One DJ is turning heads, using his accounting job to promote his music.
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| John Summit |
This world famous DJ has been campaigning about his time as an accountant to becoming well-known on the internet.
World meet John Summit. He worked as an accountant for Ernest & Young to save up for his music career. And he is trending on social media because he is using the past - as an accountant - to a DJ with countless fans raving with him and all over him.
John Summit, aka John Walter Schuster was born on July 29, 1994 in Naperville, Illinois. Naperville is 33 miles outside the skirts of Chicago.
While he was in University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign program. He was doing side gigs at local venues around his area. For instance, The Red Lion in Champaign and the Canopy Club in Urbana.
I Googled what the Red Lion is and its a restaurant that serves alcohol, pub and pretty cool nightlife there.
He was in his early 20s, working as an accountant for Ernest & Young. He talked about his life as an accountant in 2023 with Zane Lowe.
Have a look below: (click on this link to watch a video about his Accounting job)
(you'll need Instagram to log in to see this.)
He then quit his job at Ernest & Young to pursue a career as a Disc Jockey (DJ). One of the Elana Gold from Linkedin said it best.
"In 2019 Summit saved enough to quit EY.
His plan? Give music six months. If it fails, back to accounting.
His mom cried when he told her. "You're gonna become a DJ?"
Every safe choice was obvious:
- Stable $65K salary
- CPA credentials
- Clear career path to six figures
- Parents who finally stopped worrying about him
He quit anyway.
The timing couldn't have been worse. Five Miami Music Week shows lined up for 2020. The pandemic cancelled them all.
Back in his mom's Naperville basement. No income. No shows. Just a laptop and a dream to DJ.
Summit sent 100+ tracks to labels during lockdown. 99 rejections.
Track #100 changed everything. "Deep End" became Beatport's longest-running #1 of 2020."
His plan? Give music six months. If it fails, back to accounting.
His mom cried when he told her. "You're gonna become a DJ?"
Every safe choice was obvious:
- Stable $65K salary
- CPA credentials
- Clear career path to six figures
- Parents who finally stopped worrying about him
He quit anyway.
The timing couldn't have been worse. Five Miami Music Week shows lined up for 2020. The pandemic cancelled them all.
Back in his mom's Naperville basement. No income. No shows. Just a laptop and a dream to DJ.
Summit sent 100+ tracks to labels during lockdown. 99 rejections.
Track #100 changed everything. "Deep End" became Beatport's longest-running #1 of 2020."
Since then, he never stopped. He has his own label and events brand in 2023 called, 'Experts Only' which he named after his interest in mountains and skiing.
Collaborated with top DJs like Dom Dolla on an event 'Everything Always at the Gas Works Park' in 2025. Highlighting Red Rocks in Denver, The Brooklyn Mirage, highlighting several events including EDC Las Vegas, Coachella, Tomorrowland, etc.
Top: Him with Australian DJ Dom Dolla 'Everything Always' in Ultra Music Festival in 2025.
His new album 'Ctrl Escape' sparked a lot of trending views of using his past to campaign. One of his shows was a partnership with Linkedin and played his set in their offices. The link is below.
John Summit is an world-renowned DJ who just got his start as an accountant.
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