Training twice a day for six days a week, Evan Enzeo was chasing his goal of becoming a professional soccer player. But halfway through his degree in Sports Recreation and Management at Mount Royal University (MRU), he attended his first music festival which changed the trajectory of his career.
Describing his family as sport-oriented, Enzeo lived an active lifestyle growing up. He did laps at the pool and carved through ski slopes, but found his passion was on a field just outside of his home kicking around a soccer ball.
Throughout high school, Enzeo participated in a prestigious program for student-athletes who had dreams of playing for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) or Major League Soccer (MLS).
“High school was extremely tiring,” said Enzeo. “But it taught me a lot about my work ethic and my perseverance, how I never give up and always keep practicing to be my best.”
He then enrolled in a sports-related degree at MRU to chase his goal of going pro. However, he had a change of heart after attending his first music festival, Chasing Summer, in 2015. While watching the artists perform, he decided that he wanted to work in the music industry and that this dream may be within his reach.
“Ever since that first day eight years ago, I held that very close to my heart and never lost sight of it.”
Evan Enzeo
Enzeo embraced this change of direction. Instead of starting over with a new degree, he decided to use the rest of his time at university to take courses that helped him on his new path. Taking on these additional courses benefited his ability to manage, plan and organize large-scale events.
Many of the skills and traits he picked up through his years of playing soccer have also been useful for building his career in the music business. His dad, Albert Ho, said that Enzeo shows strength in areas like networking, collaboration and leadership.
“The sports, because of his go-getter attitude, helped him take things into his own hands”, said Ho.
Enzeo landed a role as a part-time social media promoter for BluePrint Events, one of Western Canada’s largest entertainment companies. This role included attending and photographing events, as well as promoting upcoming shows on social media. He climbed the ladder and soon after became the event manager and attributes this rapid success to his perseverance and determination.
“I really just took the small steps into getting involved in the local scene and eventually into management positions,” said Enzeo. “Everything else since then has been working with my heart and my soul to pursue that dream and I haven’t stopped and I won’t stop.”
By forming relationships at Blueprint, Enzeo was able to capitalize on opportunities around him. One of Enzeo’s former employers, Gabe Ramsay, was responsible for organizing the opening acts at local shows and he was able to help Enzeo to get on stage and establish himself as a DJ.
“He is really motivated and pretty much willing to do whatever he can to get more involved, learn and even perform,” said Ramsay. “I’m happy I was able to give Evan these opportunities.”
Enzeo’s initial vision was to work behind the scenes with electronic artists until he realized it was possible to become a DJ himself. For his 22nd birthday, he bought his first controller board. Drawing inspiration from dubstep artists like Excision, Adventure Club and Illenium, Enzeo was able to create his distinct style of mixing.
“My personal sound is a nice blend of melodic bass music and dubstep. I like to take my listeners on a journey through their feels and their emotions, except it can also get rowdy as well,” said Enzeo.
In 2018, he played his first show at the HiFI Club, a small venue in Calgary. Since then, he has managed to perform at some of the largest events in Western Canada, such as Badlands and Get Together. He also played at Family Reunion where he got to open for the duo, Adventure Club, one of his biggest role models.
“Having that experience means now walking into tomorrow being happy that I got to do that. Because checking off your biggest bucket list goal, no matter how big that dream is, is really special,” said Enzeo. “And what a feeling that was.”
Enzeo wants to keep working his way up with dreams of moving to the U.S. and to work in the music industry on a larger scale. He’s also looking forward touring as a DJ in North America one day.
Ramsay admires how his friend has put in the work over the years and still manages to keep his drive moving forward.
“He won’t lose that flame anytime soon.”