What happens when a kidney stone saves your life and challenges you to chase your dreams? That's exactly what happened to James Bobetsky — known to most of Wichita as DJ Carbon. After 21 years in the corporate world, a cancer diagnosis, a surprise reconnection with his biological family, and a pandemic, Carbon made the leap to full-time DJ at 40. And he hasn't looked back since.

Highlights

Oak Grove Radio 98.5 out of Minneapolis now airs Ask a Kansan every Sunday at 9 AM — a shoutout to the station for helping expand the show's reach beyond the podcast world
DJ Carbon (James Mlavsky) has been a full-time DJ for seven years, based in Wichita — doing events, weddings, corporate gigs, and deeply embedding himself in the city's cultural scene
Carbon grew up on Long Island, NY, immersed in vinyl records, hip-hop, punk, and ska before moving to Wichita his senior year of high school — a move he initially hated and now wouldn't trade for anything
He breaks down what it really means to "know your audience" and "read the room" — and why a DJ who shows up with a pre-planned set isn't really DJing
A kidney stone led to a cancer diagnosis in 2018 — and while waiting for surgery, he discovered his biological family through 23andMe. Within six months: cancer surgery, meeting blood relatives for the first time, and getting married
He went full-time as a DJ in November 2019 — right before COVID — and pivoted to selling robot lamps to survive the shutdown
Carbon has donated his time to dozens of nonprofits including Tallgrass Film Festival, American Cancer Society, Blood Cancers United (Wine About Cancer), Wichita's Littlest Heroes, Wichita Animal Action League, and the Humane Society
Five days after kidney surgery — gauze, scars and all — he showed up to DJ a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society because he personally needed to be there
His "DJ 101" social media series shares life and business lessons under the guise of DJ wisdom, and has generated more response than almost anything else he's posted
He names Carry Nation & The Speakeasy, Rudy Love Sr. and Jr., and the late Jenny Wood as the soundtrack of Kansas

Chapters

0:03 – Radio Shoutout: Oak Grove Radio 98.5 airs the podcast
1:27 – Show Intro & Tease: Introducing DJ Carbon
2:44 – Meet DJ Carbon
4:03 – Life as a Full-Time DJ
5:35 – Music Roots and Influences
8:39 – New York to Wichita
11:14 – Keeping Up With Music
16:04 – Know Your Audience
21:39 – Going Full-Time After Cancer
26:35 – Origin of DJ Carbon
27:58 – Aux Cord Versus DJ
29:47 – Nonprofit DJ Impact
31:54 – Surgery Gig Dedication
35:50 – Branding and Visibility
38:37 – Family Life Balance
37:57 – Consistency and Corporate Bookings
38:37 – DJ 101 Mentorship
41:09 – Kansas Soundtrack Picks
44:32 – Where to Find DJ Carbon
46:06 – Hosts Reflect on DJs
47:40 – Where in the Rectangle? (State Parks Edition)
48:05 – Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park
50:38 – Mushroom Rock State Park
52:15 – Elk City State Park
54:38 – Final Wrap

Resources Mentioned

Oak Grove Radio 98.5 (Minneapolis) – oakgroveradio.com (airs Ask a Kansan every Sunday at 9 AM)
DJ Carbon – Facebook, Instagram and https://djcarbon.com/
Wichita River Festival – https://wichitariverfest.com/
Tallgrass Film Festival – tallgrassfilm.org
Wichita's Littlest Heroes – wichitaslittlestheroes.com
Wichita Animal Action League – https://waalrescue.org/
Humane Society of the United States – https://kshumane.org/
Carrie Nation & The Speakeasy – https://www.cnsict.com/
Rudy Love Sr. & Rudy Love Jr. – https://rudylove.com/
Jenny Wood – https://jennywoodmusic.com/

Learn more about the podcast at askakansan.com!

This show is part of the ICT Podcast Network, for more information, visit ictpod.net