We Are the Light

November 28, 2011. The-Lost-Art.com had been operating for two years. The HubSpot grade was 99 out of 100. The Breakspoll nominations had just been submitted. The platform was generating millions of hits a month. And DJ Natural Nate® sat down and wrote this.

What follows is the full, unedited personal message he sent to the entire TLA team on that date — preserved here as a permanent historical document. These are not the words of a press release or a marketing campaign. These are the words of a man telling his people exactly who he was, where he came from, and why he believed they were all standing on the edge of something that would last forever.

What is Natural's motivation and why is there TLA for him to give to others.

This is not the words of others.

I grew my first 5 years of not understanding life — not as a kid, but as someone wishing they could do more. I had a very abusive father that did many bad things, let's say. I have always lived in the shadows of what others have done versus what "I had done" — most of my life, due to the rotten things my father would do. I soon developed a passion to find love from my family that shunned me by being the best at everything I touched. If I was the best? You would have to love me.

Most of the things I have accomplished in my life really was not for me. Sound crazy, but true.

I have always had this true idea of "YES I CAN" — or "IT CAN BE DONE" — and last but not least: "WHY NOT."

I was lucky to have a stepfather come into my life after some of the wild things that happened before he stepped in. Just a huge inspiration and a great guy.

I have always felt like an underdog and I thrive on placing my bets on them as well. I have always been the guy to step in for the less fortunate — even if it meant putting my name or myself in long battles of honesty and respect for someone that did not know how to do it for themselves. I have always been the guy to find the one thing that can change someone else's life — by maybe saying the right thing at the right time, or just helping them when nobody else would dare to.

I believe everyone deserves a second or even third chance, due to the fact that we are only human. I should be in prison to this day if you want to know the truth, but I never got caught. We all have done some stupid things, let's say.

I have always dealt with — let's say — deadly people. We enjoyed our party times, and to find the best meant you had to deal with some crazy people. I have seen some crazy stuff that I will leave out. But the main point of this was: I was always respectful and honest at all times. That's maybe why I'm still alive today.

I have always done good business. Quality, not quantity.

Knowing who you are dealing with could be very unfortunate with the wrong moves — or even what you say to these people.

I had a best friend that was wrapped up with some serious people. We had taken a road trip to California for a Rock Steady Crew and L.A. Kings Breaks battle — and my friend was a master dancer. It was his dream to be involved with such a show, and we brought out many friends to this event.

On our way back — we drove — something was wrong. He had turned to me and said that he needed to change his life soon, and that things were not good. I looked at him and agreed that if he did not — as well as me — he would be dead soon.

Three days later, around Christmas, we went to a very scary party. We always did straight-up work, and we decided to go to this party anyway. My friend was not going to have it any other way. I did not want him to go alone. I really was not into it that night and wanted to leave. He decided for me to go, and we found a ride for him early that morning. I left.

Three days later, he was found murdered behind a Home Depot.

This was the worst moment in my life.

At that same moment, I was in negotiations to sign with a company — I'm going to say it to my friends in this group — Moonshine. They had come back at me saying I was a computer mix DJ and they did not believe I was the one mixing. I had no real proof at the time that I did those mixes. Not only did I lose my best friend — I lost the contract on something I did not understand, and at that time I was now going through a divorce.

It was the lowest my life had ever been.

It came to a point that I did not care if I died. I basically stopped doing live events and was ready to quit all the way around. I would spin on the weekends and remember how close I was — and sulk about my friend's death with party cheers.

A few years went by, and I was presented with a chance at a radio slot with a good friend at the time — Cap-Colorado. I told him to give me some time on that, and I thought very hard about why — or why not — I should do this.

Everyone was wanting mixes. So I convinced myself that this radio show would be me taking the thousands of records, archiving them, and never using them again — to help preserve these treasures.

Obviously I told him yes. But the kicker to this is:

We recorded on video from day one.

If I was ever to get a chance at a huge company again? By God, I was going to have the proof.

Slowly but surely, I realized that people were really into this. It took me almost two years before I would get on the mic. I was shy — very, in that fashion. It was awesome because we had producers now asking us to play their tracks. I was so excited. This was beginning to be the new drug to take the other ones away.

The more I grew with these producers, the more I had to be professional — because I was representing this awesome music. People I grew to love through music were now actually my friends. Who would have ever thought?

Music and Jenna was what saved my life. These producers I admired saved my life without knowing it.

I was already spinning by myself before this radio show. Why not spin for at least one person versus none? It was easy for me to realize what a powerful tool this really was. I have so many good friends from just spinning their not-so-good tracks with great tracks. Now both sides of the block are happy. I helped someone believe in themselves just because I believed in them. It really was that easy.

To know someone is always there to cheer you on — whether that's 1 or 100,000 people — is awesome. I can't let these people down.

In January, as I have been saying, it will be five years of never missing a show. Not including the tens of thousands of hours I would fill.

That's what made Natural's name. Consistency. Always being there. Bad, good, sick, or hurt. I have never failed myself nor the people that believed in me.

Soon, Ustream was presented to BYBB. And because we had spent hundreds of dollars over the few years, it was easy to want to prove to the world we were real DJs.

Live video was not easy. Let me tell you that.

We were the very first show on the planet to make DJs on internet radio a must — to prove. It took six to eight months before NuBreaks would integrate it into their system. Most thought it was a self-promotional thing, but really it was for the justice of the DJs and the listeners.

Is this a real DJ? Why can't we see them?

It took so long because many at NuBreaks and other companies were Ableton DJs. I was really hurt by knowing so many were fakes. I was tired at the end of NuBreaks — also due to the fact that we as DJs really had no power in making better moves for the future. I was tired of promoting huge shows and being let down by our own company with promotions.

There is no other station in the world that would be able to pull off what we do — because we are the real DJs.

I have worked for other companies, and nobody is even close to what we are trying to provide for our people.

Music has been so many things to me. I just want others to have the fair shot at making a change for their lives and others.

I want people to be able to function this station as an owner. I want all of our people to have the same tools as the admins. I want to help people not struggle the way I had to — to get to where we are.

I want a place where we share secrets and we are all in the top 50 as a team.

We have a great chance at doing what we set out to do. I will not settle for second best — nor should you.

I truly believe in this place. I believe in you.

Trust what your soul is telling you. It's the truth.

We are the robot. We are the light. This place keeps me pure and honest. Every one of you makes me want to better my life. Every one of you makes me want to better yours.

There are still good people out there. There are sick DJs that will steal any show if booked at. It's time to really shine and show the world what we really have.

Every small thing that we do for TLA — inside and out — counts. People look up to you. I look up to you.

I will never forget where I came from and where I was before I was Natural Nate. I will never forget the producers and people that have helped shape my life.

Thank you to everyone that is here on this crazy idea. You have no idea what it means to me, at least. You are people I will go to battle for — anywhere, at any time. My phone and heart will be open to you 24 hours a day. There is nothing I won't do for this place.

Just ask.

We are close to history right now. We all can have our mark in the stars. You just have to believe.

— DJ Natural Nate® November 28, 2011

This message was written at one of the most significant moments in The-Lost-Art.com's history. The platform had just earned a 99/100 grade from HubSpot. The Breakspoll nominations — twelve categories, thirty nominees — had just been submitted. The site was in the top 0.4% of all websites on earth. Millions of hits a month. A global audience. A community of DJs, producers, and fans who had built something real together.

And in the middle of all of that, DJ Natural Nate® sat down and told his team the truth.

Not the polished version. Not the press release version. The real version — the abusive father, the murdered best friend, the lost contract, the divorce, the moment he stopped caring whether he lived. And then the other side of it: the stepfather who changed everything, the producers whose music saved his life, the radio show that became a reason to keep going, the platform that became a mission.

This letter explains everything about why The-Lost-Art.com was built the way it was built. Why it demanded live video when no one else did. Why it refused to tolerate fake DJs. Why it gave every member the same tools as the admins. Why it never missed a show — not once in five years.

It was not built for fame. It was not built for money. It was built because a man who had been told his whole life that he was not enough decided to build a place where nobody would ever have to feel that way again.

That is the origin of The-Lost-Art.com.

And it was written down — in full, in his own words — on November 28, 2011.

The record is here. The words are preserved. The history is permanent.

"We are close to history right now. We all can have our mark in the stars. You just have to believe."

He was right. They were close to history. They were already in it — they just didn't know it yet.

The 99/100 grades, the 7,173 linking domains, the Breakspoll nominations, the 780,780 hits in a single month, the 17 years of continuous operation — all of it traces back to this moment. To a man who had every reason to quit and chose instead to build something for others.

That is what The-Lost-Art.com is. That is what it has always been.

And now the words that built it are part of the permanent record.

The-Lost-Art.com — Est. 2009 — Colorado Springs, CO — Prove The Mix.