Martin Garrix is 18 Years Old and Having a Damn Good Time

In the latest episode of The Martin Garrix Show, a reality docu series about the superstar DJ's life, released on Christmas Day as a gift to fans, we follow Garrix around his hometown of Amsterdam during Amsterdam Dance Event this past October. We see Garrix pogoing on stage behind the decks, taking selfies with Oliver Heldens in an elevator, smiling through countless interviews, showing the Minister of Economic Affairs for The Netherlands how the process of DJing works, flagging down his Uber driver, and generally maintaining an exhausting (and exhaustive) schedule over the period of a week.

What The Martin Garrix Show doesn't show, of course, is the show's production crew itself, a team of camera, sound and light operators who trail the young DJ, swarming him like a reality show star (which, in a sense, he is). To be the focus of so much attention is an odd experience for anyone, but Garrix takes it all in stride.

"It's super weird, but it's part of it," Garrix told THUMP at ADE. "In the end, these are mostly our own people so we decide if we use the footage or not."

"I think you get used to it," he added recently. "I am a very down to earth guy and wouldn't act any different when there's a camera there or a lot of fans."

Granted, ADE comes but once a year, still the daily life of Garrix isn't too different: He is a young man on the move with regular touring worldwide, including headlining gigs at the world's biggest festivals and a residency at Hakkasan Las Vegas. Next week, he'll ring in 2015 at New York City's Pier 36 with a posse of his friends including fellow Dutch DJs Oliver Heldens, Jay Hardway and Julian Jordan alongside American DJ Ansolo, also known as the actor Ansel Elgort. (If you want to join the madness, you can enter below for your chance to win tickets.)

As the Martin Garrix New Year's Eve party exemplifies, Garrix likes to surround himself with people he likes and enjoys being around. You could call it an entourage, but it's also just smart business.

"I'm 18, so I make mistakes," he acknowledges. "There was this one guy who posted a negative video about me on the internet and it got a thousand views. I saw it and—sometimes I'm in those moods where I read comments; it's the stupidest thing you do. I replied on Instagram and he posted it and then [the original video] went viral because of my reply. It was stupid. My team was like, Martin, you're an idiot! But from things like that you learn. It's all a process. I can't do everything right."

At least one thing Garrix is doing right is touring as much as he does. While Garrix's 2013 single "Animals" became an unexpected crossover radio hit early in 2014—a nearly unprecedented feat for an instrumental track—one single does not assure superstar status for anyone. Thus, in between riding bikes with Zac Efron and Dillon Francis in Amsterdam and waving to crowds of screaming girls outside his hotels, Garrix is earning fans the old fashioned way: on the road.

In between gigs he's made some studio time to record with Dragonette's Martina Sorbara, who Garrix first heard on Don Diablo's 2010 single "Animale," and perhaps of more interest to his throngs of teen fans, Ed Sheeran.

"I'm super excited for that one," Garrix says of the Sheeran collab. "Ed is one of the coolest guys ever. There's this natural connection [between us]. We started working and it was like magic. We're both super proud and super happy with the track. I just can't wait til it gets released. I don't know exactly when—it depends on the label but the track is there."

In 2014, Garrix played Ultra, Coachella, Tomorrowland and TomorrowWorld, and EDC to name a few. Like many others in his peer group (even the non-DJs), these events are highlights of his year.

"Personally, I also love going to festivals," he says. "I love the vibe, hanging out with friends, seeing my favorite artists play… and it's also a great way to meet your fellow DJs and hang out with them."

"My life is chaos," he jokes. "A lot of things have happened in the last year; it's been great. I just try to enjoy my life on the road as much as possible!"

Tickets for Martin Garrix New Year's Eve are available here.

Enter below for a chance to win:
four Tickets to Martin Garrix at Pier 36 for New Year's Eve 
a Meet & Greet with Martin at the Show
Limited Edition Custom Martin Garrix Crossfade M-100, to be signed by Martin at the show (see below)
one bottle of champagne for you and your (21+) friends at show

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