A man has revealed how he knew he had to change after a "naive" mistake left him in pain and "in the dumpster.". Sie Austin, 38, from Wavertree, wanted to be a DJ from a young age but admitted the lifestyle he fell into led him down the wrong path. As a teenager, he got a job at a local bar and used it to get his first break in the industry.
However, this soon led to him hanging around with people who were "lovely fellas, but heavy drinkers", which is when he started trying to keep up with them. Sie told the Liverpool ECHO: ”When I was 14, I decided I wanted to be a DJ. That's all I ever wanted to do. I didn't have a clue on how to become one, or how to start. The day I turned 16, I went round near enough every venue in town with a CV with not much on it.
“I became a glass collector at 16 and the plan was to nag the DJs to give me a go and whatever, which ended up happening. I was warming up in clubs doing the first hour. “I was hanging around with fellas who were in their mid-30s, pushing 40. They were lovely fellas, but they were heavy drinkers. And they were all DJs. So at 16 you're trying to keep up with them and you're trying to be one of them, I was obviously still very naïve and just trying to fit in.
“It was great at first, it was loads of fun but after so many years, you start getting introduced to other things. By the time I was 18, I was doing Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, DJing full nights and not glass collecting anymore. “So you'd start on Thursday and you'd be drinking every night of the week. As the years went on, I literally could not go to work without drinking.”.
