Think you travel a lot for work? Steve Aoki, the 41-year-old D.J., musician and music producer, may have you beat. He spends about a third of the year at home in Las Vegas, where he is the resident D.J. at Hakkasan. The rest of the time is spent bouncing from concerts to music festivals to recording sessions. He compares his grueling schedule to that of a professional athlete. Here’s how he stays fit and Zen on the road.
Preflight Workout
I’m rocking about 250 shows on average. If I’m on the road, I’m going to bed around 4 to 5 in the morning. If I’m in Europe, I’m not back in my room until 6 a.m.
That also means I’m catching afternoon flights. I usually have to report at 10 a.m. to go to the airport. So I try to get up around 8:30 or 9 a.m. and I’ll do a workout right away before the flight. It’s usually more cardio based, like a low-intensity 30-minute jog. If you don’t have that initial motivation, it’s really easy to shrug off working out.
Mr. Aoki makes a point of staying fit when he’s on the road.CreditRoger Kisby for The New York Times
Duty-Free Samples
Flying so much, I have a life hack. When I get to the airport, I go to the duty-free shops or beauty stores, and I go down the line and put on moisturizer, serum and maybe even cologne. It’s a great way to try new things but also then my skin is all hydrated that I can get on the plane and go directly to sleep.
Other than that, I don’t buy anything over 100 milliliters so I can always take it on the plane with me. I have stuff from Tatcha, Mario Badescu and I like Skyn Iceland. Those three lines are my staples.
Cardio Burn
My main workout comes when I land. Right when I get to the hotel, there is a very small window of opportunity. I put my bag down or leave it with the concierge, and I go straight to the gym. That’s when I do strength conditioning or a real cardio burn.
It’s also how I came up with the idea for my Aoki Bootcamp, which is on the Neou app. It’s all full body workouts that don’t require having weights or anything else. I wanted it to be about the busy person, who is traveling or just has maybe 5 or 10 or 30 minutes in a hotel room wherever they are.
Fat Challenge
Right now I’m on a 90-day body-fat challenge. The goal is that I’m trying to get down to 10 percent body fat in 90 days. I’m currently at 18.5 percent. In order to get to the goal, I eat below 1,800 calories a day. That’s about 80 percent of what I’ll usually eat.
The main thing about being fit, I’ve come to realize, is regulating food and it’s hard. I’m a foodie. I’m the luckiest guy in the world, getting invitations to Michelin-rated restaurants and omakases. I want to try as much as I can.
D.J. as Sport
I think of my career like a sport. I prepare for it the way a professional athlete does. My D.J. sets are extremely physical. Then it’s how do you deal with the stress and the lifestyle, and I personally like to be more mindful and feel healthy. If you don’t think about it as a competition and you don’t train, I don’t know how long you can really last in this profession.
Loud Office
Being a D.J., the work environment is stressful. You’re in a club. You’re around people that are there to have a big night. When I was younger, I was like, “Wow, this is so much fun.” I forgot I was the D.J., and I was having fun with the crowd.
Later on, with wisdom and experience, I figured out that I’m actually the conductor for the night, so I need to have a sense of clarity. Whether you’re drinking or sober, I’m going to give you something you won’t forget. In order to do that, I have to be clairvoyant and situationally aware. So now, I block out what most people go to a club for. I’m there to do a job.
Off the Strip
Family is everything to me. When I moved to Las Vegas a few years ago, the first thing I did was try to convince my family to move out here. Now my mom lives down the street and my sister is around the corner. My brother is moving here soon.
The thing about Vegas is that if you’ve only been to the Strip, you don’t know Vegas. There is this whole other suburban side that has very affordable living. And you get a lot for your money.
