Ep. 004: Dance Music, Work-Life Balance & Reclaiming Your Health with Dan Carter

Break the Record

English - March 18, 2021 07:00 - 54 minutes - 49.6 MB - ★★★★★ - 2 ratings
Music Health & Fitness Mental Health Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed

Previous Episode: Ep. 003: Mental Health in Touring, Meditation, and Fake It Til You Make It with TJ Hoover

Next Episode: Ep. 005: Rethinking Masculinity, Authenticity on TikTok and Throwing Your Ego out the Window with Rob Gross

Dan is the CEO of Unapologetic Group, an artist management, marketing, and digital services agency. He shares his varied background working in electronic music, including artists like Avicii, Axwell & Ingrosso, Zara Larsson, Mark Knight & more!

Dan began his journey in the music world at the ripe young age of 13 writing for magazines such as Kerrang!. From doing CD reviews to conducting interviews with various industry figures, Dan says of his early days that he “just got a real taste for the industry and what happens behind the scenes.” It was a rollercoaster period in his life that saw him going from journalist to blogger to publicist to freelancer doing gigs for different studios, publications, and DJs.

In 2014, Dan decided to work in music full-time, and in 2016 started his own company, Unapologetic Group. He moved to Stockholm, Sweden where he worked for five years before returning to the U.K. in 2020.

Dan also shares that, when looking to turn your passion into a career, never focus on earning money from the get-go. He admits that he was living a miserable life even after receiving his first big paycheck early in his career. Today, Dan prioritizes health, happiness, and growth in everything that he pursues.

In 2017, Dan found himself hospitalized for what turned out to be a panic attack—something that had never happened to him before. In 2018, he collapsed in his bathroom for no apparent reason and once again ended up in the hospital, this time covered in stitches. After a long, hard review of the past two years, Dan realized that his declining mental health had to do with a lack of discipline, destructive habits, and unresolved traumas. “If I don’t sort this out,” he says, “I don’t think I’m going to have a career for much longer.”

Today, Dan does what he can to stay active and disciplined in his personal life, which includes taking up boxing in his spare time. At the same time, he strives to stay true to his values and unique creative persona as both an artist and business owner.

Anna and Dan go on to discuss how to navigate a career in the music industry, what it takes to succeed as an independent artist, and what it really means to live authentically as a creative professional.

Key Highlights

Dan shares how he developed a taste for house and dance music in recent years after being a hardcore fan of punk and heavy metal growing up. Advice for those looking to make a pivot in their career or dive into a field where a stable income is hard to come by The importance of setting healthy boundaries to be able to direct energy toward the things that matter most What a face-to-face experience with Gordon Ramsay taught Dan about living your authentic self in the entertainment industry Why Dan believes that hustle culture is doing more harm than good

Powerful Quotes by Dan

[When you’re looking to pursue your passion as a career,] don’t think about the money in the first instance. The biggest letdown for me as a young adult was when I finally started making really good money and I looked at my situation and thought, “Ah, I’m fucking miserable!” I realized, “Oh my God. I have based my entire early 20s thinking that this is what I needed to be happy and it couldn’t be further from it.” You don’t owe this industry your health and your well-being and, sure, we’re privileged to do something we love, but that doesn’t mean we should sacrifice ourselves for it. You shouldn’t be chasing acceptance. You should be chasing the path that allows you to be real to yourself. It’s a very cliché thing to say, but other people’s opinions are none of your fucking business.

Resources Mentioned:

Connect with Adrian Ellison on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adrianellison/