On The Mic with Ryan Swain
Way back in lockdown, we entertained the Dragon Soop massive with over 13 hours of live and pre-recorded video in our first ever virtual festival. SOOPFEST 2020 entertained you all and we were mega excited to have entertainer and DJ Ryan Swain stream his DJ set of Club Classics!
Being a huge Dragon Soop fan, we wanted to find out more about Ryan and all about his impressive and award-winning career so far.
Let’s start from the beginning – born in the nineties what are your memories of the music and style of entertainment from that time?
It’s an era I have very nostalgic memories of. The nineties saw the rise of pop culture and the ‘Cool Britannia’ era. From beginning to end it was a decade of excitement and change. I actually miss those days sat watching ‘gungey’ game shows, having to come off the internet in order to make a phone call and recording my favourite songs from the radio onto a cassette tape.
What I love about the nineties was that it delivered entertainment in spades! From hanging out with Chris Evans on a Friday night, Gladiators or Crystal Maze (albeit from the comfort of your sofa) the 1990s was one awesome entertainment decade. We followed episodes and series back then encouraging viewers to tune in each week. That is sadly on the decline with today’s era of binge-watching series through the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime. We had to survive on scheduled TV shows. We now have everything on demand through our mobile phones, laptops and smart TVs to watch whenever or wherever. I actually miss those days of tuning in weekly.
It is good to see that some of the nineties fashion trends and music have well and truly made a comeback – like Kappa poppers and tiny sunglasses. I still remember the attitude from the nineties, that there was a real sense of you could do anything and you were creating the future. A lot of that attitude has worn off on me and I still carry that today.
Art and music is a huge part of your life. Was school a positive influence in pushing your artistic talent? Do you think creativity is encouraged among the younger generation?
Art, music and entertainment is what I live for and most importantly was born to do. I recall a memory at my fifth birthday party when my parents arranged for a magician to perform. He picked me as his volunteer and I took over his entire show. He stormed off stage in despair and couldn’t get back on as I wouldn’t let him!
School was very difficult for me growing up as I didn’t feel that I was working to my full potential. I feel that their ways of learning just didn’t suit me as I had undiagnosed ADHD. I’ve have always had this condition and still have it to this day. Sadly school failed to pick up on it. However I think it is so
important to encourage creativity in children and young people. Time spent being creative can help advance cognitive skills, stimulating the imagination and providing a channel for expression.
Tell us about how you entered into the entertainment world. This industry is tough, so what was your breakthrough moment?
I started performing from a young tender age and from there I went on study performing arts at Westwood Performing Arts College which is run by Yorkshire Coast College in Scarborough.
I then studied Media Studies at York College, as I wanted to train to be a journalist and presenter. I got lucky and was offered a contract at Flamingo Land Resort as a coat style entertainer where I worked for five years. My break through moment in the industry was when they asked me to be a face of their Party In The Park concerts. These concerts have big celebrity guests and bands and I was asked to be the official host! It was live entertainment at its best.
Let’s talk about the DJ side of your life as we loved your SOOPFEST set! What is it about music or sound that draws you into performing? There must be an immense amount of planning that goes into your DJ sets. Does an audience and location influence the tracks you choose?
I have always been a DJ and loved playing music. I started to DJ back in in the noughties where the hardest part of your job was carrying records to your shows and dealing with requests! I was introduced to mixing from a friend called Luke who had a set of Technics 1210s in his attic at his house. I learnt to MC along to his mixing and it was one of my first encounters using a microphone.
“I still remember the attitude from the nineties, that there was a real sense of you could do anything and you were creating the future.”
What single night out where you have performed has been the most memorable for you and why?
From the off I’ve always mixed and played Trance and RNB and have been fortunate enough to play some of the most amazing venues and shows internationally. I’ve worked and represented many brands too in my career including Clubland, KISSTORY and Ministry Of Sound.
You have met some really interesting people through your career so far. If you were stuck on an island with three people – who would they be?
What three people would I want to be on an island with? Well let’s face it I’ve worked with some of the biggest names in showbiz. But I’m a family man and I get more star struck by my identical twin daughters Ivy and Isla and my girlfriend Crystal than I do from big names in the industry.
Many may not know that you have been involved in charity work since they age of seven! Which is just brilliant. What drives you to raise awareness and money for various charities? Are there certain causes that are close to your heart?
I was born with a rare heart defect and nearly died as a child when I was five. A valve in my heart that should have stayed closed remained open making me very poorly. I was weeks away from dying so they had to operate with a life changing operation using key hole surgery at Killingbeck Cardiology Hospital in Leeds. I was only five but I survived and was given a second chance in life. Even from such a young and naive age, I remember thinking to myself I just want to help and prevent other people having to endure bad things happening to them.
I’ve always been a philanthropist from early on and over the years I’ve raised tens of thousands of pounds for various charities nationwide. I spend much of my spare time helping raise awareness for charities and I’m also an advocate for mental health awareness. I have adult ADHD and I am patron for ADHD foundation, ADHD Wise and raise a lot of funds and awareness for MIND. Last December I re-enacted a rough sleep authentically portraying it for 24 hours exchanging life’s luxuries for the cold dark streets. This not only raised money for the cause but also awareness for two local homelessness charities SASH and Simon On The Streets. I raised over £2,000 and completed the full challenge which really opened my eyes.
This year has been a weird one for us all with the Covid-19 pandemic. How did you cope with lockdown? Did it affect your work and if so how did you overcome that?
It has been one of the most exciting and creative periods of my life. During this time I’ve met the love of my life on an online dating show called Dating Indoors through the popular YouTube channel Word On The Curb.
We have since set up our own business together called Whimsy Online which is going to specialise in sustainable and eco-friendly clothing, jewellery and art. I have rekindled my passion for art and drawing, as I am an established artist but haven’t painted or drawn for a long time. This has also made me encourage my daughters at home to get more involved, inspiring people at home to give it a go too. To date I have drawn over a hundred pencil portraits and canvases in 12 weeks of lockdown for customers and family through my art work business.
“If I could change anything about the entertainment industry, I’d change reality television because the terminology is ironic when there is nothing real about it!”
In terms of performing during in lockdown I’ve been hectic. Working virtually for big brands and companies presenting and hosting online virtual festivals, recording podcasts to live charity DJ sets raising thousands of pounds for NHS charities. I have also been hosting my own live game shows including an interactive version of the eighties popular TV game show Play Your Cards Right.
With the idea being to entertain those at home raising awareness for NHS staff and keyworkers to play for fun, the show soon took off with thousands of viewers every day tuning in. Even my twin daughters Ivy and Isla featured in a couple of episodes. With the new revised and very apt catchphrase ‘Nice Two Metre, Two Metre Nice’, I had also celebrity interest in the game including special guest appearances from Michael Barrymore, Natasha Hamilton, Anthony Costs, Keith Duffy, Tamer Hassan to name a few!
I know the pandemic has been a very testing time for many but it has been really positive and good for me. If lockdown has taught me anything, it’s the things that everyone takes for granted on a daily basis are things that we actually don’t always need. It has certainly taught me to be more resourceful in the very consumer world we live in.
I have even become a vegan during lockdown and have not consumed meat for nine weeks now. I haven’t even given it a second thought and have lost a stone in weight in the process. This has been a real benefit to my mental health and wellbeing.
More importantly lockdown has made me grateful to wake up every day with a smile and appreciate the life we have because someone, somewhere is fighting to keep theirs.
If you could change anything in the music and entertainment industry, what would it be?
If I could change anything about the entertainment industry, I’d change reality television because the terminology is ironic when there is nothing real about it!
Social media is huge. How has using this impacted your career? What are the best parts for you and what have been the challenges using the internet to promote yourself?
Social media has a lot of benefits. I’m a people person and love connecting and reaching out to my fans so it’s perfect for that. The things I don’t like about it are the trolls together with how reliant everybody is on it. This certainly affects social skills in real life. It’s about finding a balance using social media but not affecting real life.
What’s next for you Ryan and have you any exciting projects coming up?
So over the last week, I’ve taken several big bookings for 2021 including events that were unfortunately postponed this year due to Covid-19. Next year is going to be huge with hosting all three days at Rock The Park in Wrexham to over 20,000 people, three huge arenas and the head line dance act is Scooter! What’s not to love about that!
I am also hosting Balloon Fiesta at York Race Course which looks an amazing event and I can’t wait to be a face of it. I will be back on tour with Boyz On Block which we are currently waiting for confirmed dates. I presented and DJ’d as the official warm up act for their debut tour in 2020. The band is made up of Shane Lynch from Boyzone, Ben Ofedu from Phats And Small, Abz Love from Five and Dane Bowers of Another Level together with support singer the fantastic Jack Rose. We had so much excitement with the tour at the beginning of the year but it was cut short due to the pandemic. I just cannot wait to get back on the tour bus.
I am also the official presenter of a dance event company called WE LOVE 90s. They put on big arena shows and festivals nationwide with a lot of shows to do next year alongside private appearances, DJ sets at weddings, red carpet events and functions.
Another exciting thing I have to look forward to is that I have been nominated for the ‘DJ Personality of the Year Award’! The Swish Media Awards 2020 are being held in November with the ceremony still planned to take place. I have been asked to host the event as well so that should be fun.
So it’s safe to say I’ll be coming to a destination near you next year!