Meet German Hernandez | Performance DJ, Event Coordination, and Stage Production

We had the good fortune of connecting with German Hernandez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi German, what role has risk played in your life or career?

My life and business completely revolves around risk for many reasons. Pursuing an art as a career was a risk itself, but it was a risk I was willing to take because I knew that it was exactly what I wanted to do. Regardless of what others said about my choices and the risk factor, I was never discouraged to pursue music as a career. My family and I invested a large sum of money into the equipment required to carry out my business and I’m glad that the investment has paid off and continues to pay for itself. There are also many established DJs in the city and I risked being completely overshadowed by them. As I started finding my own style and putting emphasis on my performance as a DJ, I was able to stand out and be seen by many. I also viewed every gig I have ever done as a risk. You can never escape the risk of error or technical difficulty. I felt that DJing events, especially as important as opening for a headliner and weddings, were such a huge responsibility. Providing music for an event that someone paid a large amount of money for and is going to be a core memory for the rest of their lives was a big deal to me and I made sure to take as much precaution as possible. I’m honestly under stress for the most part but through my extended experience I have learned to conduct myself in a confident and calm manner.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

Working within the music industry and growing as an artist is what keeps me busy. I have been DJing under the name DJ German since 2014 but as of last year I have decided to set myself apart from being a mobile DJ and truly focus on being an artist/performance DJ. That’s when I started this journey under the name OUTER LIMIT. As OUTER LIMIT, I focus on mixing melodic and euphoric genres such as trance, techno, progressive house, melodic house, and future rave. I don’t restrict myself to playing one genre and I prefer to marry all these genres together and make it flow. What I think sets me apart from others is my intent as an artist. The purpose of what I do is to invoke optimism and spark a sense of wonder. To inspire goodness to the world and allow an opportunity to escape from negativity. To embrace the beauty of life and nature through music and living in that moment. When I first discovered EDM and DJing, I instantly fell in love and knew that it was what I wanted to do. The ability to inspire and generate emotion to a large multitude of people through music is such a powerful and spiritual experience. Being able to make others dance, smile, or go on a journey through music gives me so much joy. Something that I’m most proud of is being able to get to where I am today through my own effort and faith. It wasn’t easy at first especially because I had many obstacles that I had to overcome within myself. During my years in high school, I was very unmotivated in school and life. I was going through a very rebellious phase in my life which led me to make decisions that I wasn’t proud of. I went through difficult times due to my decisions and it was blocking my chances to reach stability within myself, succeed as a DJ, and get a college degree. After a couple years of self reflection and healing, I was able to turn to my faith in God and completely change my life around. I changed drastically as a person and I’m grateful for God showing me grace and blessing me abundantly. I was able to focus on my mental and physical health and this ultimately led to my victories in music and education. I have worked so hard on building myself as a person, building my DJ business, and getting a college education that I’m blessed and grateful to see all my hard work paying off. Despite any doubt or judgment from others I remained firm in this path and I could not see myself doing anything else. I truly feel that I have a purpose with music. DJing is what I do best and even with eleven years of experience, there’s so much more to discover and learn. It keeps me excited and driven. Music is my calling and whether or not I become successful or not (in terms of mass popularity) I will be content if I’m able to continue my passion. The biggest lesson I’ve learned in life is to always prioritize God first, because with that comes blessings upon blessings. I know that I would not have made it anywhere in this life if it weren’t for God. l am aware that not everyone shares my views when it comes to faith, so outside of faith I’d say the best lessons I’ve learned is to always treat others with kindness and respect and to always take the initiative. Love is key and when you show others genuine kindness they are inclined to support and help you. I find that helping others indirectly uplifts your own life in many ways as well. When you put effort and always take the initiative it can go a long way. It’s so surprising how high your effort and drive can take you. Otherwise laziness and impatience will always heavily affect your progress and wear you down. Even if you are unsure of what you are doing, making the choice to attempt or learn will always result in progress.

If my career can leave something to this world, I would want it to have a positive impact and influence. I want to make a positive change in the world no matter the scale. Whether it be helping a large group of people or inspiring an individual through music. I hope that I have been able to give people a moment of joy and I look forward to creating memories with more people in the future. This is just the beginning of this journey but I look forward to creating this story because like I always say, the only way from here is up.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

Over the years I’ve been known among my friends as the “raver”. I surprisingly don’t have many friends who are big EDM fans but over the years I have been able to introduce people to the music and take people to their first raves and festivals. It honestly makes me happy when I’m able to help people discover music and they end up loving it! I enjoy raves and festivals so much to the point where I will go to festivals out of state by myself. It’s such a beautiful experience to be in a place where everyone is able to dance, express themselves freely, and share their love for music. Some of the best spots to rave in the city are wherever Twisted Lines is hosting a show(typically Underground Atlanta or a warehouse), Believe Music Hall, and District Atlanta. My personal favorite music festivals are Ultra Music Festival in Miami and Imagine Music Festival in Atlanta. I hope to one day attend Tomorrowland in Belgium but the true goal is to have the opportunity to perform at all of them.

Another place that I’d love to take my friends and will always stand out to me is the country of Colombia. Though it’s not local I can’t contain my love for this country. My family and I are Colombian and we love to go to Colombia for many reasons. I have had the privilege to travel to many countries, but no country is as beautiful as Colombia. It’s such a beautiful country full of amazing biodiversity and animals. I also love visiting and spending time with my family who live there because I don’t get to see them often. The food is absolutely incredible and the culture is amazing and interesting. I feel at home whenever I’m there and most of the time I never want to leave. I dream about taking my friends to Colombia and performing there and I hope that can someday happen.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

Shoutout to my parents (Beto Hernandez and Sandra Trujillo) for always being supportive of my career and dreams.

Shoutout to professor Alhadji Thrash, professor Booker Edwards, and professor Scott Keniley from Georgia State University for giving me the knowledge and tools to work and succeed within the industry.

Shoutout to Emerald Summers especially Rose Lopez, Alaaniel Davis, and Terrell Davis aka T-Spackle for being a tremendous part of my development as an artist and for supporting not only myself but a huge number of local artists as well.

Shoutout to my friends, especially Jack Sharp who has supported me since day 1 and has attended all my shows.

Shoutout to Luis Imery aka Pwdrd Donut for sharing this journey with me as an artist and DJ

Shoutout to Twisted Lines especially Yera Angeles and Tundra Nivix for taking me in and allowing me to continue learning about the industry and work after graduating.

Shoutout to Believe Music Hall and Iris for giving me an opportunity to learn stage production as an intern and giving me the chance to perform on your stages.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outerlimit_atl/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/german-hernandez-b80448229/

Twitter: @OuterLimit_ATL

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OuterLimitATL/

Image Credits
Angel Vivaldo Jr. Brasher Media Emerald Summers Emily Hernandez