He Was $50K in Debt… Then Bet Everything on Himself | Skrillex Story

Maybe there's no science in what it takes to be called a musician because this wasn't called music even a couple years ago. 1,000 days ago, yes. A few moons. I was like, you know, in debt. Like, I was living off credit cards. This is better than any fucking 50,000-person festival.

Hello, Believe Nation. I'm Evan Carmichael. My one word is believe, and I believe that entrepreneurs are going to solve all of the world's major problems. So to help you on your journey, today we're going to learn from Grammy Award-winning music producer Skrillex and my take on his top 10 rules of success. Rule number 5 is my personal favorite, and I'd love to know which one you guys like the best. And as always, as you're listening, if something really resonates with you, if there's a message that really holds true to you, please leave it down in the comments below and put it in quotes so that other people can be inspired. And when you write it down, it's much more likely to stick with yourself as well. Enjoy.

Cool, let's talk about how things developed, you know, in terms of when you started to play shows. Just give us a bit of insight into— were you sort of playing smaller club shows? I know you released stuff through that thing called MySpace back in the day, and how that evolved. Tell us about that journey. Before MySpace, I sold some CDs to Maybe there's no science in what it takes to be called a musician because this wasn't called music even a couple years ago. First time I went to the Grammys, people were still like, "Why is this guy at the Grammys? He's not making music, he's on a computer." Make music for the 16-year-old inside yourself even when you're 50 years old. Fuck the craft. Like, you can— everyone can learn how to do this shit. Like, it doesn't matter. Like, cultivate your own thing. Stick together and just do that. Have some fun, make some music. If it's fun, that's all that matters. You look back and be like, "I spent those days, I met some people." It was fun. That's cool. I'm not born in the same place, I'm doing the same thing you're also doing. Anything you're trying to start up, businesses or whatever, like, if you have a friend, start it with a friend. Like, the first guy that should hear your stuff and should be excited about your stuff is the guy that supports you the most anyway. And like, maybe you can do it together, and then that friend has another friend, you bring them over, you say, hey, check this out, do you like this? Maybe they don't like it, and you find the next person. And literally, like, it's, it's like you take one brick and just stack the next, and the most you can do yourself then you can create something, and sooner or later, people are gonna notice what you're doing because they can feel that energy. They can feel that, like, that, I mean, I think a lot of people, like A&R in the industry, like part of what we look for in an artist is not only someone that makes great music, but it's someone that has that energy, that devotion to what they're doing. And that's a big thing, man. That's what I look for in artists that I sign, are people that are really talented and people that have that energy, like, I'm just gonna do it. What's up? A lot of your hardcore fans were not really excited about this collaboration with Justin Bieber. I wouldn't even say a lot of my hardcore fans. I think my hardcore fans, like, get what I do and, like, like the fact that I don't care and, like, I'm not, you know, I'm not afraid to fail or I'm not afraid to do something that everyone doesn't like. A lot of times, you know, people do music for a long time and they get to a certain age and, you know, they have families and they have kids and all this stuff, but, like, you know, We're just so inspired and hungry to, like he said, is to make great songs and make great tracks that sound like nothing else and push the boundaries of what— I mean, even the Justin Bieber single that's a top 10 record, you know, isn't a pop format the way it's written. You know, it's not a traditional pop song and it's trying to sort of changing instead of the verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, outro, it's like we're changing the sort of pop format. It was only a couple years ago, like before, let's say skip back to 3 years ago, like I'm in debt, I'm probably in like, like 30 grand, 50 grand. 3 years ago? Yeah, 3 years ago. So like 1,000 days? Yeah, it's that, 1,000 days ago. Yes. Humans. I was like, you know, in debt, like I was living off credit card, like I had spent some, I got this lease on this building that I was actually essentially trying to do the same thing I'm doing now, but this is 3 years ago and it was so whack and like not legit, but I built out 10,000 square feet of studio space as well. And this is me and my friends living in this warehouse that wasn't zoned for living. So a year later, we got kicked out. I was in so much debt. Skrillex started to go, and I was just paying off my debts and trying to, like, re— like, stabilize myself, I guess. And I remember at one point, I had $1 million in my account, and that was it. And we were doing this tour, and all the shows were selling out. It was my first nationwide tour, and I spent all that money on production. Like, it's like, okay, cool. I just want to make these shows really, really special, and I want to make a show that everyone remembers, and I want to show that— show people that may not necessarily know where we come from that it's more than just meets the eye. It's more than just pressing a button. Like, there's so much that goes into creating a great show. So I spent all my money on that. Didn't have anything past that point. Didn't really know what I was gonna be doing or what the thing was, but like, It's times like that where you, where you really truly believe in something and you make that giant leap. And those are all, those are always really surreal and important times in your life, kind of like opening a new chapter, like you're moving to a different city, or you're in, or you're going 100% on a new idea. Those are always important, I think, as artists and creative people to take those, especially when you have the right people around you. The last thing I need to do is, is go you know, forum rolling and checking out what people are talking about me. And like, I don't care, you know, I don't care. And I'm, you know, a part of me wants to like ask them like, what's wrong, man? Like, why are you like, why am I, should I not be allowed to do this? This is what I love to do. I'm not doing anything wrong. I'm not, you know, killing babies or, you know, I'm not doing anything bad. Like, you don't have to like my music, but Do you have to? But then the other side of me is like, you know, it's a waste of time. But I mean, you get angry sometimes, but then that kind of washes away, and then you just go, man, that sucks. I'm more interested, like, when I read things on message boards and reviews, like, I want to hear good— I want to find out new cool things. I want to hear the new great song. I don't want to hear someone trash-talking someone else. I'm not just— that's not discovering it. That's dictation, you know what I mean? I'm not discovering— you're telling me to I had to think a certain way, whereas like something more open-minded, like, it's gonna make me wanna grow. I read that your parents were Scientologists. Your dad still is. Yeah. But you are not. No, I'm not a Scientologist, but my dad does it for himself, and it's something that's helped him forever. And why didn't you want to if both your mom and dad? Well, I think the main part is that it's like you dedicate so much of your time to it, And my time was always spent doing music, and I wouldn't have been able to do what I'm doing now if I spent my time doing that. Everyone at some point is just a guy or a person, but if you enable, if you give the gift and enable someone to help out and to be a part of something, I think that's amazing. Like, enablers, like, that's the true leaders, when you can enable someone that's under you and give them a step. Because if you look around, man, there's a lot more geniuses than you, than meets the eye. And you're like, man, these kids and all these people around me, all my friends that have been touring with me, just like before we were driving vans and trailers together, like getting $50 a show, like making no money but doing it all ourselves. And we were just kids doing that. And looking back at it now, like, had we had the internet and all these things we have now back then, it would have been a different story. But now that's true, you know. Now it's like, it's incredible. Leaders, leaders don't have followers. Leaders create other leaders. What excites me about the future is that anything could happen. Exciting thing about this ride is it's expect the unexpected. Like, that's been this whole year for us. Anything really can happen, like, as long as you work hard and we keep doing what we're doing. We're working hard, but we'd be working hard anyway because we love the music, right? 50,000-person festival. It's— you know what that means. No, no, no, wait, wait, wait, wait. Every time I train with him, Nick should do some long athletic Indiana Jones. ¡Gracias!

Thank you guys so much for watching. I made this video because The Electric Warehouse asked me to. If there's someone you'd like me to profile in the next top 10, check out the link in the description and go and cast your vote. I'd also love to know what was your favorite message from this video? What did you learn from this video that you're going to immediately apply somehow in your life or in your business? Please leave it down in the comments below, I'm really curious to find out. I also wanna give a quick shout out to Serge Wisdom. Thank you so much for picking up a copy of my book, Your One Word, and posting 8 different reviews chapter by chapter of the book on your YouTube channel promoting it on Twitter as well. I really, really appreciate the support, and I'm so glad that you enjoyed the book. So thank you guys again for watching. I believe in you. I hope you continue to believe in yourself and whatever your one word is. Much love. I'll see you soon.

If it's not fun, if it's not a good time, if the party doesn't— then I don't want it. It's not about— then don't do it. You know what I mean? It's not a job, it should be something you enjoy. And to see it grow and have success, you just want to work harder and make it better, you know? When you're playing a show, the energy you get from the stage is, like, indescribable, and it's just, like, this constant feedback, you know, like a cycle. And when you're in the studio with people, when you have good energy and people are having fun and feeling the music, it inspires you to continue to go down the right path. If people start— stop moving, then you're not making the right sounds. Scientology gets a terrible rap, you know? What do you make of that? I think it's easy for a religion like that to get a bad rap because it's so sensationalized, and people want to get clicks and people want to sell magazines at the end of the day. And, like, you got Tom Cruise jumping on couches, and that's, like, you know, with Oprah, and that whole thing was, like, hilarious. Being an artist and knowing what it's like to be taken out of context or, like, at least to be criticized so much in the media. It's like, what is their intention at the end of the day? They're just trying to get a reaction. And I think if you're doing something that makes you happy, and that's all that matters.