Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Interview Huw Stephens from Radio 1

0:04 He's a really cool DJ

That is awesome, you know that? All the elements, the main elements from Star Wars and Star Trek, like beaming, communicators, lightsabers, robots, Jedi power. This is a Jedi which gets inspired by graffiti and starts doing this Jedi power graffiti robot. Nice. And what I like about this is, you know, you guys have just had a concept, worked on it, and it's got your places. Excellent. But it's very, very, very effective. He's a really cool DJ. Nice. Excellent. So these are the guys, basically, who've done that for SkyMovies.com. Nice one. Nice. So, just introduce yourself. What's your name, sir? My name is Hugh Stephens. Tell everybody, where do you actually work? What do you do? I'm a DJ on the BBC, on Radio 1, and I've been avaristic at the Fresh Film Awards. Excellent. Now, there's a lot of people who watch my videos, and lots of aspiring DJs, they want to do club work, mobile work, quite a few actually want to go into radio as well, so any tips, how did you actually start? I started...

2:21 On the radio, through hospital radio, where I grew up in Cardiff

On the radio, through hospital radio, where I grew up in Cardiff. Got involved when I was about 15, 16 and started off filing the records at the time and helping out, doing bits and bobs. Got my own show an hour a week, spread to two hours. I started answering the phones at a local radio station and at the same time I was going to gigs and so whatever kind of music you're in, whether you're into dance music, Plus the fact, like you said in a sense, you know... You've really sometimes got to start, it is literally making the tea, isn't it? To get in, foot in the door, isn't it really? Absolutely, yeah. I mean, if you've got a passion and a knowledge of music that you want to share with people as well, then hopefully we'll get you through. But at the same time, you know, you have got to be ready to work. And yeah, absolutely. Whether that's doing the tea or helping a DJ carry his...

MP3, I know, used to be records, CDs, now it's an MP3, the lazy buggers, eh? So how did you actually get into Radio 1 then? What happened there? I was managing a band in Cardiff in school. I met a girl called Bethan Elvin who was producing for the BBC at the time and she got me in to do some reviews and to be a guest on her shows. Thank you for joining us today. It was a crazy time, looking back it was very strange. For me it was the most natural thing in the world because it was happening and it was a brilliant opportunity, it was great. How did your friends feel? Were they maybe a little bit jealous, were they chuffed or were they just perhaps as amazed as you in a sense? Yeah, nobody knew what was going on really. It's a very confusing time when you're growing up. Even when you're like 17, 18, you don't really know what you want to do with your life. I wanted to get into radio and I was getting into radio, you know. Like people who are brilliant at sports, getting into sports when they're that age as well. So it was an exciting time, definitely.

Plans for the future. What can you see happening with you? What would you like to personally do? I want to carry on doing shows on Radio 1. We do two shows every Wednesday now, 9pm and midnight. So I want to carry on doing that and I'd be happy if I did radio till I died. Excellent, good for you. That's what I want to do. Good for you. And I've always said it's not about whether you like hip-hop, soul, R&B, reggae, trance, techno or whatever. It's about the music. Yeah, of course, absolutely. Whatever kind of music you're into, there'll always be other people out there who like what you like. And if you want to share what you like with other people, then radio's an amazing way of doing that, you know? Alright. Well, one last thing. I've got a saying that's known worldwide now. It's called... Well, it's a saying and it goes, practice and enjoy. Now, remember that and I'm going to leave it to you if you want to say it on the radio at some point. That's a nice phrase. Good catchphrase. The reason I say it...

6:04 It, in life you're practicing

The reason I say it is because the way I look at it, in life you're practicing and if you can carry on practicing and practicing until the day you die and you can enjoy it at the same time, it's all good. Alright, thank you very much because this guy's got to get back on the decks. Thank you, take it easy.

This transcript was produced automatically from the audio of the video and may contain mistakes.