk, and evolution to get there.

When I first started DJing, I wasn’t thinking about building a career. I was simply obsessed with music. Growing up, I spent hours recording songs off the radio and MTV, collecting records and CDs, and making mixtapes for friends. DJing started as a passion long before it became a profession.

My first major opportunity came in 1999 when I landed a residency in Columbia, South Carolina. That experience gave me my first real glimpse into the business side of entertainment and showed me that this could become something bigger than a hobby. From there, I spent years traveling around the country as a corporate DJ, helping launch venues, training DJs, and learning how nightlife and entertainment operations actually function behind the scenes.

One of the biggest shifts in my career happened when I joined Z107.7 in St. Louis. I started as an unpaid intern and eventually moved into multiple positions within the station. That experience taught me how important branding, professionalism, and consistency are in this industry. Radio expanded my audience and helped establish credibility beyond just nightlife.

Over the years, I learned that longevity in creative work has very little to do with quick success and everything to do with adaptability. I started on vinyl, transitioned into CDs and MiniDiscs, and later embraced laptop DJing before it became standard. Every era of technology forced DJs to either evolve or get left behind.

The journey definitely came with setbacks. I dealt with rejection early on, and there were moments where people didn’t fully understand my style or approach. Looking back, though, those experiences built resilience and forced me to sharpen my craft. I think failure teaches you far more than success ever does.

Another thing people don’t always realize is the level of responsibility that comes with entertainment. When I walk into a venue, I understand that the energy of the room affects everyone working there — bartenders, servers, management, security, all of it. If the room succeeds, everyone benefits. That mindset pushed me to treat every set professionally no matter how big or small the stage was.

A lot of my mentality comes from my father. He taught me the value of work ethic, reliability, and respecting people regardless of status or title. Those lessons became foundational to how I approached both business and relationships throughout my career.

If I could go back and change anything, I would have trusted myself sooner. Early on, I spent too much time trying to fit into what I thought the industry wanted instead of fully leaning into what made me different. Once I stopped chasing approval and focused on authenticity, everything started moving in the right direction.

The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that creative careers are marathons, not sprints. Talent matters, but professionalism, relationships, consistency, and the ability to evolve are what truly create longevity. I’m grateful that after 26 years, I still genuinely love what I do and still feel excited every time I step into a booth.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m DJ Mike Justis, and I’ve spent the last 26 years building a career around music, nightlife, live events, and radio. At the core of everything I do is creating energy and experiences that people remember long after the night ends.

I’m an open-format DJ, which means I’m not limited to one genre or style. I genuinely love all kinds of music, and that versatility has become one of the defining parts of my brand. I enjoy finding creative ways to blend classic rock, hip-hop, country, dance music, throwbacks, and newer records together in a way that feels natural and exciting.

What separates me most from other DJs is my ability to read a room in real time. I never rely heavily on preplanned sets because every crowd is different. DJing, to me, is a constant balance of instinct, timing, and energy control. It’s about understanding what people are feeling before they even realize it themselves.

I’m also known for my mixing style. I like to keep momentum moving throughout the night with quick transitions, unexpected mashups, and high-energy pacing that keeps people engaged. I love creating moments where the crowd suddenly reacts because they never expected two songs to work together the way they just did.

Beyond technical skill, I believe my real job is creating atmosphere. Whether I’m performing at a nightclub, corporate event, sporting celebration, private event, or on the radio, the goal is always the same — bring people together, create emotion, and give people an escape from everyday life for a few hours.

One thing that’s always been important to me is staying authentic. Trends constantly change in music and nightlife, but I’ve never wanted to become someone who simply follows what everyone else is doing. I think people connect most with authenticity, personality, and passion, and I’ve always tried to bring those things into every performance.

I’m also proud that I’ve been able to remain relevant across multiple generations of nightlife culture. I’ve adapted through every major shift in the DJ world while still staying true to who I am creatively. That balance between evolution and authenticity is something I take pride in.

More than anything, I want people to know that I genuinely care about the experience I create. I don’t treat DJing as background noise. I see it as storytelling through energy and music. When people leave a venue smiling, celebrating, singing songs on the way home, or remembering a moment years later, that’s the part of this career that means the most to me.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the biggest lessons I had to unlearn was believing that I needed to be everything to everyone in order to succeed.

Early in my career, especially in nightlife and radio, I spent too much time trying to fit into what I thought people wanted from me. If another DJ was successful doing something a certain way, I questioned whether I needed to change my own style to keep up. When you’re young and hungry, it’s easy to think saying “yes” to everything is the key to survival.

Over time, though, I realized you can lose your identity that way.

There were moments where I would leave gigs frustrated because even though I technically did everything right, it didn’t feel authentic. The turning point came when I noticed that the moments people connected with me the most were the moments when I trusted my own instincts and fully leaned into my own style and energy. The qualities that once made me feel different eventually became the reason people remembered me.

That shift changed everything. I stopped chasing trends and focused instead on becoming the best version of myself creatively. Ironically, that’s when more opportunities started opening up.

I also had to learn not to take rejection personally. Earlier in my career, closed doors and criticism hit me hard. Looking back now, I realize some of those situations simply weren’t the right fit. Sometimes rejection is just redirection toward spaces where you can grow more authentically.

Another important lesson was understanding that nonstop grinding without balance isn’t sustainable. In entertainment, especially nightlife, it’s easy for your identity to become completely tied to your work. Over time, I learned the importance of protecting my peace, maintaining privacy, and separating the public version of DJ Mike Justis from who I am personally. That balance ultimately made me healthier and more creative.

I think growth often comes from letting go of outdated versions of yourself. Some mindsets help you survive early on, but eventually you outgrow them. Learning when to evolve is just as important as learning how to succeed.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding part of being a creative is knowing that something I genuinely love doing can become part of people’s lives and memories.

Music has an incredible ability to connect people emotionally in a way almost nothing else can. A song can instantly take someone back to a specific moment — a celebration, a relationship, a road trip, a championship win, a wedding, or simply a night out with friends. Knowing I’ve played a small role in creating some of those memories over the last 26 years is something I never take for granted.

One of the most meaningful things for me is when people tell me they grew up listening to my mixes on the radio or that I inspired them to become DJs themselves. Moments like that remind me this career has always been about more than entertainment. In some way, the work became part of someone’s personal story, and that’s incredibly humbling.

I also love the unpredictability of creativity. No two crowds are ever the same, and no two nights unfold the exact same way. Every set feels like solving a puzzle in real time. I often compare DJing to chess because you’re constantly reading energy, anticipating reactions, and trying to create momentum throughout the night. When everything clicks and the entire room is connected in the moment, it’s an amazing feeling.

Another rewarding part of being an open-format DJ is the creative freedom that comes with it. I love blending genres, eras, and unexpected songs together in ways people don’t see coming. Those surprise moments where the crowd suddenly reacts to a transition or mashup never get old to me.

But honestly, beyond all of that, the most rewarding part is simply being able to make a living doing something I truly love. There were sacrifices, failures, setbacks, and uncertain moments along the way, so the fact that I still feel excited every time I walk into a venue tells me I chose the right path.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @djmikejustis
• Facebook: @djmikejustis