We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mags Mellen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Mags , 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?
Yes, I’ve built a full-time career from my creative work—but let’s be clear, it wasn’t handed to me, and it sure as hell wasn’t easy. I didn’t just step into the industry with connections or a roadmap. I built everything from scratch, took risks when there was no safety net, and refused to wait for permission.
I grew up in Indiana, where a career in music or nightlife wasn’t just rare—it was almost unheard of. There was no blueprint, no established path to follow. But I knew if I stayed, I’d never become the person I was meant to be. So, I took my first major leap and moved to New York City to study audio engineering at Engine Room Audio—no backup plan, no guarantees, just the belief that I was meant to be there.
New York was a brutal but necessary wake-up call. I was broke, networking nonstop, and working side gigs just to survive, but that city taught me something that changed everything: the industry doesn’t wait for you to be ready—you either create your own path, or you get left behind. That mindset became my foundation.
After grinding in NYC for years, I realized I was still chasing opportunities instead of creating them. I wanted to do more than just exist in the industry—I wanted to build something new. So, I took another risk and moved to San Francisco, even though I had no real plan.
San Francisco is where I stopped waiting and started making things happen. I landed in a coliving space full of artists, entrepreneurs, and risk-takers—people who weren’t waiting for opportunities, they were creating them. That environment changed everything. I wasn’t just learning how to DJ, curate events, and book shows—I was learning how to build a scene. I booked myself before anyone else would. I threw my own events when no one else would book me. And when I saw queer artists and underground creatives struggling to find space in nightlife, I didn’t just complain—I built the space for us.
That’s how WetAF was born—an underground event series that prioritizes queer, non-binary, and female artists, giving them prime-time slots, professional production, and a real platform to thrive. What started as a grassroots DIY party quickly grew into one of San Francisco’s most recognized underground queer events, and that’s when I knew I was onto something much bigger.
Then COVID hit, and everything shut down. But instead of sitting around waiting for nightlife to “come back,” I took the music to the streets. I packed up my decks, set up pop-up DJ sets in Dolores Park, and played for whoever showed up. No stage, no flyer, just pure connection through music.
At the same time, I expanded beyond music. I taught myself tattooing, launched Mellen Collection (my fashion & design brand), and tapped into every creative outlet I could. That period forced me to learn how to survive as a creative, even when the entire industry was collapsing.
Post-pandemic, everything started falling into place. My work as a talent buyer and event curator led me to Paname, one of San Francisco’s most exciting new nightclubs, where I now curate lineups, develop promotional strategies, and shape the city’s nightlife scene. This isn’t just a job—I’m creating experiences that make artists feel seen and valued. Between playing major festival stages, curating Paname’s events, running WetAF, and growing my brand, HiGHMAGS, I finally reached the point where I could fully sustain myself through my creative work.
Could I have gotten here faster? Honestly, no. The mistakes, the struggles, and the setbacks were all part of the process. The only thing I might have done differently is trust myself sooner. I wasted time waiting for approval, when in reality, the moment I started betting on myself was when everything started to move.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: Stop waiting. No one is going to hand you an opportunity—you have to create it, own it, and make it impossible to ignore.
Mags , 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’m Mags Mellen—an entrepreneur, DJ/producer, talent buyer, and event curator who has spent years building what didn’t exist for me. I’ve never been someone to sit around waiting for an opportunity. If I see a gap, I fill it. If there’s no space for people like me, I create it. That’s been my entire career: taking risks, breaking rules, and making sure that artists—especially queer, non-binary, and underrepresented artists—get more than just a foot in the door.
I’ve built my career on three major pillars: music, community, and curation. As a DJ and producer under HiGHMAGS, I create sets that blend house, tech house, bass, and high-energy remixes that keep the crowd engaged, singing, and dancing all night. But music is just one piece of what I do. I’m also a talent buyer and event coordinator at Paname, one of San Francisco’s most exciting new nightclubs, where I curate events that aren’t just about booking DJs, but about shaping entire experiences. Too often, clubs book artists like they’re just filling a slot. That’s not how I operate. I believe that every artist booked should feel like a headliner, and every event should feel like something people talk about long after it’s over.
But beyond the club scene, I’ve built something much bigger—a movement. I created WetAF, an underground event series that puts queer, non-binary, and female artists center stage, not as a token act, but as the main event. Too often, these artists get thrown onto lineups as an afterthought, stuck with bad time slots, low pay, or no real platform to thrive. I wasn’t okay with that, so I built something different. WetAF grew from a DIY party into one of the most recognized underground queer events in San Francisco. It’s not just a party—it’s a statement.
Beyond music, I run Mellen Collection, a fashion and design brand that brings nightlife, art, and underground culture into wearable pieces. Creativity doesn’t stop at music for me—it spills into everything I do, from what I wear to the spaces I create to the artists I uplift. Everything I build comes from a place of passion, defiance, and the need to make an impact.
I don’t just throw events. I create moments. I don’t just book artists. I build opportunities. And I don’t just exist in this industry—I change it.
What sets me apart? I understand what it’s like to be overlooked. I know what it feels like to work harder than everyone in the room and still not be taken seriously. I’ve seen firsthand how the industry ignores artists who don’t fit into their cookie-cutter idea of success. And I’ve dedicated my career to changing that narrative.
I’m most proud of the people I’ve helped elevate. The artists who played their first major gigs at my events. The queer DJs who finally felt like they had a home in nightlife. The people who left one of my sets or shows feeling something real. That’s why I do this. Not just for me, but for every person who has ever felt like they didn’t belong in this industry.
At the end of the day, I want people to know that everything I create is intentional. Whether it’s a set, an event, a brand, or a platform—I don’t do things just to do them. I do them because they matter. Because they make people feel seen. Because they create change.
And if I’ve learned anything, it’s this: you don’t need permission to build the career you want. You just have to be bold enough to create it yourself.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Resilience, for me, has never been about just one moment. It’s been a constant—a survival mechanism, a mindset, and the only reason I’m still here doing what I do. I’ve had to rebuild myself so many times that I’ve lost count, and every time I do, I come back stronger.
One of the hardest periods of my life wasn’t just about my career—it was about losing my sense of self completely. When I moved to San Francisco, I was at a breaking point. I had already uprooted my life once by leaving Indiana for New York, only to realize that no matter how hard I worked, I was still being overlooked. The industry felt impossible to break into, and after years of grinding with little to show for it, I had to make a choice: keep pushing forward or burn out completely. I took a risk, left everything I had built behind, and moved across the country without any real plan—just the belief that I needed a reset.
For a while, it worked. I found a community, started DJing, and slowly began rebuilding myself from the ground up. But resilience isn’t just about finding yourself once—it’s about what you do when you lose everything again. And that’s exactly what happened when the pandemic hit.
COVID didn’t just take away gigs—it took away everything I had tied my identity to. The events, the music, the scene I was finally starting to carve out space in—gone. And for the first time in years, I was completely alone with my thoughts. No distractions, no packed schedules, just the terrifying realization that I had no idea who I was without the work.
I could have disappeared. I could have given up. But instead, I reinvented myself—again.
I started DJing in the park, not for money, not for bookings, but because I needed to feel something real again. I picked up a tattoo gun and started tattooing my friends. I launched Mellen Collection, my design and clothing brand, because if I couldn’t create through music, I’d create in other ways. I threw myself into anything that made me feel alive again. And what I realized during that time was this: resilience isn’t just about survival—it’s about refusing to let yourself disappear.
Since then, I’ve built everything back from scratch, again. I launched WetAF, giving a platform to queer and underrepresented artists who are still being overlooked in the industry. I took over as Talent Buyer & Event Curator at Paname, where I don’t just book artists—I give them the kind of opportunities I spent years fighting for. And I’ve stepped into my own power as HiGHMAGS, a DJ/producer who no longer feels like she has to prove anything to anyone—because I already know my worth.
If I’ve learned anything, it’s that resilience is not about bouncing back—it’s about rising up differently every single time. I’ve had to start over more times than I can count, but I never come back as the same person. I come back sharper, louder, and more unstoppable than before. And that’s why no matter what happens next, I know I will always find a way.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
At my core, I’m a master builder. Not in the traditional sense—I don’t build houses, I don’t build skyscrapers—but I build spaces, communities, opportunities, and moments that didn’t exist before. My entire life has been shaped by the understanding that if something isn’t there, I have the ability to create it myself.
I didn’t grow up surrounded by artists or entrepreneurs. I grew up in a place where creativity wasn’t a career, where people followed the paths they were told to take. But even as a kid, I knew I wasn’t meant to fit inside someone else’s structure—I was meant to build my own. I’ve never been satisfied with what’s been handed to me. I’ve never looked at an industry and thought, Okay, I’ll just work my way through this system. Instead, I look at the gaps, the missing pieces, the things that don’t exist yet, and I find a way to create them.
That mindset is what’s fueled everything I do. It’s why I left Indiana with no backup plan. It’s why I jumped into music without waiting to be booked. It’s why I took on event curation, talent buying, and design without any formal roadmap. Because I don’t believe in waiting for permission. If something is missing, I build it.
That’s how WetAF came to life—a space where queer, non-binary, and female artists actually get the respect and visibility they deserve. That’s how I took on Paname—not just to book talent, but to reshape nightlife into something more intentional and experience-driven. That’s why I launched Mellen Collection—because I see fashion as another way to create identity and energy beyond the club. And that’s why I tattoo—because art that lives on skin has a permanence that reminds people of who they are.
But beyond the projects, beyond the titles, what drives me is connection. I don’t want to just build things—I want to build meaningful experiences that make people feel something. I want someone to walk into a space I’ve created and know, without a doubt, that they belong there. I want artists to step onto my lineups and feel valued, not like an afterthought. I want people to leave my events, wear my designs, hear my sets, and feel like they’re part of something bigger.
I don’t do anything just for the sake of doing it. Everything I build is intentional. And that’s the mission—to keep building, keep creating, and keep proving that if the world doesn’t have a space for you, you can carve it out yourself.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/highmags/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Maggie-Mellen/pfbid0aAUuVradzQR4wHhmToutBpnsJjt7S7yD1Puq9jnsRzS1eDGPQhs5TFjQ4VefJQEVl/
- Linkedin: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiCn6OK9LyLAxUhDkQIHZabBRsQFnoECBcQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Fmaggie-mellen-993a01106&usg=AOvVaw2NnKxl3HqSN0Lm3AcYJ9R5&opi=89978449
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/highmags
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/paname.sf/
https://www.instagram.com/wetaf.collective/
https://www.instagram.com/mellencollection/
Image Credits
Rachel Ziegler