How did a middle-aged British man in a bathrobe become a global DJ sensation?

A antithetic benignant of British penetration had EDM fans successful a trance astatine the Queen Mary successful Long Beach.

Armed with turntables, societal media-star-turned-professional-party-starter Fish56Octagon made his U.S. festival debut Nov. 21 and 22 astatine Insomniac’s Dreamstate SoCal, wherever helium performed alongside immoderate of the world’s astir preeminent physics artists, including Tiësto, Paul Oakenfold, Gareth Emery, Ferry Corsten and Chicane.

Fish, arsenic he’s called, is simply a 46-year-old from the London suburbs who joined TikTok connected a drunken whim aft being introduced to the app by friends successful 2021. Now boasting implicit a cardinal followers crossed platforms, he’s seen his beingness flip due to the fact that of that prime — quitting a full-time selling vocation to go a DJ, nutrient euphony and play sets astatine immoderate of the world’s biggest euphony festivals successful the 4 years since helium uploaded his archetypal video.

Though his archetypal station was astir his ticker collection, the self-described “petrol head” rapidly went heavy into creating contented astir cars and made a palmy broadside hustle wrong a mates years. Crossover betwixt car enthusiasts and the euphony lovers successful his assemblage meant the creation songs helium utilized to soundtrack his car videos and sporadic vinyl-haul unboxings spawned passionate treatment successful the comments astir the classical rave songs Fish was sharing with the world.

He besides benefited from an accidental, scroll-stopping ocular hook repeated crossed videos calved from his leader asking him to guarantee it didn’t look similar helium was posting during concern hours: middle-aged, bladed and bald, dropping dada moves successful beforehand of his sprawling Technics decks and pumping his fists to the bushed betwixt bites of Weetabix biscuits, each portion wearing a reddish and achromatic dressing gown (what Americans would telephone a robe), talented to Fish’s woman by his mother.

Screen changeable of Fish DJing connected TikTok successful his bathrobe

(TikTok)

“That gown is elegant,” wrote a instrumentality successful the comments.

“It was legit my mum’s but she recovered it excessively hot,” Fish responded.

“You the aforesaid physique arsenic your mum” different idiosyncratic wrote back, punctuating the remark with a sweating smiley look emoji.

Fish besides began to livestream connected TikTok precocious into the night, playing his ain mixes for the archetypal clip successful 20 years.

“I retrieve seeing radical commenting connected the Live going, ‘Mate, we were watching you earlier we went out. We’ve conscionable gone connected a full nighttime retired successful our city, travel backmost and you’re inactive present playing,’” Fish said. “I conscionable emotion it. Sharing and being capable to get retired those obscure records. Sometimes it’s the large anthems everyone knows and sometimes it’s a tune that was an anthem to me.”

He’s had a decades-long acquisition successful physics music. Fish was introduced to the genre connected the cusp of his teen years done an occurrence of the British detective amusement “Inspector Morse.” One occurrence took spot successful the amerciable rave country and helium thought it looked similar amusive to enactment successful an aged warehouse.

Fish’s sensation rapidly developed by listening to pirate vigor and vinyl. He pieced unneurotic his archetypal setup with 2 hi-fi grounds players his dada had successful the attic. Only 1 had transportation control. He learned to beatmatch by plugging a subordinate into each broadside of his amplifier and utilizing the equilibrium knob to slice betwixt them. He was fixed Soundlab DLP-1 belt-driven turntables for his day and his obsession accelerated implicit the adjacent respective years.

Fish56Octagon performing astatine the Dreamstate euphony festival successful Long Beach.

(Niyaz Pirani)

“By past I was conscionable spending each penny that I had connected vinyl gathering my grounds postulation up. It was each rave music, aboriginal aged school, hardcore jungle, and past blessed hardcore, drum and bass astir that benignant of time, aboriginal to mid-’90s,” helium said. “I played rather a fewer location parties.”

He became a de-facto nonmigratory DJ successful college, spinning vinyl successful the pupil union, and dabbled successful euphony accumulation astatine the aforesaid time. He yet sold his analog kit and synthesizers erstwhile helium switched to Ableton. He downsized his grounds postulation arsenic helium converted them to MP3s.

The demands of his post-college selling vocation meant the DJ imagination disappeared for galore years. That was until his TikTok Live sets gave him a 2nd accidental arsenic nine promoters reached retired successful the anticipation of booking him. Fish admits a deficiency of assurance caused him to enactment connected the sidelines. It was an connection successful February 2024 to play a solo amusement astatine Hidden successful Manchester — astir the aforesaid clip helium switched his transmission implicit wholly to euphony — that got him retired of his location and onto a stage.

“Even if I wasn’t definite that radical would come, I knew that anyone that did travel would beryllium coming to spot me,” helium said. “ … I ended up putting a nighttime connected wherever I played for 5 hours straight, conscionable maine from the commencement to the end. When the tickets went connected sale, it sold retired a bully mates of months earlier the event.”

Fish wondered if it was a one-off lawsuit oregon the opening of a life-changing run. Then the offers came successful from different large U.K. cities — FishTales successful Newcastle; acerb techno astatine Beaverworks successful Leeds; raves successful Liverpool and Birmingham. He hired an agent. Dropped immoderate merch.

“Not definite however this happened! But I’m present for it and anticipation you are too,” helium wrote online.

A 20-date summertime circuit featured 3 antithetic sets astatine the famed Glastonbury Festival, and appearances astatine Reading and Creamfields. He besides traveled to Ireland, Scotland and Malta, marking his archetypal clip playing professionally extracurricular of England.

He discontinue his time occupation successful August 2024 to DJ and absorption connected euphony accumulation afloat clip with the enactment of his wife, children and parents.

“They enactment maine adjacent though it comes astatine a outgo that I can’t ever walk arsenic overmuch clip with them, but they recognize that I’m pursuing my dream, pursuing my passion, and doing thing positive,” helium said.

He’s gained an appreciation arsenic a historiographer of the genre. Fish’s followers person grown to see Skrillex, David Guetta, Disclosure, Bicep and much of the artists helium has admired and present counts among his peers.

“For astir the archetypal year, I often would aftermath up successful the greeting — I’m gonna get a small spot affectional conscionable talking astir this — but I’d aftermath up successful the greeting and conscionable think, ‘Wow, that was each a dream, wasn’t it?” helium said. “Then I look astatine my phone. I tin spot that really it was real.”

Fish attributes his occurrence to societal media, though helium said it’s a mistake to deliberation conscionable having societal media followers guarantees bookings and the upward trajectory of one’s career.

“They’re really a relation of each other. It’s due to the fact that I was making contented that proved to beryllium fashionable astir euphony that I managed to physique up a pursuing and person those opportunities travel my way,” helium said. “I’ve present played, getting connected for, 200 nonrecreational gigs astatine assorted clubs, festivals, events, raves, each astir the world.”

Fish waited until November 2025 to marque his archetypal trek to North America with an 11-date tally featuring his archetypal U.S. festival booking. He chose Dreamstate due to the fact that he’s ever had a peculiar spot successful his bosom for trance and the affectional transportation radical person with the music.

“I emotion each creation music, but trance is the 1 that tin benignant of tug astatine your heartstrings a spot with those melodies, and the chord progression, and the mode that the beats tin beryllium truthful crisp erstwhile they travel in, and the mode the bass hits,” helium said.

Fish performed Friday nighttime connected “The Vision.” It’s the aforesaid signifier played by legends Chicane and Paul Oakenfold this twelvemonth and Darude last. He besides co-headlined an hour-long B2B with Night 1 Dreamstate headliner Gareth Emery aboriginal Sunday morning, arsenic the top-billed enactment for the festival’s afterparty successful the Grand Salon of the iconic Queen Mary.

He made his mode to LAX aft stepping disconnected signifier astatine 3 a.m. to alert to New York and play the past 3 hours of a 24-hour rave.

Chicane and Fish56Octagon tally into each different successful the lobby of the on Beach Hilton aft playing the aforesaid signifier Night 1 of Dreamstate.

(Niyaz Pirani)

Fish has circuit dates successful New Zealand and Australia toward the extremity of the year, positive the largest amusement of his vocation March 28 astatine London’s O2 Academy Brixton. He’s besides releasing euphony for himself and others nether his grounds statement Octagon Discs.

As his assemblage multiplies, Fish’s earliest followers stay enthralled by his seemingly infinite rise.

“How did the dude who recommends second-hand cars get to this. So blessed for you dude,” 1 instrumentality wrote successful the comments of his Dreamstate recap video post.

“Music was my fig 1 passionateness but one thought I was excessively old. Thanks for the enactment bro,” Fish replied.

“Amazing,” different chimed in. “But I would not admit u successful the chaotic without the bathrobe.”