Back in the Middle Ages, England invaded Ireland. They built a fence across the border of their territory, called The Pale. To go beyond it meant you risked your life. Danger lurked beyond The Pale. Today, the phrase “Beyond The Pale” is commonly associated with behavior deemed unacceptable. However, I prefer to use it as a metaphor to describe the feeling of doing something dangerous, or at least feels dangerous.
Reflecting on my rave and DJ days, I recall the huge risks I took, I see I went beyond The Pale in search of something. Something I didn’t understand. It was a combination of doing something that had never been done before, not knowing what we were doing, making it up, and taking on huge personal risk when hosting events in sometimes illegal spaces. I also took huge risks through my DJing, because I never planned my sets. Each one was improvised in that moment, mixing records together I had never mixed before, not knowing what was going to happen, other than trusting myself that that was the best thing to do in that moment. This willingness to take risks, I believe, was a significant factor in my success as a DJ – a reason why, decades later, I’m still remembered and talked about.
It’s less surprising to me now that after my DJ career I took on another “risky” pursuit, doing comedy stage hypnosis, and a performance art that was different every single time because it relied on how people reacted to me and how I reacted to them, in that moment.
Even the act of reinvention for me is a hugely risky act. Every time I pursued something new and different, I went beyond The Pale, not knowing what would happen. That’s how you end up a former world-famous DJ, comedy stage hypnotist, tech co-founder, and future Nobel winner for solving climate change.
This act of “going beyond The Pale” is a big part of what draws people to me, even today, because I create moments of allowing people to witness it. Even creating something new and original within the confines of a Zoom. It gives the event that electricity. The audience, whether conscious of it or not, is affected by it.
Traveling to COP28 in Dubai, and speaking an impossible goal to strangers was going beyond The Pale. That was what moved them. It also attracted me to doing it in the first place. I couldn’t resist the temptation. I had to go.
Now, I’m prepared to venture beyond The Pale once again by unveiling the entirety of that story. I don’t have 12-inch vinyls to mix any longer, I tell stories and create experiences that involve going beyond The Pale. Will you join me?
“Chris, I can’t explain it, but every time I see you step into your courage you make me more courageous.”
Frolic 100 member Tonia
Monday January 22nd. 10AM Pacific / 1PM Eastern. Click here for more details.
