Adam Goldstein (DJ AM)

DJ A.M.

Adam Goldstein, going by the name DJ A.M. (born March 30, 1973), should probably be world renowned for his skills as a superior club disc jockey. However, he became a darling to the tabloid empire when he began his high-profile relationship with Nicole Richie – he later broke off their engagement – all the way holding his place as a celebrity DJ. Always booked and usually sold-out, Goldstein has even made bit appearances in numerous television shows, such as “Entourage” with Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier and Jeremy Piven.

Early Life

Goldstein born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was kicked out of private school in the first grade for throwing a rock at a car; subsequently, he attended public school at Greenfield Elementary. In second grade he tasted his first dose of hip-hop. Goldstein said, "I was a minority and that's really the only music there was. I loved to beat box. That saved my ass more then once from getting beat up. Some brothas (sic) would run up to jack me, and I would bust a beat box for them and next thing I knew, it was a freestyle session for an hour. My lips would be blue but my face not black and blue."

Goldstein has an older sister, who shared her love of punk music with him. She would play The Clash and The Misfits, while he would be jamming to LL Cool J and Boogie Down Productions. By 1986, he once again, was introduced to something new and exciting in the music realm: in Philadelphia, Goldstein met two would be friends with their own music group already established. Goldstein said, "DJ Mighty Mi and MC Eon who are now the Rawkus recording group, The High and the Mighty. That was when I first saw someone DJ and thought, ‘DAMN that is pretty fuckin cool.’ I had no turntables but I did have a boom box that recorded with a lil' mic.” From there, he started practicing his skills with “Gumby”: "I used to sit in the living room for hours and sample and loop different lines and beats by taping the lil’ mic to the speaker on my moms TV. I loved to do that. The first mix I ever made was a “Gumby” porno. I took short clips of words from a few “Gumby” episodes and tried to make it sound like a porno. My sister and her friends thought I was a sick disturbed child.”

In 1987, he and his family moved to Los Angeles. Of the move, he observed, "Kids [in Los Angeles] did not know about hip-hop at all;” however, Los Angeles did have one station, KDAY 1580 AM, that played hip-hop, and Goldstein introduced and converted many Los Angeles kids over, introducing them to the hip-hop he had gotten hooked to as a kid.

Music Career: The Dream Begins

In 1991, when Goldstein was 28, he embarked on his passion and began messing around with a friend’s turntables – he was hooked instantly. By 1994, he had his own turntables, and landed his first gig DJing at "After Hours" in Los Angeles for only $40 a night. It was an illegal club that sold liquor and cocaine. From there, a promoter gave him a regular gig at the Los Angeles club, The Dragonfly, which was a real night club in Hollywood. The rest was history: he became famous within the electronic music scene and began spinning at all the elite parties and clubs.

Goldstein also became a member (now former member) of the rock band, Crazy Town, known for their one hit wonder, "Butterfly" in 2001.

He has scratched on numerous celebrity musicians' albums from Papa Roach, and Madonna, to Will Smith and Shifty. In addition, he has played private events for the extremely famous such as Jim Carrey, Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Lopez, Ben Stiller, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, and Kate Hudson.

He has recently collaborated with Travis Barker of blink-182 and Plus 44 in several performances, and he is also the owner of the popular club LAX where he spins there on Sunday evenings.

Goldstein reportedly charges anywhere from $20,000 to $25,000 for a three hour set, and also has a lucrative one-year contract with Las Vegas nightclub PURE (inside Caesar's Palace) to play at the venue every Friday. In addition, he is a resident DJ at Club Reserve in Chicago.

Acting: Playing Himself In

In 2005, Goldstein appeared as himself on the third season of the Fox reality program, “The Simple Life,” with Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton. He also played along on the Candid-Camera like show, known as "Punk'd," produced by Ashton Kutcher, where his former Richie, was the subject of a practical joke.

Finally, and most notably, as it does not concern reality-television, Goldstein appeared as himself in an episode of the third season of “Entourage.” In the scene, he gets the last pair of an exclusive line of shoes (Fukijamas) available, right before Vince (Adrian Grenier) arrives. The part was appropriate given Goldstein’s well-known shoe fetish: he has collected thousands of pairs of special edition and hard-to-find sneakers.

Personal Life and Tabloid Fodder

Goldstein has admitted to past weight problems that ended with gastric bypass surgery. He apparently lost over 200 pounds and has maintained his current weight for over two years. He also had surgery last year to get rid of some of the extra skin left when someone looses such an immense amount of weight.

After Gastric bypass surgery, Golstein dated socialite and reality television star Nicole Richie, who had also recently succeeded in a notable weight loss. They were engaged on her birthday, September 21, 2004. The engagement was announced in early 2005. On December 7th, 2005, both he and Nicole called off the engagement. It was rumored that Richie’s continued and worrisome weight loss attributed to the break up. However, they were seen together several times after their split, and many say that Goldstein was trying to counsel Richie through a supposed eating disorder.

In early 2007, Goldstein was linked to singer and actress, Mandy Moore, after the two were spotted together at the Sundance Film Festival. However, some are reporting that Goldstein is only dating her for the publicity and that his rates have gone down substantially since his split from Richie.

Goldstein has a well publicized sneaker fetish and has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars, collecting literally thousands of sneakers. He played himself in an episode of “Entourage,” where he gets a pair of specialty sneakers, and the main character’s (Adrian Grenier) best friend Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) is left with none at a Nike store in Santa Monica.