Steve has a part of the Carolina Panthers Black & Blue Crew for 6 seasons and is even co-captain and one of the four flag runners when the Panthers score a touchdown. He is a full-time personal trainer with Camp Gladiator where he runs five outdoor workout locations for 60-70 people weekly. He has been a part of the Charlotte Hornets Swarm Squad and at one time was a professional mascot with the Charlotte Hounds lacrosse team. He has been backup to Chubby with the CHeckers, has danced in front of 72k people as Sir Purr’s mini sidekick, and was the Queen Charlotte turkey mascot for the Novant Thanksgiving Parade! AND even with all this going on, he is the most organized person we know!
Steve started making his mark on SSS in August 2009, and he can even tell you the exact date because he still has his first gig review in a file on his computer. Matter of fact he still has all reviews he has ever done since joining the company….We told you all he was organized!!
Prior to joining our team, Steve owned his own single operator DJ company. Because of this, he met Vinny Esposito at a local bridal show and instantly struck up conversation. It only took SSS playing the “Cupid Shuffle” for Steve to join in on the dancing with the SSS guys. One of Steve’s friends had recently joined the SSS squad as well, and he kept begging him to just drop his name to Vinny, let him know he was definitely interested, and that he wanted in badly!
Steve says the growth of SSS is unmatched. He remembers doing Lead DJ meetings at Vinny’s house when there was only 7-9 DJs on the team. What is the number one factor that has not changed over the nine years? Steve says, “Philosophy!” He admires how SSS hires great people that care about the job they are doing and are not that same cheesy DJ that plays the same stuff at every single event.
To last as long as Steve has in this industry, he believes not only do you have to REALLY love what you do but also have to be ready to up your game to bring it to the next level - whether buying a new mixer & software or doing workshops with fellow DJs to learn new tricks. What makes Steve stand out as a DJ? He truly cares about people & has a love for life, he has a great knowledge of most styles of music, and he is always willing to learn something new to constantly improve.
Steve looks at a wedding like a game day. In his ideal A-Team of vendors, he obviously looks for everyone to work well together but also who are willing to take suggestions if he feels like it will improve the event. He does not want vendors that he can run all over, but instead ones that are willing to listen to a different perspective if it will help the flow and improve the overall experience. He is a strong believer in sitting down with his couples and just having a regular conversation. This allows him to really find out who they are, what they like, and what they envision for their day. He always tries to pull ideas out of his couples that can make their day different from everyone else’s.
Hard work is a common trait of our entire staff, but everyone explains it differently. Steve says, “Whether you are cleaning a toilet or working 5 jobs to make ends meet, hard work is going out and doing whatever you are doing to the absolute best of your ability.” Where did Steve learn this quality from the most? His Step-Dad! He was 19 years old when he met Steve’s mother, who had 3 kids. Steve says he and his family have always treated them as if they were his own.
What would Steve’s biography title be? Either “Do You Ever Sleep?”, “What Did You Take & Can I Have Some?” or “Life is Boring?! What planet do you live on?” He joked that his life story would be a trilogy like Lord of the Rings!
Luck is not in Steve’s vocabulary. For him, it is more like “blessed”. He says, “I am blessed with a loving wife who has almost died three times and puts up with the absolutely crazy life I lead. I have two awesome children who are getting ready to go into the Army and serve our country. I am blessed with incredible friends and some of the most amazing jobs that some people only dream about!” Steve would truly give you the shirt off of his back.
Just when you think you have seen it all with this company, we are breaking the mold and doing something different. His favorite part of SSS has to be the rest of the people he works with. He loves getting together and sharing ideas to learn from everyone else. He believes when you have a group of people that feels like family, you want to be around them for as long as you can whenever you can. Steve says, “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it a million times. There is never a day that I ever regret dissolving my own company and joining Split Second Sound!”
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