Quotes About DJ'ing

What I did is I bought a drum set and I listened to 80s music, and I played, and I was, like, DJ'ing, and I said, 'this is what I wanna make. This is how I'm gonna give back to the people. I'm gonna make this party music.' It pulled me out of the depression, and then I've never been depressed since.

When I first started producing, all I had was this little crappy sampler called a S20, which had, like, a minute sample time. I was making crappy beats since I was, like, 17 or 18, using Florida rappers, where I'm from. Then I started DJ'ing because I just wanted to have a new job. I was a schoolteacher for a while, and it was the worst job.

I was DJ'ing house music way back when - I'm not like a new house guy.

I played with local bands and ended up touring with Scissor Sisters, Mylo, Alphabeat, and Calvin Harris. That somehow changed into DJ'ing.

I put out this record on Ninja Tune called 'Florida' when I was about 22. And at the same time, I was DJ'ing and beginning to mix stuff up and promote shows in Philadelphia and New York and my own parties and make mixtapes, put out bootleg white labels.

I went back to DJ'ing in 1987, and it's been an incredible second career for me. Plus, it's almost a parallel universe. If you don't go to underground clubs, you wouldn't know what I do or who I am. So there's been a whole new audience of people that don't even know I'm that 'Boy George', the one their mother used to like.

I like a challenge. I need to feel passionate about something. If I'm not passionate about it, I can't stand it. It has to feel real. DJ'ing, touring, charity work - anything.

I was making crappy beats since I was, like, 17 or 18, using Florida rappers, where I'm from. Then I started DJ'ing because I just wanted to have a new job.

My stage name has always been 'Armin van Buuren.' When I really started DJ'ing professionally, I already had a few U.K. hits under my belt under the name 'Armin', so I couldn't really change that anymore.