Sven Väth Opens Up About His “Personal Hell Of Being Too Crowd Pleasing”
Legendary Frankfurt based DJ, Sven Väth, has opened his heart about how he suffered through years of personal anguish from being too crowd pleasing.
“It’s something that began in childhood,” claimed Sven. “Like other kids if I was well behaved or polite and my parents were pleased then they rewarded me with toys and treats. It’s the reason I was walking and fully toilet trained before I was 2 and a half.”
Sven went on to explain how he developed an acute desire to please those around him that has been both a bane and a blessing for the DJ. “I just had this need to make sure everyone was having a good time and were happy. I think it’s one of the main reasons I became a DJ. I saw how music could make people joyful and I wanted to be responsible for creating those feelings. But trying to please literally everyone I’ve ever met is tough.”
Long time friend and collaborator, Richie Hawtin, elaborated on some of the ways that Sven’s crowd pleasing tendencies began to make life hard for Sven. “I first knew him as one of the world’s foremost DJs. This guy went out of his way to make sure the audience had a great time. It wasn’t until I got to know him personally that I saw that his crowd pleasing wasn’t limited to those hours when he was behind the decks.”
“It could manifest itself in any number of ways. He’d light your cigarette or top up your drink,” explained Richie. “If you needed to blow your nose he’d offer you his sleeve or if he wasn’t wearing a sleeve he’d say something like ‘just use my hair’. Or if you were going to the bathroom he’d offer to help with your fly or holding your penis. Things like that.”
“I remember myself, Sven and Ricardo Villalobos were each playing an outdoor event in winter,” continued Richie. “We were all in the booth during Sven’s set when Ricardo shivered from the cold. Sven immediately took off his t-shirt and insisted on Ricardo taking it to keep warm.”
“He literally gave him the shirt off his back,” exclaimed Richie. “He played a four hour set that night.”
Sven described how at the height of his affliction he began to be affected physically. “It got to a point where I’d be awake for days. Perched on the end of a sleeping friend’s bed. Just in case they woke up and wanted fresh pillows or needed me to brush their teeth.”
The breaking point for Sven came when he offered to be the surrogate mother for a female friend who was having trouble conceiving a child. “I considered getting a sex change but doctors assured me that even then I would not be able to carry the child and would have changed sex for no reason. I still found it hard to take.”
“I’ve since sought help and managed to channel my crowd pleasing tendencies specifically to my performances and sets. I still probably go a bit too much out of my way to put on a stunning show but I think I can live with that.”