Imagine a packed dance floor covered in party lights and loud music. You look up from your DJ booth to see a crowd losing their minds to the last song you dropped. You’re not surprised at all – you’ve been reading the room all night.
The woman in a long dress with sneakers, a group of college kids with festival wristbands, the guy who had one too many and needs to sit this one out – all these clues help you give people what they need without saying a word. It’s like you’re a mind reader who knows their next move before they do. Photographers, managers, and event staff surround you as you keep the party going late into the night. And when the afterparty ends, the crowds fade away but the people you worked with stay behind. They love what you accomplished, and are ready to hire you for future events. This happens week after week, year after year, until your calendar is completely full.
All this success came from hard work and soft skills, but there’s one skill that stands out above the rest: adaptability.
Before becoming a Full-Stack Web Developer at Grapevine, I earned an audio engineering degree from Full Sail University, started my own company, and worked as a professional sound engineer and DJ for nearly two decades. I spent my nights rocking crowds and days managing a booking agency. I wasn’t sure how a career pivot from audio to software would go but this wasn’t the first time I remixed my entire life.
I spent my childhood studying performing arts before making the tough choice to focus on a career working behind the scenes. And at Grapevine, my job is the perfect blend of my technical and creative background, requiring a deep understanding of both back-end and front-end systems. I spend time bouncing between an endless number of tasks: writing and testing code, designing products, onboarding projects as a UX designer, recording and producing podcasts, building automation tools, and keeping our meme channel full of jokes that sometimes spark a real-life idea! I’ve spent three years (this month) as part of a team of creative professionals who support my growth while having fun along the way.
When it comes to my “new” career, my time in the music business taught me countless lessons that I apply to our clients’ projects. Soft skills like emotional intelligence, effective communication, adaptability, and time management are just as important in my world at Grapevine. In fact, these are the three I lean on the most:
- Great Teams = Great Results: The best things are made by the best teams.
- Temperature Checks: Always read the room and match your creative decisions to the vibe.
- Lifelong Learning: “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” (TL;DR Don’t be a know-it-all.)
And I apply these same values outside of work. I’m constantly learning something new whether it’s on the basketball court, in the recording studio, or in my most important role as a dad. As any parent knows, creative problem-solving can turn an old book into an unforgettable bedtime story. The best memories of my life are with my son. We’ve done some amazing things like indoor skydiving, climbing waterfalls, and exploring big cities – but my favorites are the simple ones: bike rides and making up our own games at the park. He reminds me that the best moments aren’t the most expensive, and everything’s better when you share it with someone you love. I’m grateful we still make time together as he grows into adulthood, and that he never misses a chance to crush me in Mario Kart.
Mindfulness ties everything together for me with my free time spent exploring nature, reading, and connecting with friends at music events. Mental health takes center stage in my world, and I truly believe that you can’t help others until you have your own oxygen mask on first.
All of these skills make the biggest one possible: adaptability. Just like in the entertainment industry, my career at Grapevine has been centered on adjusting on the fly, pushing through challenges and staying open to new ideas. I may have traded dance floors for code editors, but the mindset has remained the same – it’s about listening closely, anticipating needs and creating experiences that move people.
About Grapevine Communications
Grapevine Communications is a full-service creative marketing agency celebrating 23 years of success on the Suncoast of Florida. To learn more about what we do, visit our services page or call us at 941-351-0024.
