My path to obtaining a Bachelor in Design Communication which I completed in March 2020 at Swinbourne University began during my monthly travel to China for final inspections. I decided to start a brand to enter the domestic Chinese fashion market but was soon aware that I lacked the knowledge to successfully accomplish this. At the time I was working at Michael Perry Fashion manufacturing apparel for major retailers Like Myer, David Jones, Glue, City beach, Pac Brands spanning Australia and Urban Outfitters and Foreve 21 in the USA, UK and Korea. I began my working in the fashion manufacturing industry whilst working part-time at JB-HiFi as a hi-fi salesman.
During that time, my brother proposed I leverage the business and customer networks I had previously established as a DJ to sell factory overruns from Sri Lanka which I did briefly. I was exposed early on the value of a customer centric approach and it has been an invaluable strategy throughout my career. I was regularly in the top 5 sales ranking status at JB in Brighton and formed close working relationships with buyers in both the consumer hi-fi and fashion industry. Based on conversations with buyers in the fashion industry, I learned of the challenges they were experiencing communicating with overseas suppliers. I realised it was not a communication problem, but rather a cultural one. Buyers at the time had a limited appreciation of the nuances associated with business dealings in the Asia sub-continent. Specifically between what’s considered rude or offensive or more importantly the desire of suppliers to not lose face in front of the customer. The experience I gained pioneering the east and southeast Asian university events management proved invaluable in closing the cultural divide.

My big break in the apparel industry came when I cold-called Doug Zappeli at Dimmeys retail store in Richmond and got my first opportunity for a large order. I learned many new skills required for international trade some obvious ones such as the requirement for freight forwarding, customs and quarantine clearance and some not so obvious as the need for inspection of goods before shipment. Due to my ability to successfully multitask various projects on a daily basis, I earned the reputation of credibility and reliability amongst my customers and suppliers. In the early days the value of effective time management and most importantly dependability were traits that were reinforced in my new career. There were many high stress situations, but my ability to problem solve under pressure stood me in good stead - a skill I acquired as a DJ.

My experience as a DJ taught me how to analyse the mood of my audience, and respond with a customised solution in a dynamic environment. This skill gave me the ability to identify gaps in the market and leveraging my relationship with Martha Tsamis and my customer networks, I established myself as a premier event manager at the Warehouse night club promoting targeted events. I successfully performed and promoted many clubs embedding my status as a leading club DJ.

My dream of DJing was realised when I got my first resident job at the prominent Chasers night club. This was only possible due to the networks I established in the music industry while studying at the School of Audio Engineering (SAE) in St Kilda, I went on to become one of only four DJs who were resident at the best RnB clubs performing weekly throughout the 90’s including Effect at Warehouse night club on Friday nights and 31 Flavours at Metro night club on Saturday nights.

What led me to pursue a career as a DJ was my passion for music and performance. I knew at the outset to be successful DJ was not going to be an easy accomplishment - I needed to be creative. At the time there was no educational pathway to a career as a DJ. I chose to study audio engineering with the hope of creating a social network within the industry to realise my dream. To pay for the diploma I got a job as storeman at Leo’s supermarket in the Melbourne suburb of Kew. I learned quickly the value of putting customer needs first which resulted in promotion to a customer-facing role and over time, promotion to Dairy Case Manager. This experience at the beginning of my career showed me the value of a customer centric strategy for the success of a business and I adopted this principle throughout my professional journey. It was obvious - without the customer there is no business. For me the value of a customer centric approach was not only valuable to the business bottomline it was also valuable to my own take home pay.

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