Training others

Li says there were 15 DJs from China working during the 2022 Winter Games. As a mentor, Li invited eight younger sport DJs in China to the Games, working on different courses both indoor and outdoor.

One such sport DJ is Xie Xiao, who has received training from Li since 2017. Li introduced Xie to DJ work at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, in 2019.

During the 2022 Winter Games, Xie worked at ice hockey events, teaming up with US DJ Dieter Ruehle.

"I have been a DJ for basketball games since 2016. This was the first time that I was playing music for ice hockey events, so I spent months learning about the rules of the sport," says Xie, 31. "The job was to play along with the mood in the stadium."

Born and raised in Huizhou, Guangdong, he worked as a civil servant after his graduation from university. He opened a basketball venue in his hometown in 2015, along with a friend, who had graduated from Beijing Sport University.

"It was my friend that introduced me to the world of sport DJs. I watched lots of videos, realizing that the profession is a perfect combination of two things I love-sports and music," says Xie, who founded his own band when he was a university student.

Once he decided to become a sport DJ, Xie bought equipment and trained himself by watching videos online. In 2017, he started to learn from Li at basketball games.

"My mother is a teacher and my father works as a civil servant. They used to think that being a sport DJ was not a decent and stable job," Xie says.

"I am happy that I have won their support now. I am happier that people are getting to know about sport DJs, which will inspire more young people to pursue the profession."