Today we’d like to introduce you to Nathan Nabatoff.
Seasoned DJ.
Global Brand.
Event curator.
DBT stands for Do Big Things. What started as a joke in middle school has slowly transformed into an authentic movement. Nate is from Northern Virginia and established DBT when he took his musical interest to another level while studying at the University of Miami. Beginning with college parties and moving into some of the top venues in the country, DBT has been crafting his own events and supporting other artists with a distinct energy for over a decade. Throughout college, he performed at renowned Miami venues, winning multiple highly-competitive contests including a stand-out from Avicii and Steve Aoki. After gaining a strong presence in Miami he moved back to the DC area and began throwing his own events where his track record is comprised of dozens of sold out, solo headline shows at the most notable venues in the district. Much more than just gigs, these events were the culmination of his true passion, bringing like-minded people together through music. Up and down the East Coast, strangers quickly became friends, and friends became family, organically forming a beautiful community, “DBTnation”.
A few years later, in search of a new scene and sunshine, he set-up shop in San Diego to bridge DBTnation from the East to the West coast. From this, In The Bag Productions was born. A boutique-style, event production company, focused on creating 1-of-1 experiences and bringing out every attendees inner-weird. This is comprised of over-the-top productions, childlike themes, and ridiculous costumes. Most importantly, however, are the people on the dance floor. In The Bag focuses on empowering local San Diego talent, ranging from drummers to belly dancers and DJs, with opportunities to shine and share their magic. All of these factors combined contribute to a resounding energy that can only be found In The Bag.
Much larger than a single DJ, DBTnation is an expansive web of creative and connected individuals around the world. We invite you to become a part of this juicy community and look forward to meeting you on the dancefloor.
Join the nation; Do Big Things!
…but most of all, do what ya wanna.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
No – nothing good ever comes easy. It’s been a long and windy road but all well worth it, learning and growing in so many ways. Starting in Miami Beach is probably one of the toughest places for any DJ to start. Every club in the city is saturated with world-famous DJs and extremely expensive talent, making it that much harder for any emerging artist to shine. I quickly learned I had to pave a new path rather than try to follow the roads others had already created, all while staying true to my passions. Rather than opening for big name DJs as my primary way to enter the scene, I focused on the people, building a community, and bringing everyone together through music. This route required a lot more work, but it was the type of work I enjoyed. Over the course of a few years, I was able to throw my own events at many of the major clubs throughout Miami and DC. One of the biggest speed bumps along the way was losing a massive competition to play at one of the world’s largest and most respected electronic music festivals, Ultra (UMF). There are so many DJ competitions out there that have never really locked me in however, from the start, I was committed to giving this my absolute all. I had never tried so hard to win something, pushing friends all over the country to vote for my mix and get DBT to play at Ultra. Garnering close to 20,000 listens/favorites, DBT stood tall at first place as the competition closed. Despite a strong feeling of confidence that we would take the W, we simply did not. This was one of the biggest blows along the way and taught me many lessons at a young age inside such a vicious industry. Most importantly, it taught me it’s not always about the fame and the money, or being the biggest and the best. My passions are people, music, and connecting the two, and if I can do that even for a few people, I have succeeded.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with DBT – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
While it all started with music and DJing my own events, I am most proud of what it has grown into. I pride myself in not overplaying shows so as to not dilute the brand or the quality of what is created. I only want to provide top-shelf, magical moments, and these cannot be created every weekend. It takes time, strategy, and patience to create something truly special. I also am constantly trying to top what I have previously done as a personal challenge and with a desire to try new things. This has expanded beyond the dance floor and into group travel experiences, curating custom adventures where all you have to do is pay your share and show up, trusting that DBT has the rest figured out. Thus far, I’ve organized multiple DBT Experiences, with 15-30 person groups to places like Cabo, Las Vegas, Portugal, and Ibiza. These are intimate, one of a kind creations, that I believe are very different from any other trip or event you can find out there. These trips, combined with DJing and events make up the backbone of DBT, which has forged an expansive network, community, and family of special souls all over the world, known as DBTnation.
Marriages, children, friendships, new jobs, and more can all be traced back to a DBT event or experience. It’s much more than me DJing, or the music I play; all of these connected dots create a reliable, trustworthy, and loving support system for all of us to push ourselves, and live life to the fullest. The relationships, generosity and love that is spread across so many connected people is something I am very grateful to have helped create. Of course, the events are close to my heart, and stepping on stage in front of hundreds of family members who all came with similar energy is a high I’ll cherish forever, but the DBTnation community is indisputably what I am most proud of. Bringing this community together is what I specialize in, as Doing Big Things is a lifestyle. From weird moves on the dance floor to juicy worldwide adventures, introducing and binding new forever- friends, family, and beyond, is what sets DBT apart.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
The future for me always holds a myriad of directions, as I’m always looking for new and innovative ways to break the norm. With respect to the event / DJ space, I’m excited to continue pushing the boundary in San Diego, DC, and potentially a few other cities that have been on my list for quite some time.
For In The Bag Productions, we recently celebrated our one year anniversary after throwing four magical productions from 2019-2020. We are ready and eager to take our events to the next level, as soon as it’s completely safe, with more advanced production, unexpected venues, and wild and wacky themes, all while further expanding our open and unique community, and creating space for everyone to truly thrive. Whether you’re in San Diego or not, our bag is wide open and we would love nothing more than to unite with you “In The Bag”.
For DC, my hometown, there’s nothing better than returning and seeing so many friendly faces who I have known for decades, and have been my biggest supporters and the heartbeat of DBTnation since the beginning. I look forward to pushing the mold myself and in collaboration with a top-shelf, East Coast event production company, Nü Androids, who I have worked with for over a decade. It’s a powerful culmination of East meets West when these events go down!
For DBT in general, the time has come to transform shows to festivals, and group trips to hotel buy-outs. DBTnation has spoken, and it’s time to level-up. Stay tuned…Big Things to come!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dbtnation.com
- Email: thedbtnation@gmail.com
- Instagram: @dbtnation
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dbtnation
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/dbtnation
- Other: www.soundcloud.com/dobigthings-1
Image Credit:
Harmony Skye Photos, David Nguyen
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