Ann Nguyen Went From Posting Travel Tips to Packing Out Nightclubs
By Kelli Luu | 07 Jul, 2025

By day, Ann Nguyen decodes trends. By night, she defines them by spinning high-energy sets at clubs around the world.

Kelli Luu (00:00)

Ann Nguyen is mixing beats and sharing her lifestyle with the world along with her 107,000 followers on TikTok. She's a globetrotting rave DJ who has the power to turn every set into a full-on experience. I'm Kelli Luu at Gold Sea and I'm really excited to introduce today Ann Nguyen.

Ann (00:17)

Thanks Kelli for that intro, I'm so happy to be here.

Kelli Luu (00:19)

Of course, thank you so much for being with us today. I have to really dive into everything about you today, okay? So I really wanna know, at what point in your life did you decide that you were gonna document your life kind of on

Ann (00:33)

Yeah, so I started posting on TikTok kind of around COVID, honestly. I think like a lot of people, I was spending a lot of time at home and I think I definitely wanted some type of creative expression. I started off making travel content actually. So my TikTok handle is travelannnnn with five N's, which is so hard on my thumbs. But I started making travel content because of COVID, know, so many of us had to cancel our flights.

I had to cancel my flight and I was like, you know what, but I still am super excited and very passionate about travel. And so when I thought about like what niche I wanted to get into on TikTok, that's where I decided to start. So I actually started off making travel content. And what's really fun too is that quite honestly, before I started posting on TikTok and making content, like I never really saw myself as a creative person. Like I always saw myself as a very like data, logistical, numbers type of girl.

But when I started scrolling on TikTok, I was like, wait, I think that I can give this a try. And it felt like a very, kind of like a low effort or a low entry barrier to creativity. And I think that since then, it's just really blossomed from there. It's really given me the confidence, honestly, in my own creative voice and just creating different types of content and also different types of art from there too.

Kelli Luu (01:43)

Yeah, for sure. So you started with the travel content. Were you just posting like your travel vlogs or what is it?

Ann (01:50)

Yeah, so obviously during COVID, none of us were traveling. So I posted a lot of my travel tips actually. So I started off with like travel tips to Japan. had just come up, I had just done a trip with my mom and my brother at the time. And there were so many things that I learned, right? there's just so much like small details when it comes to traveling internationally. And I also remember I was so lost and confused and overwhelmed at first, but I had so many spreadsheets by the end of the trip that I was like, okay, now I feel pretty well-knowledged to make videos from there.

Kelli Luu (01:53)

Right.

Okay.

Ooh.

Ann (02:19)

And I think what was really exciting too was that even though it was kind of like a lull for travel in terms of like being able to buy tickets, there was still such a big community of like, like I'm going to write this down for when I am able to travel. And then when COVID ended, there was so much revenge travel. So like my content really did super well during that time. Cause it was like, my gosh, now I can finally travel. And now she has this like bank of content. Yeah.

Kelli Luu (02:40)

Nice, okay cool.

So COVID kind of in a way almost helped you with the startup, huh? yeah, yeah. I feel like a lot of people have the same like same kind of experience with COVID. they took advantage of it, which is awesome to see. So growing up, did you travel a lot? also did you always love music when you're growing up?

Ann (02:46)

Oh yeah, 100%. It was like, wow, I have so much time on my hands now. What do I do? Yeah.

Yeah, for sure.

Yeah, so growing up, my parents were, or my family was super fortunate. My parents did always kind of make it like a priority for us to travel as a family together at least once a year. Really good bonding. And I also think like both of my parents, so they're Vietnamese immigrants. And I think for them, know, like being kind of displaced here in America, like they felt like they had such a big lifestyle change. And they wanted my brother and I to kind of grow up with that.

Kelli Luu (03:14)

Nice.

Ann (03:31)

not that same discomfort, but kind of just like that openness to explore different cultures and countries in the case that like something were to happen, but that we were like highly adaptable. So I really thank my parents for that. think because of the way they raised us, like I even had the confidence to move from LA to New York because I was like, hey, like home can mean so many different things because I've learned that through traveling. And then for music, ⁓ my dad actually has always wanted to be a musician ⁓ ever since.

I was young, I always remember him telling me about his musician dreams. He put me and my brother, every Asian kid I guess, in piano. Yeah, so I think music has always been a really big part of my relationship with my dad. as I got older too, professionally, I have worked in the music festival industry, I've worked at record labels, and then I used to work in music tech.

And then I think naturally for me was like, okay, how do I keep getting closer to music in my passions as well?

Kelli Luu (04:25)

So you said you moved from Los Angeles to New York. You were born and raised in Los Angeles? ⁓ nice. And then when did you decide that you were gonna leave?

Ann (04:30)

Yeah, I was born and raised in LA, yeah.

Yeah, so I moved to New York about three years ago for work. Like I mentioned before, yeah, pretty recent, I guess. was born and raised in LA. I grew up in El Monte in the 626 San Gabriel Valley neighborhood, and I loved growing up there. I still, of course, call it home. And then I went to college in LA too, and then I went to work in Santa Monica after college, and I was like, okay, I've hit the end of the 10 freeway basically, once I started working at Santa Monica.

Kelli Luu (04:38)

Recent. Yeah.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Yeah. ⁓

Ann (05:02)

Yeah,

and so I was like, okay, I think it's time for something new. And so I had applied for jobs, not really thinking about where I would end up. think I was just looking for a company that was super global and I ended up landing an opportunity here in New York and I've been there ever since.

Kelli Luu (05:17)

Okay, cool. is that your full-time thing that you do? Yeah, that's your regular job. how did you get into DJing then? you're working like a full-time job and you're also DJing, how did that come about?

Ann (05:30)

Yeah, right? So many different facets, honestly. So I ended up working here in New York. So I work full-time at TikTok, actually. I lead our global trends team. And I love it. I've worked here for about four years since kind of the last drama of TikTok to the now drama of TikTok. And I think that, honestly, because I had moved to New York, like what I was really craving in New York was a sense of community. Like I mentioned before, I was...

Kelli Luu (05:33)

Yeah.

Night.

Ann (05:54)

Born and raised in LA, all my family, all my best friends were in LA. And so I think I was trying to figure out how do I build community here in New York? DJing is how I built kind of my ⁓ family of friends here in New York. I've always been a huge music fan and I started going to a lot of shows in New York. And then I was like, hey, like I go to shows every week. Like maybe I should start playing shows or like get paid for going out, you know? And so that's kind of where.

my friends too started to really think about how can we put our own shows, like what are things we can learn from each other in terms of DJing and yeah, now two years later I'm like DJing at like all the clubs that I used to go to when I first moved to New York and now I have an awesome community here.

Kelli Luu (06:35)

my gosh, that's so fun. That's like, was that like a dream of yours ever? as a girl, like a young girl, you know?

Ann (06:42)

I don't know if it was ever a dream. I think it was always a dream for me to be part of the music scene, but I had always thought like it would be through like marketing or behind the scenes. Cause honestly, like I'm a pretty shy person. Like recording in front of TikTok was easy, right? Cause you're like just recording in front of a, phone camera. Exactly. And like, I used to do a lot of marketing for music artists and festivals. And that was super behind the scenes that I love the thrill of like.

Kelli Luu (07:00)

phone. Yeah.

Ann (07:08)

I don't know, like a good numbers game. ⁓ And so I honestly never really imagined myself like in front of decks or like on stage, but I think it was always something I was like, maybe like I could do it. Yeah. And I really do think honestly, my community of friends here, cause they really pushed me too to be Hey, you know, you're, you have like such a ear for music. you love being here. you love doing this. I think you should give it a try. And I think that's what really pushed me to

Kelli Luu (07:20)

Yeah.

Ann (07:34)

be in front of a stage and now I love it. But I never really thought of it that way, but in the beginning.

Kelli Luu (07:37)

Okay, so, yeah,

did you know already how to actually DJ or did you have to learn that?

Ann (07:45)

I definitely had to learn. ⁓ like also a funny story about how I became a DJ, I always call it like my kind of like villain era or like is my DJ deck that I practice on now actually belongs to my ex boyfriend. So when I first moved to New York, I had moved here with a boyfriend at the time ⁓ and things didn't work out. I kicked him out of the apartment, but I kept all of his DJ equipment. Yeah, and he

Kelli Luu (07:54)

Yeah.

Ann (08:11)

asked for it back, I was like, no, you kind of did me dirty. I'm just going to keep all the equipment. And then I was like, okay, now that I have it, I should probably learn how to use it. ⁓ And so yeah, that's kind of what helped me get there too. I had the equipment for my ex, I had the support for my friends, and then I had a lot of YouTube videos that taught me what to do next. Always a blessing in disguise. I love a good life pivot point.

Kelli Luu (08:32)

Right? Definitely.

Okay, so how do you prepare for a set? Do you still get butterflies at all before performing?

Ann (08:40)

a hundred percent. got butterflies every single time. So the way that I prepare for a set is actually a way that I learned online ⁓ on a YouTube video from like Laidback Luke. Yeah, he's like this. He's actually one of my favorite DJs. He was like the first like EDM song I ever heard actually was a remix by Laidback Luke. So it was really funny when I found out that he started posting YouTube videos. ⁓ But he recommends in the way that I practice for sets is I just hit record and I just

Kelli Luu (08:50)

wow.

okay.

Ann (09:07)

kind of practice and let it flow of okay, what's the vibe? I have to play for this set. What kind of music or what kind of songs am I really liking right now? And I just record and I practice and then I'll stop recording and I'll listen to it like all day that recording and think, like that was a really good like switch of the songs or like, ooh, maybe I can try it with this song instead next time. ⁓ So yeah, it's just a lot of like recording, listening to it again, re-recording and then figuring out what it is I wanna do to set the vibe for the show.

Kelli Luu (09:34)

Okay, I see. So depending on the venue, are you only selecting like a certain amount of songs for that night or do you just have your entire library of songs?

Ann (09:45)

I usually like sort it by playlist. So every venue and every vibe is different. last year, for instance, was kind of my year where I said yes to everything almost. I was like, whatever, I'll just take the experience, right? and so in those days, like last year, I would bring everything I had with me basically, right? Cause especially if you've never been to that venue before, you've never played there before, you don't really know the vibe yet, but you want to be ready to like read the crowd. So.

Kelli Luu (09:48)

Okay.

Mm, mm-hmm.

Ann (10:10)

Last year I definitely was like bring everything. But now that I've gotten like a little bit more confident in myself, I think, and also just being a bit more selective in the shows that I'm gonna say yes to, the crowds I wanna say yes to, which is always a good thing. Like there's never a bad crowd anyway, but it's more just like, girl, I'm busy. Like I gotta figure out like, I have to like prioritize which shows I wanna do. So those shows, it's like, okay, I already know what to expect. I get to set the vibe sort of. I usually come in with a playlist for those or just like.

Kelli Luu (10:30)

Yeah.

Ann (10:37)

a smaller subset of songs that fit the same vibe that I could just pull.

Kelli Luu (10:42)

Okay, cool. there's definitely a strategy that goes along before the set. Yeah, it's like not just the freestyle you hear the song and sounds good.

Ann (10:45)

yeah, there's so much work behind the scenes.

Yeah,

no, it's so funny. one of my other friends said, you know, I always look at you when you're DJing and you look so calm. And I was like, girl, I'm not so calm. it's me, like, prepping the whole week prior to make sure I, look okay on stage. Yeah, but it's so fun.

Kelli Luu (11:07)

wow, okay. Yeah, it is a whole performance. DJing is a whole thing.

I bet, yeah. So do you ever get tired being in the nightlife like that often?

Ann (11:20)

yes, I definitely am like a sleepy girl and so even like when I know that I have a set for instance or like if I'm on I always call it like closing duty if I do have to play like closing from like 2 to 3 a.m. Like I'll literally sleep so much the week prior to like mentally prepare myself to like stay up that late. But yeah, I think like in terms of like overall like do I ever get tired of working at nightlife? I think not just because

Kelli Luu (11:32)

Mm. Yeah.

Ann (11:47)

It's just so much fun. think like the energy that you're able to get from it, but also the energy that you're also able to give as well. I think personally, there's just like so many creative ideas that I have or so many things that I'm really excited to try. And those are only things that are fun when you have a live type of crowd or reaction. that's what kind of keeps me like, okay, let's just keep doing this and see what other things they can test.

Kelli Luu (12:11)

Cool, okay. So you have a lot of things on your plate, obviously. let's say you're giving advice to somebody who's aspiring to be a DJ, just doing what you do. Would you say DJing is a good source of income? Well, thank you for being honest.

Ann (12:24)

No. Absolutely not. ⁓

Kelli Luu (12:29)

So it balances out with your full-time job then, would you say? Okay.

Ann (12:30)

No.

yeah, 100%.

And I do think that, I mean there definitely is money to be made, but I think that if you want to make money as a DJ, it's just a harder grind, I would say. I think that I do it just because I love to set a vibe, like for my own love of music. I make decent money. I always joke that I DJ on the side so that can pay for my dog's lifestyle here in New York.

Kelli Luu (12:39)

Mm-hmm.

Ann (12:58)

Yeah, if you are wanting to make DJing your full-time career, you could totally do it. You would just have to obviously accept more gigs and also accept gigs too, like I had mentioned before last year where there were sometimes I took gigs where I was like, I don't really know if this is my vibe, but I'm down to try it. For me, it was never the money, but I think for some DJs, they're like, well, I have to take these gigs, right? Cause I have to, you know, make rent. So I think you have to be much more adaptable in that sense if you want it to be a full-time thing because

Kelli Luu (13:12)

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Ann (13:25)

you have to adapt and apply for more audiences. on my range, it's more like, hey, I'm doing it for me. And if you want to book me, it's because you want to book me in my style. I don't have as much wiggle room, I guess. Yeah.

Kelli Luu (13:38)

Okay, I see. ⁓

So what would you say is your favorite city to perform in?

Ann (13:45)

Definitely New York, of course. But yeah, but I've gotten really lucky actually this past year.

Kelli Luu (13:46)

New York, OK.

Ann (13:50)

One weekend I did a show in Brooklyn and then the same weekend I played a headline show in San Jose as well. And that was super fun because I had never done a cross-country thing over the weekend.

Kelli Luu (14:02)

Over the weekend, yeah.

Ann (14:03)

Yeah,

and it was so fun too, because in San Jose, my family is there, huge Vietnamese community there. my family was there, my college friends pulled up too. And so that was really awesome because they don't really get to see me play because I live all the way in New York. So being able to play for a new crowd, but also to my direct friends and family meant a lot for me. And then this year too, I got to play in a club in Tokyo, which was really fun.

Kelli Luu (14:26)

Wow!

Ann (14:26)

Yeah, no, my girlfriends and I, like my high school girlfriends, you know, Girls For Life, we did a Japan trip and I was trying to book a table at a club for us for one of our girls' birthdays and they saw my Instagram and they were like, oh, do you want to DJ? we love your stuff. And I was like, I would love that. yeah, so it super fun and like it was a girls' trip. And so my high school girlfriends, they had actually never seen me DJ too, because they're all in LA.

So that was like the first time they saw me DJ and it was like in Tokyo and it was like the best vibes ever. So I think, you know, it's, funny cause like, yeah, I started the year kind of worried about like, am I going to get as many gigs if I'm like more strict, but actually it like turned out that this year ended up being like the most meaningful shows to me emotionally. so I'm really thankful for that.

Kelli Luu (14:49)

my. ⁓

Nice, okay. performing in Tokyo, that's a huge thing. That's crazy, that's awesome. I bet, yeah, for sure. So what's something a normal person wouldn't understand at all about this lifestyle?

Ann (15:11)

Yeah, no, it was so much fun too.

That's a tough question. it's a tough question only because I know that I'm a super open book, so if any time anyone has questions, I'll break it down for you in the most simplest of forms. I think maybe what we talked about before, how much time goes into prepping DJ sets prior, a lot of people, myself included, we don't really...

just press play, but it's like you do have to kind of come in with like a strategy or a game plan, I guess, to make sure that it's a good vibe for everyone. But also to do what I really love about DJing is that you come with a strategy or vibe, but like it can totally change, right? So you also have to be pretty adaptable if like, okay, I wanted to play this, but the crowd doesn't really like that. Okay, like let's switch it up on them and make it more exciting for them. So like, I think that like kind of freestyle element too makes it super exciting of like.

And it gives you kind of like the confidence of like, my gosh, yes, killed it. You know, cause to like pivot quite quickly.

Kelli Luu (16:22)

okay. yeah, definitely. I don't think a lot of people think about how much goes into the actual DJing behind the scenes. as for your social media content, how much time would you say you're currently putting into it right now because you seem super busy?

Ann (16:38)

So when I first started posting on TikTok, I was so committed. I would really dedicate making sure that I was posting at least three times a day. And that was also because, you know, I was at home, I was trying to get kind of a headstart on TikTok and that was like, yeah, during COVID. now I'm much more flexible myself, especially because I work there too. I have to watch TikTok so much that sometimes by the end of the day, I'm like,

please, I wanna put my phone down, you know? Yeah, so I think now I definitely post content maybe once or twice a week, just to kind of keep up, honestly. And it's really good for me too to practice posting content for my full-time job, but also for DJing as well, because it's just like a creative muscle to flex to, to kind of think about what is it that a creator goes through or what is it that a creative kind of goes through to think about like, how do you connect with an audience?

on like a weekly basis, yeah.

Kelli Luu (17:28)

Right.

Yeah, for sure. Okay, so ⁓ just as a woman in the DJ scene, have you ever been treated differently at gigs and venues?

Ann (17:38)

Yeah, for sure. you know, I think being a girl in the industry is tough because like you'll have guys that will say like, you only got this because you're a girl. Like they'll always kind of make that assumption sometimes. But I think I used to come in with that fear sometimes my first year. But now that I've DJed for quite a while, I kind of feel I've almost like shut those guys up, you know, because it's kind of like, okay, like that's what you said. But I'm consistently getting booked. I'm consistently packing out crowds.

and you aren't. being a girl isn't the reason, right? But I, yeah, but I will say too, and this is something that me and my like best friend who's also a DJ, we talked about all the time, is like there's, because you're a girl, there is a certain kindness that you have to carry, right? Cause if you're like mean to people, they'll automatically call you a B word, right? And you have to be kind of kind to everyone. So I think that is probably like the hardest thing because

Kelli Luu (18:06)

Right.

Ann (18:32)

I feel like there are many times where I want to set very hard boundaries for like my own personal safety, but I also have to kind of be nice. I still have to be nice to promoters. I still have to be nice to guys that show up at my sets. I have to think about what is that fine line between kindness and safety? So that's just kind of like an extra thing I think I have to consider of just like being a girl in the industry.

Kelli Luu (18:54)

Yeah, for sure. Okay,

Do you think your Asian heritage at all influences your work or just the way you go about your business mindset?

Ann (19:05)

yeah, a hundred percent. Well, one, a lot of the DJ sets I like to play, I actually like to incorporate a lot of K-pop. I'm not Korean, but I'm a huge K-pop stan, especially through COVID. I like started off with BTS and you know, a lot of my friends too, back home, like we're all like K-pop stans. And it's funny because you know, those were, those were my girls. those are the only...

girls that I knew or friends that I had that listen to K-pop. so it was always something that we kind of like key keyed about in private, but now it's really fun that I'm able to kind of bring that K-pop stand this into the clubs now, which is really awesome. Like blending that with kind of like an EDM style, which has been really cool. Like introducing it to new audiences. Even my headline show I did in San Jose. So I had mentioned my family and friends were there. And I remember being a little bit nervous because I was like, Hey, like this is like.

Kpop headline show just wanted you to know like I know you guys don't listen to kpop too much and they were like of course like we'll go to We'll like go because we want to support you and I was like, okay cool And then the end of the night they were like that was awesome I've never listened to kpop but that was so much fun and now it got me really excited to Learn more about kpop and listen to it and so I'm Vietnamese and I'll like throw in some Vina house in there, too so it's just yeah, really fun to like be able to I don't know bring in a new audience to

Kelli Luu (20:14)

Ann (20:18)

Like a culture that I've always really respected and I've always felt like ooh like I can't really talk about this to too many people But now I'm playing it on stage, which is really awesome

Kelli Luu (20:26)

Yeah, I know you said that your dad was really into music and like wanted to be a musician and everything. So do they support your DJing side?

Ann (20:35)

Oh yeah, 100%. They love it. Yeah, I think my mom maybe was a little bit nervous at first, because she was like, what do you mean? You have to play at clubs like 4 a.m. But actually this past, or last September, I started a residency here in New York. So that means that I play at the same club once a month. They basically give me a night to do whatever I want to do, which is super fun.

Kelli Luu (20:37)

Awesome.

Uh-huh.

Ann (21:00)

for the opening night, my mom was actually here in New York. And so my mom pulled up to the club and she had like the best time ever. I had like tattoos of my DJ logo and she like put one like right on her neck. Like she was so, she was like taking, she was so into it. She was taking tequila shots. She was like dancing on the chair. So I think that honestly, after that night, my mom was like, ⁓ like this is what you do and you look.

Kelli Luu (21:11)

Oh my god. She was into it Yeah.

Ann (21:23)

You're having so much fun doing it. And she also met all of my friends too. So I think that made her feel a lot safer about it as well. Yeah. And my dad loves it. I think my dad wants me to teach him how to DJ one day. Yeah. Yeah. I know, right? He'd love it.

Kelli Luu (21:34)

my gosh, that's so cute. I gotta teach him. Yeah,

All right, so I have just one more question for you. Where do you see yourself in the next five years? Do think you're still gonna be DJing?

Ann (21:48)

Yeah, always a tough question to answer. I think about that and I think like five years ago, I actually would have never even saw myself like moving out of LA. So now when I think about that question, I can't even imagine what my next five years will be. I think that if I'm not DJing, I definitely will still be pretty involved in music. One of my big goals this year is actually learning how to produce music. So I hope that in the next five years, I learn how to do that.

Kelli Luu (21:56)

Hmm.

Ann (22:13)

I think that's probably like the biggest goal. think, you know, music is one of those things that just like has always been a part of my life. So I think whether it's through DJing, producing, or even just like putting on shows later on, like I still really believe it'll be part of my

Kelli Luu (22:27)

Okay, awesome. and any upcoming projects that we could look forward to?

Ann (22:31)

Yeah, I actually have a show tomorrow night, But tomorrow I'm actually playing my first ever bass set. So usually I play like house, bass house and K-pop, but this year I kind of wanted to try out different genres. So I'm playing my first and honestly maybe my last bass set, but I thought it would be fun to do. I'm playing two sets that night actually. I'm also playing with my best friend.

at the outdoor stage. ⁓ She was playing and she was like, I think it would be really fun for us to play back to back. And I was like, I'm down. So we're doing that. We do that pretty often. Our like back to back name is BT bunnies, cause we both really like bunnies. Yeah, it's super cute. so my residency show I mentioned. I play at Berlin under A once a month and it's really awesome. They kind of just let me do.

Kelli Luu (23:07)

So cute

Ann (23:16)

whatever I want, whatever style I want. So this month we're actually gonna do like kind of a hip hop trap night, which is gonna be really fun. Very like ratchet, like OG K-Town arena vibes. Like if you know, know, like that age. Yeah, yeah. So all my friends that are super stoked for it, cause a lot of my friends are also LA based, but live in New York and we're like, yeah, let's like bring that energy here. So those are my upcoming shows.

Kelli Luu (23:22)

Nice.

yeah. It's happening.

Mm-hmm.

Awesome, okay. When was the last one?

Ann (23:45)

Uh, the last or the

one is in July 12th. Yeah. Yeah.

Kelli Luu (23:48)

July 12th. Got it. Okay, awesome. That's next weekend. Okay, perfect.

All right. Well, thank you so much, Ann for sharing your story with us today. I really appreciate your time.

Ann (23:57)

Yeah, no worries, thanks so much.

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Ann Nguyen Went From Posting Travel Tips to Packing Out Nightclubs
By Kelli Luu | 07 Jul, 2025

By day, Ann Nguyen decodes trends. By night, she defines them by spinning high-energy sets at clubs around the world.

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Ann Nguyen Went From Posting Travel Tips to Packing Out NightclubsBy Kelli Luu | 07 Jul, 2025

By day, Ann Nguyen decodes trends. By night, she defines them by spinning high-energy sets at clubs around the world.

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Ann Nguyen Went From Posting Travel Tips to Packing Out Nightclubs
By Kelli Luu | 07 Jul, 2025