From Delivering Doughnuts to Opening for The Chainsmokers
How I got my first support gig for an international artist
That first year in Vancouver was… rough.
I sold my car just to move there, hoping I could survive until DJing picked up. I moved in with my cousin, Dylan, in the suburbs because I couldn’t afford my own place— playing once a week for $150 wasn’t paying rent. So I found myself working retail, waking up at 4:30AM, and commuting almost three hours a day to work and back.
The routine was brutal:
Drive with my cousin to his job site north of the city at 5AM
Catch the ferry to downtown
Take the train 40 minutes to the mall where the store was
Then after a full shift, take the train back as far as I could… still 30 minute drive from home
Beg my cousin to pick me up because I couldn’t afford a taxi/uber
I did that for four months. Eventually I got transferred to the downtown store, found my first apartment with zero credit (shoutout to my roommate and lifelong friend, Ziad Ramley), and started to feel like I could actually breathe. I was finally in the mix.
But here’s the twist:
That apartment? It was in the same building as Blueprint, the promotions company that ran Celebrities Nightclub—the crown jewel of Vancouver nightlife. For me, playing there might as well have been headlining Coachella (FYI, it still feels like that).
And I was willing to do anything to make it happen.
So I started going to Celebrities every night it was open (Tuesday-Saturday). Not as a DJ. Not as “Grayson Repp.” Just as a fan. I saw Alesso, Steve Angello, Chris Lake—legends. I stood in the crowd, never backstage (I was always denied), just watching and studying.
Eventually, I met some of the people behind the scenes. They worked office hours just sixteen floors below me. I thought, what can I do to stand out?
Then it hit me.
Everyone loves doughnuts.
One day Krispy Kreme had a pop-up. I scraped together what little I had, bought two dozen, and nervously walked into Blueprint’s office. My hands were shaking.
“Hi, I’m Grayson Repp. I’m a DJ. I’d love to play at Celebrities.”
They looked at me, smiled. And then Paige Chan—an absolute Blueprint legend—said:
“We know you from LED Bar. How about playing a Tuesday?”
TUESDAY. Student night. My favourite club night to this day.
I nearly had a heart attack.
My motto has always been: If you hire me once, I won’t disappoint.
That first Tuesday went off. The next week, I came back—doughnuts in hand—and asked for more.
Then it happened. Paige said:
“How about Vicetone?”
A sold-out show. My first support gig for an international act.
I poured everything I had into that set—energy, transitions, song selection. I wanted the Blueprint team to know I wasn’t just hungry, I was ready. (Special shout out, Mychal Ferreira)
And it worked.
The following week, I got a call I’ll never forget:
“You did great at Vicetone. Everyone was impressed. How does opening for The Chainsmokers sound?”
The Chainsmokers. Arguably the biggest DJ duo on earth.
I don’t think I slept that night. I got to hang out with them before and after the show. They were kind, encouraging, down-to-earth—the same energy that’s kept them at the top all these years. And to make it even better, I opened that night alongside Mackenzie Dunham, still one of my closest friends today.
The moral of the story: you have to want it more than anything.
I was okay with looking cringe. I was okay with showing up, doughnuts in hand, asking for gigs. But when the opportunity came, I treated every set like it might be my last.
That’s still how I play today—15 years later.
If you’ve been enjoying these behind-the-scenes stories—from ferry rides and basements to opening for The Chainsmokers—make sure to subscribe below.
Each week I’ll share more from the journey: the highs, the chaos, and the moments that made it all worth it.
Stay loud,
Grayson