Tulum DJ Academy Experience: Playa Breakthroughs | Mixmaster Cayes Unfiltered
Aye Bay Bay! Welcome (back) to Cayes Unfiltered—where the beats, stories, and adventures just keep rolling!
I’m Mixmaster Cayes (pronounced “Kai”) The Travel Guy. “Kay” means “home” in Kreyol, and Aux Cayes is where my parents are from in Haiti. Both are pronounced like ‘Kai’—so when you hear my name, you’re hearing a piece of my roots. If you know me, you know I love a good word play. If you don’t yet, you’ll catch on quick!
Mix & Go: The Origin Story
Let’s rewind. Mix & Go started as a wild hobby: me, a Scion xB covered in chalk (#chalkcarxb), a photo booth, karaoke, spinning tracks at parties and school gigs—just trying to spread joy, one piece of chalk at a time. Fast forward through a few rebrands (classic indecisive Libra 😂), a pandemic DJ bootcamp, and a LOT of karaoke, and here we are: weddings, festivals, global bookings, and still clocking in as an educator. (And real talk, sometimes my lesson plans slap harder than my DJ sets 🗣OKAY!)
Tracks & Beats Tour Throwback
Before Sintra, before the rebrand, I was on the Tracks & Beats Tour—t-shirts and all!
The tour was born on my old mxchalkproductions.com site, but after traveling with my boss bish friend Kelli Carlson (whose Bold Journey to Branson inspired my own Bold Journey to Branding), I realized I needed a new direction. On our Virgin Voyage, Kelli gave me the ultimate master class in branding, business, and—most of all—myself. She’s the reason I finally landed on my DJ name. On the Resilient Lady, in Bimini, she said, “Mix Go Mixmaster Cayes The Travel Guy!” Our jaws dropped. She winked, I grinned, and ya boi said—🗣OKAY!
Gear That Keeps Me Moving
Nobody:
Me: Gear That Keeps Me Moving
- Virtual DJ – The #1 Most Popular DJ Software
- Pioneer/AlphaTheta DJ controller
- DJI Osmo Pocket 3 (Amazon affiliate)
- Adobe Suite (affiliate link coming soon)
- Ti SoundCloud mwen (It is an absolute work in progress! Be gentle!)
- Random cables on Amazon
- Fetch Rewards – use code CPNDA for a bonus!
- Sintra AI Crew—my digital dream team
Pro tip: I’ll be dropping a “Quick Links” box in future posts so you can snag my favorite tools and support the journey. Support me with 1 click! When you win I win. When I win you win! Mix Go!
Tulum & The Next Chapter: Tracks & Beats, Reimagined
Tulum is here, and it feels like the real takeoff! I’ve got a new camera, a better controller, and I’m about to gain skills that’ll catapult my mixing game. If you know me, you know I can’t tell a short story, and every adventure is a cultural journey. We’re going to take a detour past ti kras woz van an ak bourik la mare (the broken-down pink van with a donkey tied to it) and turn when you see the nèg ak yon sèl gwo je (man with one big eye).
This time, it all comes together in the beat drop—the moment when every lesson, every late night, every “wrong turn” on the journey finally makes sense. Tulum isn’t just a destination; it’s the launchpad for everything that comes next.
Tracks & Beats Tour: The Real on Content Creation
Amtrak Adventures & Making Lemonade
Real talk: content creation on the road is not all sunsets and smooth Wi-Fi. My Amtrak rail trip was a lesson in patience, storage limits, and the fine art of editing at 2 AM in a sleeper car. Sometimes the best stories come from chaos (and sometimes the best footage is just me, hunting for an outlet at a train station).
The original inspiration? Troubleshooting puppy care with my bestie, Aaron, for his new rottie, Olive. I saw Amtrak’s $499 10 Connection USA Railpass and thought: perfect excuse to travel, help a friend, and create.
The “trip” turned into an epic adventure—Classic Cayes! When life handed me lemons, I made gallons of lemonade and threw a block party with the leftovers. It all started in Middletown, CT after I performed & competed at our town’s Juneteenth Festival–Best of The Fest.
Mix Lessons & SoundCloud Beginnings
It was an incredible experience that brought me closer to DJ Turnup Tre, who I’d admired from afar. We hit it off and he gave me in-depth lessons on mixing, scratching, and seamless transitions. After my first class, I felt confident—by the fourth, I made my “ti” SoundCloud (imagine me talking like my dad—don’t know my dad? Follow my Instagram stories to hear).
NYC Sunrise: Friends Who Lift You Up
The tracks took me to New York, visiting my college pal Heathcliff—sunrise practice set at the Long Island Welcome Center, Pioneer DDJ SB3 out and proud!
Heathcliff’s been a ride-or-die supporter. Entrepreneurship is hard, so cherish the people who lift you up!
Chicago: The Fly Honey Show & DJ Growth
Next, Chicago: Amtrak hub, oldest friend Missi, and the Fly Honey Show. Here, I finally tackled custom mapping my DJ controller buttons (thanks to Missi’s boyfriend for the rescue!). Missi and the Fly Honey Show inspire me—childhood friends thriving as adults is everything. The show ran for 15 years and just closed this past July (The Fly Honey Show). Pics: me in her living room, rogue DJing in Humboldt Park (in a bush!), and the “Buffalo Wild Gave Me Wings” track that’ll launch my YouTube. Also– it’s Leo season! Happy birthday Miss!
SoCal Master Class: Leveling Up with Jacob
Back to my SoCal roots: an epic master class with my DJ mentor, Jacob Casmier (@the_casimir_effect). My first taste of using a CDJ—no laptop, just pure DJ flow! Not CDJ level yet, which is why I moved up to the DDJ FLX10. Jake and I go way back to our Otis College days, and this session took me right back to those nights in our apartment, front row to his sets.
Desert Vibes, Amtrak Rides & More
From there, #tracksandbeatstour was me bopping around, visiting friends, and practicing mixing everywhere—Golden Nugget in Laughlin, NV, hotel room sets, Amtrak rides, headphones on, Studio One 4 experiments—no internet, just vibes.
Detroit & Vinyl Dreams
Favorite part? Detroit for Movement Festival, staying with DJ friend Lyle (@4renz1k), who gave me a crash course in spinning vinyl. Now I’m hooked—building my own collection by 2029! Every record store is a new adventure, every show where a vinyl is being sold–I’m on it!
Dreams vs. Reality: The Unfiltered Life
Owning My Journey
Here’s the raw truth: My biggest inspiration—and sometimes my biggest internal struggle—comes from my mom. She taught me to work hard, love harder, and never stop learning. Watching her fight through illness while still cheering me on from the sidelines reminds me that real life isn’t just about the grind or the highlight reel.
Balancing Passion and Profession
I genuinely love my career in education. Most people leave their jobs to start a business because they’re unhappy at work. However, for me, it’s the opposite—I struggle to throw myself fully into my business because I love what I do so much. I’m not running away from my career—I’m running toward a bigger vision.
The real struggle? It’s hard to go all-in on my business when my day job feeds my soul, too. So if you’re out here juggling a business and a calling, just know: you’re not alone. Some of us are building empires and lesson plans at the same time.
Family as My Foundation
No story about me is complete without my mom.
She taught me that every journey is better when you bring your whole self and your whole heart (even if she complains I’m always “in the street” 😂). Whether I’m spinning at a wedding or booking a group trip, her love and resilience are in every beat I drop.
True to Haitian mom form, she still worries I’ll be poor if I don’t become a doctor. I joke that if she supported my love of teaching with the same energy, I’d have a network of schools by now. But the other day, she said, “I realize I have no choice but to support your DJing…” 😂😂😂 Thanks, Mamma. I’ll take it!
But real talk—owning a business is CRAZY hard when you have to adult 24/7/365. My mom’s been battling a chronic illness for four years. Seeing the woman who inspired my love of travel, music, and food struggle is heartbreaking. There were days I spiraled: “What’s the point?” She’s always lived healthy, so why her? Why us? But I keep going—because of her, for her, with her.
