DJ Rony Seikaly Trades Swishes For Spinning
MIAMI (CBS4) - It's Saturday night and the beautiful people at Club Liv are living it up with the pulsating sounds of a world-renowned DJ named Rony Seikaly.
He is the same Rony Seikaly who helped jump-start the Miami Heat twenty years ago. Now he is now an A-list DJ.
Seikaly's new life was born out of a long time passion for music. He went from DJ-ing his own house parties, to producing his own brand of techno house music.
"I didn't really want people to think I'm doing this for the wrong reason. I'm doing it for people to have fun... spread the love and play music, " Seikaly told CBS4 Sports Director Jim Berry.
"I didn't know you could move like this," Berry noted.
Seikaly has earned street cred even with the DJ linked to his old team.
"Rony Seikaly's 110%," shouted DJ Irie. "He's a true DJ. But I have to say some of the clubs may have to modify their ceilings. "
Rony Seikaly's new love takes him around the world playing in exclusive clubs like Liv on Miami Beach. He commands a pretty penny everywhere he plays. At 45, he might be considered an old man in a young man's game. But don't tell him that.
"I still feel exactly the same way as when I played for the Heat 20-years ago, physically, mentally, and I'm not growing up! I refuse to grow up. "
Ron Rothstein, now a Heat assistant coach, was the team's head coach when Seikaly played.
"He almost seems a little more secure today in what he's doing," noted Rothstein.
Seikaly's pulsating beats might be a bit much for him. Rothstein flinched when Berry put the headset over his ears to listen to Rony's music.
"Ok that's enough!" hollered Rothstein.
But Rothstein and Seikaly's old teammate Keith Askins are thrilled that Seikaly has found a joy which may even surpass what he felt in the NBA.
"I'm happy for him. The last time I saw Seikaly he told me he don't get old. He must party. You must party," said Askins.
Rony Seikaly is certainly following his own advice. Always a free spirit, the only voice he listens to is his own.
"I'm doing something that I love doing and I'm going to be doing anything I want. I don't need permission to do... whether you are young or too old to do."
So, the crowds that once watched him play have been replaced by a new crowd that watches him play. It's not your everyday story but this is not your everyday town.
"Are you kinda shocked that a former NBA player can DJ?" ask Berry of one Club Liv goer?
"No. It's Miami. Nothing shocks me, " was her reply.
