Digital Social Hour - The $0 Networking Hack That Landed Me Shaq as a Client | DJ Irie DSH #939

Episode Date: December 1, 2024

Discover how a $0 networking hack led to working with Shaq and transforming the NBA entertainment experience! 🎵 In this incredible conversation, learn how one DJ's authentic approach to building relationships changed the game forever - literally. From turning down a tennis match with Roger Federer to becoming the NBA's first-ever official DJ, this story proves that timing and genuine connections are everything in business. Get ready for an inspiring journey filled with amazing stories, including how the Miami Heat took a chance that revolutionized sports entertainment, building lasting friendships with NBA legends, and turning unexpected opportunities into game-changing career moves. Plus, hear the incredible story behind landing Shaq as a client and how it grew into an amazing partnership. Perfect for entrepreneurs, networkers, and anyone interested in the behind-the-scenes world of sports and entertainment. This conversation reveals how authentic relationships and being in the right place at the right time can lead to extraordinary opportunities - even if you don't spend a dime! 🏀 #Networking #BusinessSuccess #EntertainmentIndustry #NBA #DJLife #Entrepreneurship #MiamiHeat #SportsBusiness #howtonetwork #onlineeventplatforms #personalbranding #selfimprovement #howtonetworkwithconfidenceandpoise CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Intro 00:32 - Journey into Tennis 06:34 - IY Weekend Cruise Experience 10:08 - Miami Heat Overview 11:42 - Becoming the Miami Heat DJ 18:50 - Son's 18th Birthday Car Gift 22:44 - Upbringing and Background 25:50 - Pat Riley's Inspiring Pep Talk 28:58 - Alonzo Mourning's Impact on DJ Irie 34:22 - DJ Irie's Upcoming Events APPLY TO BE ON THE PODCAST: https://www.digitalsocialhour.com/application BUSINESS INQUIRIES/SPONSORS: [e-mail] GUEST: DJ Irie https://www.instagram.com/irie/ https://irieweekend.com/ LISTEN ON: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/digital-social-hour/id1676846015 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5Jn7LXarRlI8Hc0GtTn759 Sean Kelly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmikekelly/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Some of the biggest and best tennis players in the world. And I'm not even following what's going on. And I'm there taking it in, watching the best tennis players and then I'm just existing to a point. But even Federer was like, hey man, if you wanna, you know, go hit this in Dubai. If you wanna go hit, you know, right here. And I was like, I don't wanna waste your time.

Federer hit you up to go hit? Yes. Damn. Yeah, man. And you turned that down? Yes. I would never turn that down. All right guys, finally made it happen. DJ Iree, got him in Vegas.

Yo, we're on the pod right now, man. Yes sir, we're on the strip. SK, what's up? In my hometown, man. Man, good things come in time, right? They do, man. You've been all over the place. I've been moving, man.

I've been moving. I see that. Out here now with, for Kevin Hart's weekend. Nice. So we did it yesterday over at Resorts World. And yeah, it's timing worked out great, man. Oh yeah. I think if you're gonna do it anywhere,

it might as well be in your hometown. Might as well, man. So are you the DJ for K-Hart? Well, I played one, it's a bunch of people. Okay. Yeah, yeah, I mean, it's myself, Akon, Ludacris, Sweetie, Bryson Tiller. Yeah. Like, yeah. St mean, it's myself, Akon, Ludacris, Sweetie, Bryson Tiller. Yeah, stacked.

It's stacked. Holy crap. Yeah, that's all for his show, like Kevin Hart's show? Yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure. So, I mean, it started yesterday. So, you know, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, day and night. Janelle Monae, AKA DJ Johnny Jane, put me yesterday, so she did her thing. Yeah, it's good.

Nice. And then Kevin's good. That's good. Then Kevin's doing his show Sunday night. Yeah. How often are you out in the bank? Cause I know you got Ari Weekend, you got Shaq, you got Gronk. Yeah, man. We got a lot of stuff going on, man.

Like just back to back to back. You know, Ari Weekend's coming up. Actually tomorrow, it'll be next month. It's cause it's October 9 through 12. In Miami? In Miami, in Miami. And that's gonna be pretty stacked as well. I just don't understand how you stay this healthy

while going out till 3 a.m. every night. You know what, shout to wifey. Shout to wifey. She's got me right. She's changed my life for the better because things weren't as healthy before, you know what I mean? I mean, this is like, this is not like anecdotally,

I mean like this is empirical. Like I got my butt work done about a couple weeks ago and the numbers speak for themselves. Like everything's going in the right trajectory. So I'm very appreciative of that. Naomi J, appreciate you. I love that, man. I love that.

Getting your boy right. No, that's incredible. Cause you see some people in the nightlife space and they look like they've aged like 10, 20 years. Oh no, for sure, for sure. And I think for me, well, you know what's funny too is that, you know, pre-COVID, right? I'm talking, you know, 16, 17, 18, you know, 19.

When I tell you, I was probably like in a death spiral. Well, seriously, I can honestly say that I was not taking care of myself at all. Right. And I'll just bring the candles on both ends, you know, and I'm sure I was literally taking years off my life, you know, and then COVID hit. And here's the thing, I know for a fact, you know, some families got just devastated, you know, between losing loved ones, loss of income,

I mean, you name it, right? You know, people being, you know, very, very sick. For me personally, it was one of the best things that ever happened to me because it took me out of that spiral. It took me having to have everything stripped away to be able to have that experience of like just sitting my ass down.

Just sitting down and being like, well, you know what, there's nothing else to do but let me go for a run. Let me start eating better. Spending more time with the family, all these things, having those experiences because I just didn't have it, was like, no, I want this.

I don't wanna let this go. And then that's when better decisions started to come out of that. So it was good. So COVID forced you to kind of reflect on yourself. Yes, yes, in a very, very positive way. Nice, is that when you got big on tennis? That is.

So you know what, here's the thing about it. It's crazy how life, you know, things happen when they're supposed to happen because I was on this tennis tour called the IPTL. This is back in 2016, 17, right? And I was on tour with Nick Kyrgios, Serena Williams, Roger Federer, some of the biggest and best tennis players in the world, right?

And I'm not even following what's going on, because I'm the DJ for the tour, right? And someone has to go in my ear and be like, okay, play now, because I didn't even know when the point was over, right? I didn't know when the set was over, when the game was over, you know? And I'm there taking it in, watching the best tennis players

and then I'm just existing, you know? Light up Black Friday with Freedom Mobile and get 50 gigs to use in Canada, the US, and Mexico for just 35 bucks a month for 18 months. Plus get a one-time gift of five gigs of Rome Beyond Data. Conditions apply, details at freedommobile.ca. At New Balance, we believe if you run, you're a runner, however you choose to do it. Because when you're not worried about doing things the right way, you're free to discover your way. And that's what running is all about.

Run your way at newbalance.com slash running. And to a point where even Federer was like, hey, man, if you want to go hit this in Dubai, because this is in Dubai. Yeah, yeah. If you want to go hit, you know, I was like, I don't want to waste your time. Federer hit you up to go hit, this is in Dubai, because this is in Dubai. If you wanna go hit, you know where I am, and I was like, I don't wanna waste your time. Federer hit you up to go hit? Yes. Damn.

And you turned that down? Yes. I would never turn that down. I mean, because I just, you know, I had no interest whatsoever. Oh, you weren't playing at the time? I would, no, not at all. Oh, got it, got it.

This is like 2016, 17, right? Got it. And I had no interest whatsoever. It wasn't until a buddy of mine bought Prince, right? Got it. And I had no interest whatsoever. It wasn't until a buddy of mine bought prints, right? You know, the racket and tennis equipment maker. I used to use those. Yeah, and sent me like a whole kit, you know what I mean? With the racket and the balls and all that stuff.

And another friend of mine invited me to go play one day. Right? And I was like, man, I'm playing tennis. They're like, wait a minute, I have all the things. I said, let me go ahead and use this stuff because I've been sitting in my closet for all this time. And I went out there and I was so terrible. I was like Babe Ruth, just hitting homers.

I was so bad, like we had to leave because we ran out of balls. I kept hitting him into the water. I was like, all right, let's go home. And I felt like, you know what? I gotta do better than this, you know? And that's when I decided, okay, I'm gonna work at it. At least like, you know, be like decent,

you know, getting on the court. And then I just got hooked, man. I play every day. You play every day? Every single day. Damn. Like two, three hours a day. Holy crap. Sometimes twice a day.

Like, listen, you know how to get me to play tennis? How? Ask. That's it? That's it. like two, three hours a day, sometimes twice a day. Listen, you know how to get me to play tennis? How? Ask. That's it? That's it. Dude, so nice now. All you gotta do is ask.

The answer's yes. I love it, dude. So tennis over pickleball? Who, what, what, who? What is that? That's a rare opinion these days. Listen, nothing against people that play pickleball, but there's nothing like the workout you get with tennis,

in my opinion. And it's like, I go out there and I track it on my watch and I'm hitting 1,900 calories, dude, which is insane. Yeah, like insane. You never can do that playing pickleball. Hell no. This is not going to happen. So do you play the ratings or do you just play casually? I play casually, but I'm starting to get into tournaments.

Actually, I'm hosting my own tournament every weekend. Matter of fact, I usually do a big pool party in concert on Saturday. And I was like, you know what? Scratch that, I'm doing a tennis tournament. So now it's golf on Friday and tennis on Saturday. And I play in it. Of course, so last year was the first one.

This should be the second one. And yeah, I take it serious, man. Let's go. I think, yeah, come on, anytime. What's up, baby? Just ask. All right. Who wins the golf one usually at your event?

You know what? The 11 team, the 11 team, the guy named, so it's, well, Jeremy Sp Spund who's not officially with 11, but like he plays on their team. And what's my, Zach, Zach, Zach Bootsch. Zach is a beast. So Zach, Jeremy, and they have like two of like scratch golfers that are on their team

and they crush it every year, man. Oh, so you allow like pros to compete? Well, I mean, they're not like pros, pros, but they're really, really good. They're really good, man. It's probably not fair. Yeah, I feel that. They're really good.

They probably could join the tour, but they're super, super good. They crush it every year. Oh, yeah, dude. And you've been having this IRU again for how long now? This year's year number 18. Holy crap. Isn't that crazy, dude?

Dude, that's insane. 18, and it's been a grind, man. But it's a blessing that it's been a huge success every year. Gets bigger and better every year. I mean, this year I'm doing it on a cruise ship. What? It's kicking off on a cruise ship. Yeah, so our friends from Princess Cruises,

they gave us their brand new Sun Princess ship. And it's serendipitous because I did the launch of the ship in February out in Rome, right? And then we put out our save the date earlier this year and my buddy that works for the line gets it and he's like, yo, he calls me, he says, yo, your gala, your kickoff is on the 10th? And I go, yeah, he goes, you're sure.

I go, absolutely, he goes, you're sure. I go, absolutely. He goes, the date won't change, right? I go, it's Columbus Day weekend. It's definitely gonna be the 10th. He goes, because the Sun Princess is gonna be in town on the 10th for one day only. It will never ever be at port again for the full day. And we wanna offer it to you to do your event.

What about that? I'm like, come on, destiny, right? Just the one day out of 365, the one day and it lines up. And I was like, all right, let's do a big. And that's when we just be committed. You got the whole ship got the whole ship. And I was like, like, Holy ship. You know, how many does it fit? Well, we're gonna have, we're gonna have about 1500 people on there. Yeah. And then because they have their debut event as well, so they probably have another 800 or so. So we'll have our own spaces to do our stuff. Got it. And then

there gets the wall convergent. I'm a Lido deck. I have McPops from McCafe are a new sweet treat available in three delicious flavors, Barry white, and hazelnut and cocoa. Perfect to add on to a small $1 plus tax premium roast coffee. It's a match made by McCafe. At participating McDonald's restaurants, prices exclude delivery. Pitbull performing. To kind of like close out the night so everybody will be on the Lido deck for that and it'll be awesome. That's legendary. Yeah, man, it's gonna be good. How's the Miami Heat stuff doing these days?

The heat. The heat. The heat. The heat are heating up. The heat are heating up, man. They're looking good. They're looking good. They're looking good.

They're looking good. It's crazy because, you know, thinking about it, I mean, they've really, really been one of the more consistent and successful teams over the last decade. I would put the Spurs first and the Heat second. I agree. I agree. So you really, really follow basketball. I do put the Spurs first and the Heat second. I agree. I agree. So you really, really follow basketball.

I do. You do. It's been amazing. I mean, even 2020, who would have thought that we would have ended up in the finals in the bubble? Yeah. Right? And then a couple of years later, back again.

It's crazy, dude. It's crazy with a completely different lineup. That shows to the crazy, dude. It's crazy with completely different lineup, you know, so that shows to the culture, though. It does. It does. It does. And you know what, when you have an owner like Mickey Harrison, that's all in, right? That's all in on whatever it takes to win, right? And then you add that with the insight and the discipline of someone like, like, like Coach Riley. I mean, that is a winning combination, right, you know, and that's where it starts, you know, and then it kind of flows from there. So Coach Riley, I mean, that is a winning combination.

You know, and that's where it starts, you know, and then it kind of flows from there. So yeah, I think big things, I mean, this season, this season, you know, we'll see, we'll see it because competition is- Celtics are nice. Celtics, yo. Like-

And they're gonna be pissed after what happened with Tatum and Jaylen at the Olympics. Yeah, they are, you saw the Kaan Miami. I was like, really? Of all the places, go to Vegas. Yeah, they got a chip on their shoulder. They do. They do. They do. But we'll see. We'll see. We'll be ready. I love it, man. And they were the first organization to hire a DJ, right? The Heat. Yeah, man. Yeah. Not just in basketball, but in professional sports.

Oh, really? Yeah. Whoa. Because I was trying to figure out what the deal was. You know, when, when I sat down and met with them, I was like, damn, okay, you know, it sounds like a great opportunity, right? But I mean, how was this being done, you know, in, in Chicago or in LA, you know, in New York, and I asked these questions and said, hey, we looked into that, they're not doing it. I go, okay, what about in the NFL? Or Major League Baseball?

We looked into that too, no one's doing it. And I was like, all right, let me go ahead and screw this up for everybody. So you were the test dummy. I really was, I was, but it was so cool because that's what made me say yes. I actually, I initially said no. Wow.

You know when like, keep it real goes wrong? That was the situation. I almost kept it so real that it was a bad decision. Because I was doing at that time, I had like the number one mix show on the hip hop station, 99 Jams in Miami, right? And all my clubs, I was playing like, you know, hip hop and reggae and people were coming to see me.

He knows my name on the marquee, right? And I was doing what I do. I would have to do something completely different and off brand at the time, you know, to be able to, you know to change my style for the arena. And I was like, these season ticket holders aren't the people that are coming to my parties and probably not listening to my radio show.

So I was like, no way. And then when they told me, hey, you know what, this has never been done before. And I was like, you know what, I can make this mine. I can do this my way and I can figure it out. And either I'd be the first to make it successful or still be the first to try it and screw it up, but I'd be the first.

I love that. So that's what made me say yes. And thank God we would make it successful. Absolutely. Three rings later, listen, I would never have even seen an NBA ring. Have you seen me dribble? You don't want to see that, it's ugly. You know what I mean?

And now every team has DJ, right? Pretty much. Crazy. So you've revolutionized the whole professional sports. Yeah, I can honestly say that. And that's the biggest blessing of it all. For DJs, very talented DJs to now have a new lane, you know, for revenue and new opportunities

that really wasn't on the table before, you know? The very first year, I remember the first year, the first full year, full season, that I was, you know, in that post for the Heat, I got a call, you know, from the league, and they were like, hey, you know what? They do this meeting every year called Best Practices, you know, and they go through and every team kind of submits

what they're doing new that's really working. And for the heat, they submitted me, like, hey, we have this DJ and he's great. And then other teams start calling, like, hey, what are you doing? How are you doing it? And I was like, let me tell you. And I actually helped some teams get their DJs.

And yeah, it's just really, really awesome. Like it's now, it's a mainstay. And when I'm not at the Heat, they'll always, always be a DJ at my meet. And I think they'll always be a DJ at most of the teams not going forward. I love it, dude. That's awesome.

Do you travel with the team or do you just do home games? Only at home. Got it. Only at home. Got it, because they have their own DJs when you travel, I guess. Correct. That makes sense. Do you travel with the team or do you just do home games? Only at home. Got it. Only at home. Got it, because they have their own DJs when you travel, I guess. Correct. That makes sense.

You've built a bond with some of the players, right? Of course, yeah. I mean, it's really cool because not only do you build a bond with them, you end up being a part of some of the most important moments in their life. I did you Donnas Haslem's wedding. Wow.

Chris Bosh. What's my man from? A Cron Butler, right? I did Shaq's kids birthday parties, and you start to really get intertwined in their lives, all because of this music post that you have. And I remember when Shaq first came to Miami, I'd known him before, right?

We were cool, we were friendly, but then when he came to Miami, one of the first thing he did was pull me aside and he goes, yo, I wanna start DJing. I was like, what? He's like, yeah, let's make some mix tapes together. I was like, all right, well, let's get you DJed first. And I would go to his house on Starland,

we built out a studio in the house, right? And I'd go over there, like after games, even when he was at an away game, he'd get back at like two in the morning, hit me up, yo, you up? Yeah, I'm on the way. Yeah, and would put in like two, three hours of work, and he got nice, and today he's DJ Diesel.

Yeah, he's at the win now, right? Yeah, he's crushing it. At the win, he's doing festivals all over the world. I mean, he's legit, but the difference between Shaq and other quote unquote celebrity DJs, whatever, the guy freaking loves it, obsessed with it, and he really and truly put in the work. And he has the talent.

So it was really cool to be there at the beginning and work with him. And being at the Heat is what opened up that. Yeah, that's cool to hear. Because I thought he didn't start that till after he retired, but he was starting before. Yeah, for sure. Actually, if you go online and research it,

we have a series of four or five mix tapes that we did. Yeah, like the season opener, all-star edition, you know, so all tied back into basketball. But we were out like, you know, getting exclusives from like Slim Thug and Young Jock and you know, it was really cool. It was really cool.

He's always been into music. Always, man. I mean, the guy has a, you know, gold or platinum record. Right. I saw that hit. Yeah. If you don't understand like like like Shaq legit. Yep. Shaq does this music thing. Like he really does it. Yeah. He's talented. Is this something you want to teach your kids? Hand this off to them? You know what? So my son, he's a trip because I've obviously wanted to share this with him, you know him from like he started to understand music

and he does love music, right? But I had a whole studio set up in my place, right? The turntables, like everything was all set up, really, really nice system. And I would show him, hey man, this is how it works and he was never interested, right? And then we decided to remodel the house, right? So we had to take everything apart, take everything out.

And this was just over a year ago, right? The second I take the studio down, he's like, hey dad, you know what? I think I wanna really learn how to DJ. I was like, your timing is incredible, dude. Like seriously? This thing has been there for 16 years. And like the month after it goes apart,

he wants to learn. So, you know, when everything gets back, you know, up and going again, I'll try to teach him, but he'll be in college. So we'll see. Ah, that's hilarious. Damn. Gotta work out the timing.

He didn't know until he lost like that. Timing isn't his strong suit. Right, that's funny, man. I saw you timing. He didn't know until he lost it. Timing is in his strong suit. That's funny, man. I saw you got him a car for his 18th. I did, I did, man. Wow, it was really a moment, obviously a moment for both of us. But my thing is,

I work hard to try to give my son a better life than I had. And my parents worked very, very hard to give me a better life than they had, right? And for me, I grew up not wanting for anything, right? I didn't have every single amenity and luxury. I didn't always get what I wanted, but I had everything I needed.

And my situation was one of, I have an older brother, so it was a lot of hand-me-downs. Didn't get a lot of things new. So I got a second or probably third-hand car. And for me to be able to be in a position to give him a new car, you know? And say, hey man, this is you, you deserve it, you've earned it, you've been a really good kid,

you're working really hard in school, is amazing. And I keep instilling in him, the things that you do get, it's not because your dad's able to just give you whatever you want, you've earned it. He's earned these things and I want him to understand that his kids should also earn these things. 100%.

And work hard to be in a position to be able to give your kids a better life. So try to shed light and make a lesson out of almost everything. What a special moment. I saw the video, you two were both very emotional. Yeah, man, it was really cool. And the setup was even better because he'd used my car

the night before. Yeah. And he's a good driver, but sometimes walls get in the way. They're pesky. They keep just jumping out there. He's hit a few walls. So yeah, so he actually got to tour up the door on my girlfriend's car.

Poor girlfriend. So yeah, so, um, so he used my car the night before and I was like, dude, you scratched my car. He was like, what? I go, yeah, man. Like, you know, matter of fact, come downstairs. I got to show you. So if you, if you, if you really listen to the video after he's like, oh my God, so great.

He's like, so I didn't scratch the car? I was like, nah man, you're good. The timing on that's immaculate. He thought he was getting punished. He thought he was in big trouble. The whole time he's like holding his head, he's like, man, how does this keep happening to me? It's tough raising kids growing up in the spotlight

and money, you know? It is, man, it is. Cause they get influenced by their friend groups. So yeah, it is it really is but man He's just got a really really good head on his shoulders guys, you know, I knew I knew I was gonna be okay with him when this years ago, we're out and we're shopping for some stuff and go back to school and There's these shoes that he really liked and we were gonna go get him the shoes and he didn't realize how much they were, right? And I didn't really have an issue with it.

They were expensive, but I didn't really have an issue with it. And he was like, no, this is just way too much. First of my shoes I was gonna wear to school. And I was like, you're right. This was a test. I was like, you passed. I was like, God damn.

But he's conscious about these things. And I was like, wow, he understands the power of a dollar. He understands that money doesn't just grow off trees. And that's important. That's important, especially in the circles that he's in. He has friends that their friends are very well off. And it's not really a thing for them to have something super exclusive or luxurious. And he appreciates being around that,

but he understands the value of a dollar and doesn't take that for granted. I love that. It sounds pretty disciplined. I think he gets it from you, man. Yeah, well, I hope so. Cause I definitely understand it. Have you always man. Yeah, well, I hope so. Because I definitely understand it. Have you always been that way?

I have, I have. And I got it from my family. You know, my, listen, my parents, they worked extremely, extremely hard, you know what I mean? And I can honestly say that most of what they worked for went to us, you know? We went to the best private school in Jamaica. Wow, oh, you grew up in Jamaica?

So my family moved to, so obviously my whole family is from Jamaica. If anyone picked up on the iry thing, you make the connection now, right? Right? There we go. So my whole family is from Jamaica. I'm actually the only one that wasn't born there.

Oh wow. Right? I was born in the Virgin Islands in St. Roy. So my mom was a nurse and she, there was a shortage of nurses in the mainland and US territories. So they were offering, the hospitals were offering like a lot of money to get nurses from the crib

and other places to come over. So she got a great offer for the Virgin Islands. I popped out, right? Then they moved to, got a better offer for the Virgin Islands. I popped out, right? Then they moved to got a better offer in California. We all move there better offer in in in Texas, Galveston. And then they moved to Miami to be closer to Jamaica, right? So they go back and forth. So I did elementary school, all that in in in Miami. Yeah. And then middle school, you know, early high school is when they sent me to boarding school in Jamaica.

And it was one of the elite boarding schools there. So it was strict. It was strict, but it was also really expensive. And it's funny, because I'm there and the kids that I'm there with, this person's dad is the CEO of the Sugarcane Company and this person's dad is the CEO of the aluminum box site company, it's a big thing down there.

And like just really, really, really huge families. And I'm like, what the hell am I doing here? And they worked really hard to give me that opportunity. And the more I started to understand the sacrifices that they made, because what they were paying for in terms of the sacrifices that they made, because what they were paying for in terms of the tuition, they could have bought many luxury cars. Oh, it's that expensive.

It was really expensive. Matter of fact, my bunk mate was a guy named Sean Henriquez and his family was a major family. They were into banking and bottling. And he was also a music guy. Today, people know him as Sean Paul. Wow. That was your bunkmate?

That was my bunkmate. Crazy. Yeah, right? What a dog's nut. No, the school was crazy, man. It was nuts, it was nuts. So understanding that they forfeited having a lot of different things that they could have had

in terms of luxuries and amenities and vacations and all those things, they did without that, and sacrifice for us. So seeing that, that's something that I will never, ever, ever forget. And it's probably helped kind of dictate how I view money and have a profound respect for it and a profound respect for sacrifice.

Yeah, I could see why Pat Riley likes you, man. Oh yeah. You fit the system. Yeah, right? I'm all good with it, man. I get it. You've seen people come and go there. I have.

You better believe I have. Speaking of Pat, and this is funny too, because here I am thinking of doing a great job at the Heat, this is probably the first, within the first five years that I was there, like I'm rocking, I'm doing my thing, I'm pumping the crowd up, you know? And I forgot how, oh, it was when Coach Riley

was getting accepted into the Naismith Hall of Fame, right? Right before, right when it was announced, I was like, man, this is great. Coach is being, this is awesome, right? We're all super happy. So probably one of the next games, before he actually had the ceremony, when they announced that he was gonna make it,

he comes over to me in my DJ booth. He never comes over there, ever, okay? And I'm like, what the hell's going on? I'm like, he's definitely walking this way, you know? Am I getting fired or not? I'm like, what is going on? He comes over to my booth and he's like, hey DJ, and we know each other already, you know,

because I did his daughter's wedding and did his daughter's graduation, you know? And he comes over and he goes, DJ, I gotta tell you something. And I go, what's up coach? You know, I'm like, I'm not gonna suit up today. You know? So he was like, I gotta be honest with you, man. You know, when you first got here, I thought you were terrible. Wow. I'm like, wait up, this is gonna be the best pep talk ever. Right? He's like, I thought, I thought you were terrible. I thought you were just annoying and just loud. And I was like, I get the loud part.

And he goes, I didn't get it. Because I didn't get it at first. And as time went on, I understood that what you do really brings a different dynamic to this building, you know, and to the fans, you know, and I understand now why the fans love you understand, you know, how important it is to have you here. Yeah, right. And

it would be my honor if you'd come out and perform at my party. Wow. You know, and I was like, didn't see that coming. I loved that, dude. The way it started, it was rough, you know, but it's crazy. You know, he laid it out, you know, he's like, man, I really didn't get it, you know, because, you know, Pat, Pat's a great guy, but his taste in music is his taste in music. Okay. It's not necessarily a lot of stuff I play. Yeah, different generation. It's a different generation, but he's got a great taste in music is his taste in music. It's not necessarily a lot of stuff I play.

It's a different generation. It's a different generation, but he's got a great taste in music. I mean, impeccable taste in music, but it's just a little different than the stuff that I play at the games. But for him to share that with me and then give me that honor was just really, really awesome.

Yeah, that's profound, man. Yeah, he's the best of the best. You gotta love how blunt he is. Yeah, for real. I respect it. Yeah. I'd rather be is. Yeah, for real. I respect it. Yeah. I'd rather be told that than have someone talk about him about it.

You know what you're dealing with. Yeah. You know the cards you're being dealt, you know? And I'll take that any day. Yeah. Any day. What are some other lessons you learned from some of the players there?

Any big takeaways from like D-Wade or something? All of them, but probably most profoundly would be Alonzo Mourning. Alonzo. Alonzo. Alonzo has helped shape my career. He's helped shape the person that I am, my outlook on life. Wow.

And yeah, yeah, and probably most of all what it means to, what community means, right? And man, I'm probably gonna get a little teary-eyed on this, man, because I got very close to the Lonzo very early, right? As soon as I started, he's one of the first guys to really embrace me, you know?

And he would have his Zosam a Groove, right? And he would always have me out, you know, DJing the events, and that's what really helped expose me to other players, and being like, yo, that guy is nice, you know? And I the events and that's what really helped expose me to other players. And like, yo, that guy is nice. Right. And I started traveling and doing doing events for other players because he put me in that situation, you know, but even more importantly than that was.

You know, we started like hanging out, like doing social stuff together and then he got sick. Right. And when he got sick, it was really crazy because I thought he would never be able to play again. Wow. It's not bad. It was that bad. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Listen, you're a book called resilience. And he really lays out in there. If you guys I didn't even know about this. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So he had to have a whole I believe it was a kidney transplant. Whoa. I'm mistaken. Yeah. Yeah. It was it was really, really serious. He wasn't even supposed to be able to come back and play again.

So seeing him go through everything he went through and fight back to a position, not only where he was able to play again, but win a championship. Just unbelievable, unbelievable. And then the reason why I.R. Weekend exists is because of Alonzo Mourning. I actually, the parties are the parties

in terms of his weekend, but he invited me to come with him to speak to some kids at school, right? And I went with him and he's like, you know what the kids would love if you came out and did some music for them. And I'm like, yeah, for sure, you know? And when I went out there, not only did I listen to him, you know, give his remarks to the kids, you know,

and these kids were like mesmerized because they're like, wow, Alonzo Mourning came to our school, and this one, Alonzo was the biggest thing in Miami. You know what I mean? And for him to do that, it was really impactful, and I saw it on these kids' faces. And I even asked one of these kids, like, hey man, what was today like for you, you know?

And the young man, and he was like, you know what? I have to do better. He was like, I have to do better. I need to, you know, make my parents proud. I want to make Alonzo proud. Like this kid was saying that to me. And I was like, man, just him taking that time. He was supposed to be there for,

I believe it was 30 minutes total. He stayed there for an hour and a half answering every single question. Like there was no more questions to be asked. He answered every single question. Even his hand was like, yo, we gotta go. He was like, no, there's another question. And just seeing that was just so motivating.

And I was like, wow, you know what? People can make a difference, you know? It can be time, resources, whatever you have. You have to just use what you have. If you have resources, great. But it can just be time. Time can make a huge difference in somebody else's life just by spending some time with them

and giving them your focus. And my outlook before that was, yeah, I was always down to help. Like when Dan Marino called me to do something or Shaq or Jason Taylor, whatever, I was always down, right? But I never thought like, I mean, they're stars, right?

Like they're wealthy and they're big celebrities and they're all these things, so they can do that. I'm just DJ Irie. But being in that situation changed that out. No, I'm DJ Irie. I can do what I can do. I'm gonna reach out to my network.

I'm gonna pound the phones and I'm gonna do all the things that I know I can do within my power to make a difference. And that's why I did what I did. Dude, that's an incredible story, man. And look at it now, 18 years later, you probably saved thousands of lives. Of course, we've raised millions, we've changed and touched so many youngsters' lives.

It's unbelievable, unbelievable. I get emails sometimes out of the blue, hey, I'm such and such, I went through this program with the IRE Foundation or a program that we help fund or whatever. And now they're in college about to graduate. And they just got accepted for a job interview. Some men it's like, this is crazy.

But it's a beautiful thing. Dude, that's so inspiring. I can't wait to get to that level. I wanna start a charity one day too. Oh, you absolutely should. And it doesn't matter. What I understood from that time with Alonzo is that you might think like,

okay, well, it might not be the right time. Or you might think like, okay, well, I don't have enough of this or enough of that. It doesn't matter. It's what you have at the moment. Because no matter how small you think it is, maybe it can help one person. You know what I mean?

Maybe it can help two people, it doesn't matter. But any help puts our whole humanity in a better place. Absolutely, I love that man. Ari, what events are next for you? Where can people find you, man? Yeah, man, we got some good stuff coming up. So obviously here right now for Kevin Hart's, you know weekend Um after this i'm going to be going to new york

Um the roommates, uh podcast guys. Oh bobby lee. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So they're doing a live event Oh nice in new york. So i'm going to go and play that for those guys And then i'm heading out to LA, my niece, Jamie Foxx's daughter, Corinne, Corinne Foxx is getting married. Wow. Yeah, yeah, so. You're DJing that?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course man. I gotta take care of the fam, you know? Love it, man. Gotta take care of the fam. And then I have some other stuff in LA too, can't even remember. But yeah, we're just gonna be bouncing around, man. You know, all kind of good stuff.

Love it, dude. We'll link yourself below. Thanks for coming on, man. That was we're just gonna be bouncing around, man. I'll kind of get this up. Love it, dude. We'll link yourself below. Thanks for coming on, man. That was super fun. Glad we made it happen. SK, baby. Let's do it.

Peace, guys.