Student by day, club DJ by night

AUSTIN OWENS/THE LANTERN DJ Fate warms up the mic and the turntables at East Long Street's Club Ice March 6th.

Better known as Ryan Washington, the OSU senior is the self-proclaimed life of the party, disc jockeying for Club Static downtown and other clubs throughout the state.

"If DJ Fate is DJing, then that party is gonna rock. He's basically like the Columbus DJ, everybody rocks with Fate," said AJ Jennings, an OSU alumnus.

Washington said he was originally drawn to the job by Omar Epps' role in his favorite movie, "Juice." But the man that turned his dream into a reality was closer to home, his brother.

Living as a student by day and a DJ by night, Washington's life is busy. He takes 15 credit hours at OSU and works five or six nights a week. His typical day begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 3 a.m.

"It's fun, I love it. But its hard to balance school and work because I DJ so much," Washington said. "Going in and out of town with a full course load and studying gets hard. It's hard to keep a balance between the two."

And even though he is already an accomplished jockey, Washington said leaving school is not an option.

"I'm having success as a DJ but it's hard to let all my academic achievements go," he said. "That [diploma] represents an achievement I worked hard to accomplish, even if I get it just to walk across the stage and see my mother's smile."

With graduation around the corner, Washington is looking into all of his options.

"My degree can open up doors that otherwise I couldn't have opened," said Washington, who dreams of working in broadcast media, and is working on developing a clothing line.

"He has a bright future ahead of him. He has the talent and the drive to take him to the top," said Al Fatz, an artist with DreamLife Productions. "That's my DJ. He is the next Jazzy Jeff and I'm the Fresh Prince. He's going on a country wide tour with me in the coming months."

Until graduation, Washington says he will continue to focus on his job and school, but ultimately his goal is "to be the best DJ, period."

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