Sure, there’s a lot out there about Jon Gosselin. (Read almost anything online and it quickly becomes apparent that the tabs totally love him.) But there’s so much more to the dad of 8 than a reality TV show and the ensuing drama that’s been a part of his life since “Jon & Kate Plus 8.” Jon took a leap of professional and personal faith when he decided to dust off an old dream and make DJing his full-time focus. Today, Jon is making major musical moves (and getting everyone on the dance floor) with a career he’s always craved for as long as he can remember.
Many people might not know this, but you’ve been DJing for quite some time.
Oh yeah, it’s a real thing. I started DJing back in 1993. I was hanging outside clubs when I was 15, sneaking in by carrying vinyl, and then meeting other DJs and learning from them.
Then, I got married in 1999, had a few kids, had a show — whatever. [laughs] After filming was done, I started to DJ in 2013-2014. At that time, I was working full-time in an IT job, and I would DJ on the weekends and sometimes on weeknights.
In 2023, I got laid off at my job and my girlfriend Steph was like, “Why don’t you just DJ full time?” and I thought, “Why don’t I?” I started DJing full time and now it’s my career. There’s not a lot of work in my hometown so I travel a lot. I go to Clearwater, St. Pete, Tampa, Jacksonville, Del Ray, and out West like in Palm Springs. This summer has been super busy, but you have to go where there’s tourism if you want to make money. I live in the middle of Pennsylvania — no one is going to the middle of Pennsylvania in the summer!
Apart from the encouragement, what did it take to make the leap into DJing full time?
Well, it was hard because I was so dependent on a job. I had worked for so long with that steady income and flow. The security, benefits — all the stuff you don’t think about. But I had a buffer and the week after I got laid off, I got a $4000 gig for a major corporation. Maybe that was a sign. I got booked in Atlantic City and a lot of gigs came in. I did some weddings but I’m not a wedding DJ. I don’t like the formality of things; I’m an open format DJ so I like to go and see what happens.
In some ways, I have a very young career even though I’m older in my career.
But you’re well known, though. That’s got to open doors for you.
It does but I’ve really focused on marketing and promotion. I do a lot of appearances because my fan base is primarily women who watched the show on TLC. I mean, no dudes are watching me on TLC with a bunch of kids, or maybe they were forced to watch me, so there’s the difference. [laughs] So the demographic works out geographically because it was such a big show. That’s why I took my knowledge of TV marketing and applied it to my DJing career. I also work with other DJs to help promote their following and build on that to have a more globalized name.
It’s cool that you’re taking one part of your life and applying it to something that you’re so passionate about.
Right. Just because you didn’t see me DJing on “Jon and Kate Plus 8” doesn’t mean I wasn’t interested in music. You didn’t really see me doing a lot of other things on the show but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. The show was 44 minutes long every week and there are a lot more hours in that week. And it’s not every week that we filmed. It could be a period of a month or pieced together over a timeline or filmed out of sequence to create a story.
And that was the hardest part. We’re talking back in 2006-2007 and you’re living your life but then it’s airing six months afterwards. It could be Christmas and then that episode would air during the summer. That could be really weird, and you don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. I was still married on TV and here I’m getting divorced, so the tabloids are keeping track of me now and TLC is trying to catch up in the whole series.
It’s like you’re living it twice.
I still have to relive it now. That’s how I’m known.
It’s just one chapter in your life, though.
Well, there are a lot of missing pieces because I couldn’t talk for 10 years because I was on a gag order. Now that’s all coming out so we’re putting together more docuseries stuff. There are no historians doing the anthology of “Jon & Kate Plus 8” — yet.
Going back to music, what is your favorite genre?
What I love and get booked for the most is 80s, 90s, and 2000s music. Sing-a-longs, mixes, just going back and forth and keep the audience guessing. I think I just kill it in that space.
I’m happy playing music for younger crowds, but I grew up listening to my brother’s music in the 80s and I loved it.
Beyond 80s music, I had to learn about the T.I.’s and the 50 Cent’s because at that time, I was changing diapers and not listening to hip hop. [laughs] I was listening to Barney and The Wiggles all the time.
Would you agree that when you make that leap and you pursue that passion, you think, “Why didn’t I do this sooner?”
There are regrets that I didn’t do it sooner but then I look at the timing of things. Was I really stable enough then? And having your own business is hard. You gotta hustle; you’re competing with other people and then you have to bring brand awareness, explain costs, etc. Like, “Why is this guy $200 and you’re so much money?” “Well, I’m Jon Gosselin.” [laughs] That’s what my friends tell me to say but I’m not conceited like that. I don’t see me as “TV” me; I just see me as growing up in Reading, Pennsylvania and doing normal things. But then I forget that it’s also a part of me that I’m well known for. I always say I’m a DJ first, and then a celebrity. I want the respect of the DJ community before the label of celebrity DJ.
The good thing is that I know I can hold my own on the tables. I’m past that fear. I was super intimidated in the beginning but the more I played, it became second nature.
You want to earn the respect.
Yes! I worked in crap bars and trailer park bars — if you don’t know what that is, Google that! [laughs] If you’re uncomfortable now, it gets really uncomfortable, especially if you come right off the TV and do that. I worked my way up, all the way to club level, to the Vegas level. I feel like I’ve gained more respect from them because I didn’t step on their toes. I worked with them and not against them. I didn’t take their gigs; I don’t want to take anyone’s family money because I know how hard it is, and I know what it’s like to get cancelled especially after you’ve worked so hard on a venue. That was so important; the loyalty to that and the morality to that.
But my DJ community all hated me, though! I heard things and they didn’t want me in there but then I started proving myself. Because they were reading everything that was being printed about me, they had no concept of who I actually was.
When I’m shooting, there’s always that moment of, “This is why I do what I do.” What is that moment like for you?
Oh, when I’m DJing and there’s that blend of certain songs, and it’s just flowing. Everyone is dancing and together and happy. It’s interesting because different walks of life might not like each other out here but when they’re together in a lounge, club or a bar, everyone gets along. My good sets are R&B sets from the 90s and everyone sings along. It’s unity, for that one moment. That’s the amazing thing about music.
Now, we have to talk about your weight loss journey.
I met with Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Center in January. I did some bloodwork, and I met with Dan Holtz and Devin Haman, and I started to go through the process with them. I also got into fitness training, and I got a trainer, Fernando, who is amazing. I started lifting and taking my hormone replacements and semaglutide and now it’s 42 pounds down later. It’s going really well, and I’ve changed my whole lifestyle. My diet is better; I walk five miles a day. From January 2024 until now, I am a totally different person. Before, I just did whatever I wanted but I was tired a lot, so my testosterone level was low. Now I take supplemental hormonal testosterone. There were a lot of different things in my blood work that no one would test me for that the Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Center tested me for. I was uneducated about things, but these are doctors and scientists at BHRC who are willing to help you.
As it went along, I was losing weight and keeping it off. At that point I started doing CellSound on my stomach because I had lost the weight so quickly and I had loose skin. It helped slim my body and tighten my skin with no downtime. It’s a new technology that improves blood flow and lymphatic drainage and it really helped me. It was easy and felt like I was getting a massage. It forced me to sit back and relax for 40 minutes at a time which I don’t do a lot and probably need!
The best is when you have to get into clothes. I think that’s your reward when big clothes don’t fit anymore, and you go to Goodwill to drop them off and now you have to go buy new clothes. Or you save old clothes and go, “Dude, I wore this in high school!” [laughs]
The only difference with my weight loss is that I have muscle growth from doing body shaping, so the semaglutide helped me lose weight but it’s counter intuitive to what I want to be. So eventually in the future I’ll come off semaglutide which I’ll supplement with a peptide and maintain my weight loss as I build muscle.
It’s a big accomplishment, not just the number on the scale but the overall lifestyle change.
I might not have hit my goal weight because I never knew what that weight should have been. Looking at my body now, I’m happy with it and want to make it better and better. But it’s a work in progress. Like you said, it’s a lifestyle change. I wake up, I eat breakfast, go the gym, come back, have a protein shake and get my stuff done.
It sounds like it’s all gelling together, starting with your weight loss, doing what you love, and hey, you have a few kids too.
Yeah, now my kids are older; they’re all in college. Cara and Mady are out of college so they’re living their own lives. I mean, Collin and Hannah store their stuff here but that doesn’t mean they live here! They do come home, and in the summer, I see them a lot more. But as soon as fall starts, they’re busy again.
What is it like having grown children? Has your parenting shifted?
It’s definitely different when you’re raising young children and now, they’re adults and you’re guiding them. At this age, they ask you your opinion, but they don’t follow it. [laughs] They just want to hear what I have to say but they’ll make their own decisions. And I learned that in therapy, too. They have to learn how to make their own mistakes. If Collin gets a speeding ticket, it’s like, “You’re paying it, Buddy. I’m not paying it.” It’s teaching them to be responsible for their actions and that there are always consequences.
That’s hard, though.
And especially with relationships. I find that I get too emotional. I think, “That’s my child,” and it’s hard to hold back. I know that they have to learn heartache which is the hardest part. And you know it’s going to happen, but you can’t say anything because then they’ll learn in their body and mind that they don’t want to make that mistake again. All you can do is support them, though. It might be one of the hardest things to go through as a parent, but you do it because you ultimately you love your kids.