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When he was a boy, Cooper Smith would spin his father’s vinyl hip-hop records on turntables and play at being a DJ.
Now he is living his dream, performing as a DJ at top music festivals and clubs.
In the past few years, Smith has played his “energetic fun tech house music” everywhere from Revolver Upstairs nightclub in Prahran to a stage at the Australian Open tennis tournament.
It’s been a good way to connect with people for Smith, 20, who lives with cerebral palsy.
“Being behind the decks makes me feel free,” said Smith, as he prepared to perform at Frankston’s Waterfront Festival on Friday night.
“I just feel like I’m so connected to the crowd and can really express myself … Not only is it my job, but it’s my passion and I absolutely love it.”
He said a highlight was in December last year, playing to 8000 people at the Beyond the Valley music festival west of Geelong.
Next month, Smith will perform at the Snow Machine festival in Hakuba, Japan.
He recently released an official remix of Waterfalls (by James Hype featuring Sam Harper and Bobby Harvey) and is contracted with label Resound to release six more tracks.
Smith, who is from Seaford, went to Frankston’s Waterfront Festival as a child to watch musical acts on the stage in front of Frankston pier, so he’s stoked to be DJing there on Friday.
His mother, Bron Leeks, says she is “blown away” at her son’s accomplishments, achieved through his confidence and determination.
“When Cooper was born, we didn’t know whether he was going to survive,” she said. “So when I see him on stage, I’m blown away that he’s doing these amazing things that I never dared to dream about.
“Cooper loves socialising with people and loves that music can help him communicate with his audience. He comes off stage, and he’s on such a high.”
As a child, Smith loved music and would play with tunes on an iPad app.
At Patterson River Secondary College he would practise DJing, and he studied music production in vocational VCE and at TAFE.
His condition affects muscle co-ordination, but he has workarounds to push buttons on DJ decks, such as holding one hand with the other to steady it.
Leeks has sometimes gone out at 4am to support her son’s performances at clubs. “I always have to have a day nap,” she says.
“I’m soon to turn 50 – it’s new music to me, which has been amazing. I didn’t know anything two years ago, and now I know the whole DJ scene.”
She says that after seeing him live or on TikTok or Instagram, strangers “chat to Coops about music, and I guess they can see past the disability”.
About 40,000 people are expected at the Waterfront Festival on Friday and Saturday at Frankston foreshore. Smith will perform at 6.15pm on Friday.
There will also be food, rides and activities such as the Swim Classic, basketball and skateboarding.
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