When sophomore Shayan Tabrizi was 11 years old, he discovered two new things in quick succession: the dangers of clickbait and his passion for mixing music.
“It was on my first laptop, I was trying to download Minecraft or something,” he said. “It led me to a virtual DJ thing, [which] was actually a virus.”
Tabrizi quickly forgot about the video game and was immediately sucked into the world of DJing.
“I had a couple of songs in my computer library, I dragged them on [the site] and just messed around,” he said.
So began the career of “DJ Brizi.”
Tabrizi’s parents were supportive of his newfound passion, and helped him launch his career.
“My first gig was for my brother’s theater show,” Tabrizi said. “It was for their cast party after the show, my mom got it for me.”
His family has always supported his entrepreneurship.
“My mom [and] my family … like when I do good for myself and make myself a little bit of money,” Tabrizi said.
Because of a lack of materials and experience, the first few years of his DJing career were austere. Tabrizi used the basic software he had initially accidentally downloaded for all of his gigs.
“At first, I was playing the same set of 200 [songs] and it was kind of getting repetitive and boring,” he said. He now possesses a library of 4,000 songs.
Tabrizi’s career took another turn when his mom gifted him professional DJing equipment for his 14th birthday — but not without asking for something in return.
“My mom handed me this huge … box and said, ‘We’re having a party today,’” he said. “I had to teach myself [that very] day [how to use the DJ equipment] and by the night, I had to DJ for [my own birthday] party.”
Tabrizi attributes his success to his mom’s support and his dad’s love for music.
“I’ve been raised with Persian music,” Tabrizi said, whose Persian roots have influenced his love for all types of music. “Persian music is so vast and is made of so many strings and vocals, [it’s made] me a more versatile [DJ].”
Tabrizi’s friends have also been supportive of his career, and help him with the challenges that oftentimes come with being a DJ.
“Just recently I brought five or six of my friends to this big house party I was DJing for. It was really fun for them and fun for me [to have] buddies there that could support me,” Tabrizi said. “Even at times when there’s a bad crowd, they don’t really want to dance, I’m still there with my friends and have a good time regardless.”
Though he has certainly grown in the past few years, Tabrizi — like any musician — encounters negative experiences while DJing.
“You’ll play a song, and not a lot of people will know it,” he said. “Or … I [might] play something new for people that are 70 or 80 [years old and] it’s not going to be the most exciting thing for them.”
He cringed as he recalled a time that he played some hip-hop for a group of older people.
“People … headed [straight] for their seats,” he said.
Being a young DJ is a challenge within itself. Because of his age, Tabrizi cannot DJ for big clubs in San Francisco, an opportunity he speaks about anxiously and passionately. Tabrizi said that DJing in big cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco is how DJs get noticed and get their start.
However, his age also can work in his favor.
“More people will hire you because they think it’s cheaper,” he said. “I’m doing the same work that a thousand-dollar DJ would do for [about] half the price.”
For Tabrizi, becoming successful at such a young age wasn’t easy — it required seizing opportunities and accepting all the help he could get.
“It may seem embarrassing [to have] your mom coming along with you to all your DJ gigs,” he admitted, “but it will help you in the long run.”
His career started as a small job for family and friends, but has since grown. Currently, Tabrizi’s Instagram account, @djbrizi, boasts over a thousand followers, and he frequently books gigs by handing out business cards and wristbands.
Tabrizi is unsure whether he would like to pursue DJing as a profession. Though he would like to work in the music industry, he acknowledges its difficulties.
“I [could] find a job in the radio [industry] and work my way up,” he said “or I could find something else that I love.”
Though Tabrizi’s discovery of DJing may have been accidental, he approaches every gig with purpose and passion. He frequently shares his talent by DJing at school rallies, playing music during lunch and even by mixing songs for the Lip Dub. While DJing parties allows him to influence a fairly small crowd, DJing at Aragon gives him the ability to set the mood on campus: whether he plays loud hip-hop that starts impromptu dance-offs at rallies, or throwbacks during lunchtime that create a light-hearted Friday afternoon.
