DJ Spin Citi got his start as a teenager, playing the music at parties for his friends. Years later he is the official DJ for reggae singer Gyptian, and travels the world mixing tunes.

He will be on the island next week at Toast the New Year, an all-inclusive event at Pier 6.

“The vibe will be 100 per cent energy; 100 per cent,” the DJ said. “I’m going to come to interact with people for a fun, clean party and start 2019 off right.

“People who have heard me before know what to expect.

“This is my third time coming to Bermuda. I was there for the raft up at Cup Match this year. I did [Pure — The White Party] last year. Now I love it. It’s in my top five places to visit right now. It’s really beautiful and I love it, especially riding on the mopeds.”

The Guyana-born DJ, who moved to New York when he was about 4 years old, realised his talent at age 13.

“At school parties and whenever friends came together and started doing parties, it was always me and my friend Young Chow. We started doing parties for our teenage group. That’s where it all started. We just loved music from a young age. We would get the party started and it’s how we made a name for ourselves.”

His name, he said, came from the hit TV series that ran from 1996 until 2002, Spin City.

“I actually gave it to myself,” he said of the moniker. “I thought it would be a nice DJ name. Now this is my career. Since then, it’s how I have paid the bills, and I’m having fun while doing it. You shouldn’t have a job if you can’t have fun with it.”

Life got a little more interesting after a record label executive heard him DJ and introduced him to Gyptian.

“He personally said, ‘I want you. I like your energy. I like your vibe’ and I was like, ‘Let’s do this’. I thought we could work as a team. It all started from there.”

That was ten years ago. In the time since, he has travelled to “Dubai, Australia, Spain, all over Europe, to all the [Caribbean] islands and to Russia”.

“I’ve been all over the world just enjoying,” the DJ said. “I have a strong social media following on Instagram where my fans follow me.”

The trip to Dubai is on his list of favourites, mainly because the experience was so over the top.

“It was so remarkable — there was a DJ hanging from the ceiling,” he said. “But it wasn’t just that, it was everything, the whole show, and the ambience of the place was just amazing.”

As one might expect, his working day typically runs from 10pm until 5am.

“I am very much a night owl,” he said. “I sleep in the day.”

As he is always working on New Year’s Eve, he tries to make whatever party he is at, a fun one.

“We normally celebrate when the clock is about to strike 12, we turn up around that time,” he said. “That’s how we celebrate.”

As for the Bermuda celebrations at Pier 6, people should expect a bit of “reggae, soca, hip hop and old school”.

“They will get a little bit of everything,” the DJ said. “So they should definitely bring their dancing shoes. We’re going to party and have fun.”

• Join DJ Spin Citi, D’General, DJ Mystro, DJ Fury, DJ Pow, Stoli Vibe Zone, I-Breeze of King Jyrus Sound and Awesome Sound between 9pm and 3am on the upper level of Pier 6 on New Year’s Eve. Tickets, $100, include an open bar, party favours and hors d’oeuvres and are available from bdaTix.bm, MenCo, Jazzy Boutique, Kit n Caboodle and the event promo team,/i>