Michael Gerth is our latest Student Spotlight, one of over 50,000 Digital DJ Tips students from 172 countries that have taken a DJ or production course with us. Here Michael shares how one course transformed a self-doubting beginner into a confident mobile DJ with a booming business.
Michael Gerth will never forget that New Year’s Eve at a ski resort in 2018. The venue was packed. The atmosphere was perfect. The crowd was ready to explode into celebration.
And Michael had them completely dialled in.
“I had played the venue before, but this night was magic,” Michael recalls. “The crowd, the music prep, the vibe – everything aligned. It felt like I could read the minds of the entire crowd. They danced so hard the place was sweating, and it fuelled my hunger for DJing for a long time afterward.”
That moment of pure connection – DJ and crowd moving as one – is what every DJ dreams of. But just a few years earlier, Michael was convinced he’d never experience it.
The reason? He was suffering from crushing imposter syndrome.
The confidence gap
Michael started DJing around 2008, drawn by a lifelong love of music. He’d always made mixtapes, and DJing seemed like the natural next step. But when he actually started, reality hit hard.
“When I first started, I had no idea how much I didn’t know,” Michael admits. “My confidence was way higher than my skill level – but oddly, that overconfidence gave me the push to get started.”
He played around with Traktor DJ on his phone and got totally hooked. He read Rock the Dancefloor! and learned so much. But something was still missing. Structure. A clear path forward. Accountability.
“I thought having an actual course with a schedule would be better for me,” Michael explains. “So I found Digital DJ Tips’ The Complete DJ Course and ran with it.”
The course that changed everything
The Complete DJ Course did something Michael didn’t expect. Even though he’d already been DJing for eight years, taking the training revealed how much he didn’t know.
“I had no clue how much I didn’t know about DJing, or its workflows, or gear, or the proper aesthetic of the business as a whole,” Michael admits. “The benefits of the course started paying off before I was even out of the modules.”
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One of the most valuable aspects was connecting with other students. “My new network of other students and DJs were able to talk to each other about how we did things, and understand a ‘standard’ which none of us had ever been able to identify before.”
Following the course, Michael was incredibly motivated and empowered. He corrected everything about his “business” – because it was no longer a hobby. He restructured his music, gear, practice, and advertising. “Everything needed work to some degree, from small fixes to complete overhauls – all of which I wouldn’t have known how to proceed on prior to the course.”
Michael enrolled in the course on 13th June 2015. The timing, though he didn’t know it then, would prove crucial.
At the time, he was on a three-year contract in IT. That contract ended in mid-November, and a proposed renewal got postponed by six months at the last minute. So while working on the recruitment process, he turned fully to DJing.
“I had had enough time since the course to apply most of the improvements, so I was fearless in the acquisition of gigs, both in person and online,” Michael explains. “The new network I had built locally through the course also was instrumental in getting me leads.”
This confidence from the course landed him a DJ residency at a ski resort – which would later become the venue for one of his most career-changing gigs.
“That helped a lot as I worked up to my first public performance – a whole 20 minutes on a Tuesday night in an empty club!” Michael laughs. “I was terrified and had some issues with the club equipment being broken, but I learned a lot and went from there.”
The breakthrough moment
From that winter until he landed a new contract later in 2016, Michael was solely a working DJ. Everywhere from the ski resort to Chicago nightclubs, private events and underground raves.
“It was marvellous! The gigs started rolling in like never before and I started building up experience that comfortably eroded away at the feeling of imposter syndrome,” Michael says. “I didn’t need justification that I was a DJ anymore. I just was.”
During that whole first year after the course, Michael revisited the material like clockwork. He also learned from all the gigs he was working – the best practice possible.
“It is impossible to learn how to read people if you only practise in a closed room, so you have to get out in front of a crowd,” Michael explains. “Keeping the course material close to my practice kept me laser focused on improving.”
Resilience and reinvention
When Michael started his next contract work in mid-April 2016, life changed quickly – new job, marriage six weeks later, and his wife’s pregnancy two months after that.
“With all that going on, I still insisted on keeping the DJing going, because at this point, it wasn’t a hobby, it was part of who I was,” Michael says. He sat down with a DJ friend and brainstormed the next step, going back to discussions he’d had with Phil in the course.
“Together, we created a company that is still run to this day that focuses on weddings and corporate events,” Michael explains. It was the smartest decision and pivot he’d ever made with DJing.
By the end of 2018, Michael was up to a record 45 gigs that year. Everything from the course had come full circle for one of the best parties of his early career: New Year’s Eve 2018.
Business has improved every year without falter (with the exception of quarantine in 2020). Michael’s been blessed with opportunities to meet famous DJs in the booth – Gareth Emery, Armin van Buuren, Ferry Corsten – travel all over the US for DJing, pay for family vacations, coach other DJs who’ve become highly successful, and donate his DJ skills to impactful charities.
All while juggling a full-time IT job and still being present for his children.
That New Year’s Eve moment
Which brings us back to that ski resort on New Year’s Eve 2018.
“I’d played the venue before, but this night was different,” Michael remembers. “Everything was in sync and everyone had that transcendent unity that we’re all seeking – ‘the universe was playing through me’ flow that DJs sometimes talk about.”
“I’d had it before, but not like that.”
That moment of total connection – when the DJ, the music, and the crowd become one entity – is what DJing is all about. And it’s a feeling Michael would never have experienced if he’d let imposter syndrome win.
The power of structured learning
Looking back, Michael credits The Complete DJ Course for making his entire DJ career possible.
“The Complete DJ Course was instrumental for me finally taking DJing seriously,” Michael says. “Per the course’s advice, I made a conscious decision about how to carve out the time needed to learn to DJ. I dropped online gaming to focus on DJing.”
“The part about getting out to network and meet people was crucial. People often complain about how everything is about ‘who you know.’ It is absolutely true, but not in the way they think.”
Michael explains that opportunities happen spontaneously. “If you’re not out meeting people and taking part in your local scene, you’ll never be able to take advantage of those opportunities. Sure, some people only book their friends, but there are tonnes of opportunities for new people out there if you put in the time to show up.”
“And showing up is just as important a skill as being able to do fancy transitions or having the best music.”
Words of wisdom
Michael’s advice to his pre-DJ self is characteristically practical:
“There’s an incredible opportunity coming that will give you everything you want – but there’s more to learn than you think. Be humble. Listen to your mentors with both ears. Expect to learn from every gig. Never assume you know what’s going to happen – everything can change with a single song.”
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His guidance for aspiring DJs?
“DO IT! It’s one of the most emotionally rewarding things you’ll ever get paid to do. Start with the right information in the right order. Don’t dive into fancy transition tricks or complex gear tutorials on YouTube before you know how you’ll even get a gig.”
“I learned a lot in circles until I found Phil and Digital DJ Tips, and then everything started making sense. Yes, it felt like drinking from a firehose at first, but it was the clarity I needed.”
“And most importantly – don’t rush. This takes time and experience to truly master.”
Finally…
From imposter syndrome to packed dance floors. From an empty club on Tuesday nights to ski resorts on New Year’s Eve. From playing alone in his bedroom to making a successful career from what he loves.
Michael’s journey proves that structured learning, community connection, and simply showing up can transform anyone from a self-doubting beginner into a confident, working DJ.
“I literally credit my entire DJ career success to finding Digital DJ Tips,” Michael says.
That’s not hyperbole. That’s gratitude for the clarity, structure, and confidence that proper training provides.
The imposter syndrome never really goes away completely, but with the right foundation, you can quiet it enough to let your passion shine through.
And when it does? Magic happens.
Ready to build your DJing confidence?
Michael credits The Complete DJ Course with giving him the clarity and structure he needed to transform from self-doubting beginner to confident working DJ, but we also have a wide selection of DJ and production courses to choose from.
Want everything Michael learned and more? Access All Areas gives you unlimited access to every Digital DJ Tips course, including The Complete DJ Course and all future releases.
Phil Morse
