“I’ll stop being a DJ when it stops being fun.” That’s a promise that I made to myself over 33 years ago. My passion for spinning tunes and my early career as a Disc Jockey actually started during high school in a small town in South Georgia on the only radio station in town. Sure it was only on the weekend, but the thrill to have my friends at school on Monday morning comment on my show was too cool, especially when you are only seventeen years old. When I joined the Navy, I felt sure that my DJ days were over – little did I know that they were just beginning. During my six year stint in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear trained submariner, I was asked to DJ at a local church by a friend. Much to my surprise, people danced. This was actually more fun than being a radio DJ since I could see my audience. After leaving the Navy, my main objective was to attend college to earn a degree, but of course I still needed to make a living. So, while working on my Mathematics-Economics degree from the College of Charleston and later on my Masters degrees from the Citadel in Mathematics Education and Charleston Southern University in Business Administration, I DJed for several local radio stations and became the music director and weekend special programmer for one of the largest stations in Charleston. Also for five years, I was the regular “nightly” DJ for the Charleston Marriott Hotel. During this time in the 1980s of radio and club DJing, I was also asked time and again to DJ private events. By 1990, the number of requests to perform at private events, mainly weddings, had given me the idea to expand my DJ company to include other people with a passion for music and people. The goal was to hand-select DJs who possessed an outstanding personality, a sense of professionalism, and a willingness to go above and beyond in their service.

Clearly with the number of events that Jay Maxwell’s Music by Request performs each year, this is a full time job which keeps me very busy. What many people find interesting is that I have another full time career. I started teaching as a full-time professor at Charleston Southern University in 1993. Of course my students know me by my real name, Professor J. Maxwell Rollins. People often ask me, “Why two careers?” Well, I have a passion for both careers. After my first year of teaching in the School of Business, I moved over to the Mathematics Department for thirteen years before transferring back to the School of Business in 2007. While most professors teach in only one area, I have the opportunity to teach a wide variety of courses including Economics, Finance, World of Business, Management, Organizational Behavior, Leadership and Statistics. Management and the World of Business are two of my favorite because my two careers actually intersect. Students enjoy hearing my “real life” stories about my experiences in management, ethics, leadership, and entrepreneurship. Every day when I step into any classroom, I view it much like a show – I read my crowd and try to determine what will make them connect to the material. My goal is to get them involved. It has been an honor to be the recipient of many awards and recognitions during the past twenty-one years of teaching including receiving Charleston Southern University’s prestigious Excellence in Teaching Award, the Professor of the Year Award and the School of Business Faculty Member of the Year Award twice (most recently in 2014). However, my biggest reward is when I know that I’ve had a positive impact on the lives of my students.

Another way that I combine both careers is teaching other DJs. My first priority is to teach my own DJs how to “Deliver WOW” and create an unparalleled experience at every event. This is our mission and what has helped establish our reputation as the most respected mobile DJ company in the Southeast. Since my radio days as a music director, I’ve had a passion to keep up with clients’ requests to determine the most requested songs. This “research” actually led to writing about the best songs to play for certain events and publishing these articles for other DJs in the U.S. and Canada to read in the premier DJ magazine Mobile Beat. The first article appeared in issue # 11 in 1992 and I’ve had an article published in every issue since then. In 1997, this research was first published as an entire book, Play Something We Can Dance To. Each year the book is updated and many mobile DJs buy the newest edition annually to learn about the newest trends in music. The editors of Mobile Beat refer to me as “THE Musicologist” for mobile disc jockeys.

In everything that I do in life, I strive to go above and beyond what people are expecting. Whether it’s in the classroom or at a wedding reception, my mission is to “deliver wow.” Yes, I’ll stop DJing when it stops being fun – but I don’t think that will happen any time soon.