Today we’d like to introduce you to Javier Maldonado
Hi Javier , so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Immigrant child from 6 months old. Born in Guatemala, raised by a Honduran in Houston tx.
Have live mostly in the Alief side of town. Had a rough childhood more bad memories then good ones. Did some juvenile time for 2 years when i was 11yrs old. Was in and out of alternative schools, in high school, fun fact I went to my first alternative school at 3rd grade. Eventually dropped out of high school at 17yrs old. So you see childhood times were a mess. Luckily right when i got out of Juvi at the age of 14 i went to Miami to live with my grandpa. During my time there I was introduced to DJ ‘ng through a cousin. Went over to his house and right in his living room as soon as you walk in, there it was some of the biggest speakers i had ever seen at that time, and some cool looking gadget thingy that had color buttons and round disk pads on it. My cousin shows me all the different things it can do, manipulating the music that was playing and changing its pitch and adding layers of effects to it. Instantly I fell in love . Leaving Miami after around 6 months of being there my cousin sent me off with like 3 binders full of CD’s which is what was being used at the time for DJ ‘ ng. Going back to Houston, all i can think of was DJ, all i wanted to do was DJ. I started learning everything I could about it. During those times you could go to guitar center and use their gear to practice on, I would go as much as I could. I would even ride the metro to get there and spend a few hours practicing and messing with the CDJ turntables they had there. I was still collecting music from LimeWire and burning disc! Still no equipment. on my 18th birthday my Mom bought me my first set of gear! 2 $100 Turntables, 1 Beringer Mixer, and the Serato hardware that makes the whole system work together with a laptop. I was like a kid all over buying new toys! I was pretty happy that whole month practicing and learning how to actually mix my music . I would practice when friends would come over, at night all alone, I was just on that thing having fun. About 3 months in i got involved with the rave community of Houston, Started banging out small rave events in a little old-school spot called the Orbit room. I believe that was my first spot to have had some legit gigs. Started picking up from there and doing more and more gigs. about after 9 months I was introduced to a Wedding company, LG ENTERTAINMENT. I had to do a full interview for them in front of their other experienced 8 DJs plus the main DJ who was the owner of the whole business. Did horrible that interview, but luckily, they were cool, told me to relax, they order some pizza, sparked up some hookah, we all started talking and hanging out casually. The djs were taking turns using my gear and trying to figure it out. My setup was so weird compared to their professional setups. I was hearing how they were mixing and was like that’s basic mixing stuff. So finally, I got the courage to get back up there and just dj my regular stuff as if i was at a rave. The owner tells me, “THERE YOU GO”, he hears that i can at least mix the basics. I was brought on to the team right after that. A week later I was giving my first wedding, KILLED IT! Was pretty busy after that! Doing weddings almost every weekend. Plus a ton of other variety of events in the mix. Grew to be one of the top Djs in that company pretty quickly. During all this I was also growing in the Rave Community, grabbing bigger bookings and shows to play at. At the very same time I Had just had my first daughter and was adapting to that as well. After a good while I would say around 5 years things started to change at my job, and I think i wanted to step into other things, I eventually got fired for some payment drama, so i was kind of lost in that moment. Wasn’t sure what the next move was. I was thinking hard about what i can do, and well my experience dealing with high end wedding clients, and professionals throwing galas, quinces, holiday parties etc gave me an idea to create a business where I can incorporate a bunch of entertainment services into one. I knew all the right people! I had friends who were photographers, videographers, I wanted clients to come to my business for all this services. So, on drive on the highway i came up with a name for it. ELIMENTS. 2015 was the start of that. Created the facebook page, designed the business cards and instantly started getting bookings but still not enough. Not sure how it happened but i ended up returning to LG entertainment for a second time. So with their work and my own gigs i was doing ok. I started exploring throwing my own shows during this time also, did my first show with a collective of artist at a random bar right across of warehouse live, then did some things in the Montrose area. Doing small things at a hookah spot right on Westheimer and Montrose, we had an awesome Halloween party there once. Then one day I got the opportunity to dj at Avant Garden for a theme party I believe. I rocked it pretty well that night had people getting up from their chairs to dance, owner saw that. Mariana, She came up to me and said lets chat sometime and see if your down to dj here and create something. She was looking for someone to produce and create an event at her venue. I Had done small things before but never at this level and with a venue of this size and reputation. At first I was scared but, I said why not. Let’s go for it. So I created “La Sopa”
A Houston, Art, Market, Dance, Social event! I used the layout of Avant Garden to my benefit and curated a eclectic collection or arts. Brought in Art vendors mix with Live musicians, djs, bands, rappers, banjo players, and so much more into a lineup, and brought in art pieces to amp up the atmosphere. It was awesome! People were talking about it, they were liking it! It was an event that brought all the diverse art cultures of Houston into one. Dj’s from different genres and pockets of Houston were on the same lineup which would never be . Different sounds, immersive art, food vendors, art vendors, all sorts of vendors. Become and official once a month event for a whole year. We got so good we were able to fill up every space of Avant Garden with different lineups of sounds. and crowds flowing through everywhere. We had a ton of fun doing those events, met so many great individuals, artist just trying to make it. We once had a body art competition incorporated into the event. Kinda like Faceoff! We had a real live fashion show in the middle of the event with Danny Nguyenn and Tereza Suessman, Jesse Green was there as a photographer. We did a Farmers Market version of the event, A sick Halloween party! I mean we had some really cool concepts and combinations of arts you probably would never see all together in one spot. That was the whole point. Just highlighting Houston’s Diverse community of the arts. after doing great and even making some profit, The owner of Avant Garden asked if we could produce some more events for the place, we did! We came up with a Salsa class type event, a brunch art market event on sundays, and another monthly that we called, REGGEATON TRAP HOUSE PARTY. For some reason RTHP was a major hit the first time we put it out there. Over 300ppl came and paid at the door. The most money we ever made from an event. we did about 4 of those. Overall we had a fun and buzy year that year hosting, and putting together this events.
After a year we took “La Sopa” on the ROAD! we threw it at different venues for the second year. That was extra hard. Finding the venues, putting together the acts and adjusting the flow of everything to the new location. We manage to keep it going for 6 months like that . by the 7 month i was worn out and broke! Art events rarely make sufficient money, and I was starting to work less and less with LG and just depending only on my own gigs and events. So, it became hard to manage and keep it up, on top of that i was worn out honestly. I think i got bored and tired. Idk i still think about it. I was also about 2 years in with my second daughter! so of course that also took a lot of energy. So, after that 7 month we took a break. We stopped doing it all together. Then about 6-7 months later, COVID hits! Everything got shut down, all gigs were gone, and at this point i was really working on my own under Eliments and doing gigs, and raves here and there. So I was out of work, REALLY broke! I picked up plants during the covid break, learned everything and all about growing plants and foods. Turns out I Have a really green thumb ! So i used that and actually sold plants and propagated my own plants and sold them. Made a few bucks with that. with the help of my mom, mother of my kids, a girlfriend, and plants i managed. Events were starting to come back after like 8 months. So i needed a way to get back into the market. A friend told me about this apps you pay for to find leads, so i checked it out. The apps were great they would give you all the info on the client email, phone number, details of event, etc. All you had to do was close the sell and of course pay a small fee to purchase the lead. I remember i had just learned about all this at a very crucial moment because I needed money asap! So i had about $60 left in my account, spend it on “lead Credits” which got me about 5 leads i believe. I reached out to all 5 booked 3 of them and made about $1000 in deposits in 3 days! I was EXTATIC! Re peated that process a few more times, and next thing you know I’m booked up! I’m getting all sorts of gigs from this app, eventually i found out about another app that works pretty similar and joined that and did the same. Got me more gigs! I would do this gigs and get reviews for them which would lead to more work! Suddenly I was BUZY ! booked up! Had enough to upgrade my gear, my sound, pay rent, my car note, etc. I was doing decently. So with some basic common sense knowing that if i Spend more on leads ill get more work . So i did just that! Now i was getting more work !! What really help me close those leads was my past experience in the wedding industry. When i worked for LG we had to join in on the initial consultation meetings with the clients to make sure they like the dj and were sold on him. So we had to sell our selves basically. It came natural to me i think. I know I was nervous the first few times, but by observing my boss at the time how he interacted with this clients I had a good idea on how to present my self. LG thought me a lot about presentation. That experience plus actual field experience help me tremendously to seal the deal with this leads. When I spoke to them and broke down equipment details, itinerary times, they could hear i knew what i was talking about. I think that really helped me excel. So about a year of doing that and surviving from that I decided to bring back “La Sopa” ! it had been about a year and a half since the last one. So i knew this one had to come back with a BANG!!! at that time events were still kind of lowkey and slowly rising because of the covid lockdowns. But things were slowly getting back to normal. So i put together a team to help me with La Sopa, I figured if I’m going to make it bigger i need a strong and good team. I had a marketing team, production team, team to handle the market of the event. Our marketing gal Annie Chuy was partying at Cle for a Steve Aoki Concert and somehow someway managed to hang out with a Red Bull Rep, she told her about what we were working on and was interested. Of course us hearing that news, we see money signs and sponsorship lol. So we got to set up a meeting with her. At that time redbull and a bunch of other organizations had MONEY! Because there was no events happening. So they were looking at places to throw it too, our event was perfect for them . Had art, diversity, and exposure! So they sponsored us with a $2500! We were so stoked!!! not only for the money, but that we could put red bull all over our event! Was a huge thing for us. This allowed us book more and bigger acts, and spend a little more on advertising. The event turned out to be awesome!! The acts killed it, we incorporated a Dance Battle hosted by Cindy & Babygirl from Bgirl City, which was super dope, We charged about $30 per ticket and had about 300 ppl show up. We ended it up calling it La Sopa festival! It was a true success and super fun event. It had its hiccups but we made it happen and made it through . I was done after that with La Sopa LOL. IT was so much work for so little return. I mean it brings in an amazing feeling to create something so unique and fun, but it doesn’t pay bills or support 3 kids. I got a foster child lol
Plus the amount of work it took to meet with all the team member constantly, working all the details, money management, etc. I was so drained! Just couldn’t see myself being able to sustain that long term when i know i got family to raise that requires time, attention, and money. So, I Shifted my focus! I got a job as demolisher for about 3-4 months with a friend because i needed, well more money. I hated that job, I even had a nasty incident that required stiches. I was killing myself for $100-140 a day doing that . when on weekends I would have gigs paying me $150/hr! So i thought on that real hard, and made me realize. Why can’t i just focus and get more gigs for $150/hr so I don’t have to do this Demolishing. So that’s what I did. I quit the demolishing business and focused on ELIMENTS. I finally created an officially website for it, cleaned up my app profiles, and just went to town trying to book as much as i could and spent more money on leads. It worked ! I started getting enough work to where I could book other DJ’s! I also picked up a few residencies, like Armandos on Kirby, The Flat, Sunset Rooftop, I was busy enough to where i could book several DJs in one day and still make the same amount of money as if i DJ an event myself. I was giving myself Halloween nights off to go spend time with my kids and still having 7 events that same day and i didn’t have to go to any. was able to do that for New years eve!! I was able to scale up pretty well each year! About 3 years ago I wanted to get more serious about making Eliments a one stop shop for all your event needs. That has been a journey in itself. I’ve Coordinated weddings, planned them, learned about floral arrangements, decorated weddings and corporate events. I’ve done desi wedding decor, Quinceanera decor, made invitations, setup balloons, photobooths, I mean honestly everything. And it’s been hard, I’ve had my fair share of Fuck ups, and lost money, and made really good money. So, it has its ups and down but i see the benefits outgrowing the cons. Now we own tons of inventory, from photobooths, to artificial flowers, centerpieces, draping, more staging production and a ton of other things. I work pretty consistently now, booked just about every weekend for different types of events. I stepped back from residencies, and raves, and the homegrown art events, mostly because i needed to make more money. I got 3 kids and they need a lot! and i want to provide that for them. Doing residencies kept me up late hours, and tired all the time. Im still as busy because there is a lot of computer work to do, a lot of logistics to handle, leads to follow up with , etc etc. I still do everything for the company. I do have some tremendous help from a little team I have but still needs lots of work to get to where i want to be. I’ve increased my prices this year 2025 and already I’m seeing the impact that has on my current market. Thats why I did it however to elevate my current market and attract the clients I want. I’m not sure if this is a story about how i became a DJ and grew into a business owner but I am entrepreneur!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
nope ! not a smooth road!
Love relationships
Friendships
running a business is no joke and trying to do it all yourself is impossible. Learning how to build a team and maintain healthy social relationships is the main challenge.
If you have no kids, no wife, its easy to lock in and just hustle. But with kids and girlfriends, you have to learn how to keep a decent balance between work life and personal life. Because the only thing you don’t want to do is work so much you forget to enjoy to live .
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I love to create. I’ve really learned that about myself this few years. I’m a creator at the end of the day . I love creating new dishes of food, i love creating graphics, experiences through my djing, i love creating music, i love creating events from scratch . Thats what i specialize in. I can create anything from nothing . Thats what im mostly know for. Javier created his own business, Javier creates his own music, he makes this and that. I’m proud of how much I’ve been able to create with very little resources. I’m definitely in a bigger league now then 10 years ago which is hard to maintain and keep up, but impressive to see where it came from. I come from the hood, no truss fund, no loans, just wit, common sense, and determination to go for it .
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Don’t be scared to go for it, there will be fuck ups, hurdles, road bumps, set backs, challenges, but that’s all part of it. Leveling up requires for you to overcome those adversaries.
like they say ” you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”
“shoot for the moon, land on the stars”
Pricing:
- 200/hr for Dj services
Contact Info:
- Website: https://htxeliments.com
- Instagram: @eliments
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HTXELIMENTS
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/djhyplektro
