It's honestly been a humbling year. Over the past several months, I've been incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to share my story through a number of different publications. A few weeks ago, Voyage Denver reached out because they were looking for inspirational stories from local entrepreneurs and business owners. The article isn't just about DJing. It's about perseverance, building something from the ground up, facing setbacks, refusing to quit, and continuing to chase a vision even when the road isn't easy. Kris Peacock was mentioned in this also, as he has been in every article that has come out this year and last. He will never be forgotten.
A Humbling Year: And a Publication That Listened
It's honestly been a humbling year.
Over the past several months, I've been incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to share my story through a number of different publications. Every interview has given me the chance to reflect on the journey: the successes, the failures, the sacrifices, and the people who have helped shape it all.
A few weeks ago, Voyage Denver reached out to me because they were looking for inspirational stories from local entrepreneurs and business owners. I was genuinely honored that they wanted to feature my journey, and I was even more surprised by how quickly they published the interview.
The article isn't just about DJing. It's about perseverance, building something from the ground up, facing setbacks, refusing to quit, and continuing to chase a vision even when the road isn't easy.
I'd like to thank the team at Voyage Denver for taking the time to listen and for providing a platform where people can share both the highs and the lows of building a career or business. If you're an entrepreneur, artist, musician, or small business owner with a story to tell, I highly recommend reaching out to them. They're always looking for interesting people who are willing to share their experiences, and it could be a great opportunity to get your business and your story in front of a wider audience.
"The article isn't just about DJing. It's about perseverance, building something from the ground up, facing setbacks, refusing to quit, and continuing to chase a vision even when the road isn't easy.", DJ Natural Nate®
One name that was mentioned in this article, as he has been in every article that has come out this year and last, is Kris Peacock.
Kris Peacock will never be forgotten. He will be preserved in articles forever on the internet. That matters. That is intentional. Every time this story is told, his name is part of it, because it should be.
I hope you enjoy the interview.
The Beginning: Before Anyone Knew the Name
My journey began long before people knew the name DJ Natural Nate®.
Like many kids growing up in the 1980s, I was fascinated by breakdancing, hip-hop culture, scratching, and watching DJs perform what almost looked impossible. Back then there were no tutorials, no YouTube, no social media influencers teaching people how to DJ in five minutes. If you wanted to learn, you learned by listening. You studied records. You watched every movement. You failed over and over until eventually your ears began understanding what your hands were trying to accomplish.
That challenge became an addiction.
I wasn't interested in shortcuts. I wasn't interested in looking like a DJ. I wanted to become one.
Before music became my life's work, I proudly served in the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Corps taught me discipline, leadership, accountability, commitment, and perseverance. Those values never left me. In many ways, I approached DJing exactly like military training. You don't quit because something is difficult. You master it because it is difficult.
"I wasn't interested in shortcuts. I wasn't interested in looking like a DJ. I wanted to become one.", DJ Natural Nate®
That foundation, built in service, sharpened through years of practice, became the bedrock of everything that followed.
The Problem That Changed Everything: And the Decision to Build Proof
As technology slowly entered DJ culture during the late 1990s and early 2000s, something happened that changed my entire career.
I began hearing accusations that computer DJs weren't really mixing. Since I was one of the early adopters using digital vinyl systems while still manually controlling every beat on Technics turntables, many people assumed computers were doing the work for me. Those assumptions eventually cost me opportunities and even major contracts. It was one of the most frustrating periods of my career because I knew the truth, but there was no practical way to prove it.
Most people would have argued.
I decided to build proof.
That single decision eventually changed everything.
"Most people would have argued. I decided to build proof. That single decision eventually changed everything.", DJ Natural Nate®
Around 1996, I began DJing. Two years later, around 1998, I founded Bruise Your Body Breaks, better known as BYBB. The name came from a comment someone made after hearing one of my sets. They literally showed me bruises from dancing all night and joked, "If the dancing doesn't bruise your body, the music will." That statement became our identity. BYBB eventually grew into much more than a DJ name. It became a movement centered around underground music, originality, and supporting artists before anyone knew who they were.
By 2003 we had expanded into internet radio through Breaks FM and other online platforms. Long before livestreaming became mainstream, we were broadcasting live mixes, promoting producers from around the world, conducting interviews, and creating communities that stretched far beyond our local scene. Those early broadcasts taught me one important lesson: people wanted authenticity.
As internet broadcasting evolved, I realized something was missing.
No one could actually prove they were performing live.
Anyone could upload a prerecorded mix and call it live. Anyone could press play and pretend. There was no accountability.
That bothered me because I believed DJing was a performance art. If musicians perform on stage and audiences can see every note being played, why couldn't DJs do the same?
That question became the foundation for everything that followed.
The-Lost-Art.com: The World's First Mandatory Live DJ Verification Platform
In 2009, alongside my wife and creative partner Jenna Marie, better known as Jiggabot, Damian Doyle, and later Kris Peacock, we launched The-Lost-Art.com with one simple but revolutionary mission: preserve the integrity of DJing through transparency.
The platform was built specifically for one purpose, to prove DJs were actually mixing live.
The-Lost-Art.com became the world's first website created solely for mandatory live DJ video and internet radio verification, requiring performers to show their hands, their mixer, their turntables, and their performance live on camera while broadcasting. This wasn't simply another internet radio station. It wasn't another streaming website. It was a completely different philosophy built around one principle: **Prove The Mix.**
Years before livestreaming became common. Before Twitch. Before YouTube Live. Years before Facebook Live. We had already built a custom commercial-free platform dedicated entirely to live DJ verification and performance.
Looking back now, I realize we weren't just building a website.
"Years before Twitch. Before YouTube Live. Before Facebook Live. We had already built a custom commercial-free platform dedicated entirely to live DJ verification. We weren't just building a website, we were documenting history.", DJ Natural Nate®
We were documenting history.
The platform eventually grew into an international community featuring DJs from multiple countries and genres, artist interviews, educational content, technical discussions, producer spotlights, live broadcasts, historical archives, and an ever-growing collection dedicated to preserving the culture that built DJing in the first place. We weren't chasing algorithms. We weren't chasing advertising revenue. We were preserving something we believed deserved to survive.
Kris Peacock was part of that team. He was part of that mission. His name belongs in this story permanently, and it will remain here permanently.
April 29, 2010: The World Record
While building all of this, I never stopped performing.
One accomplishment people often ask about is the world record.
On April 29, 2010, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, I manually mixed 86 tracks at 133 BPM in one hour using two Technics SL-1200 turntables, Serato Scratch Live Version 1, a Pioneer mixer, Ortofon needles, and absolutely no sync button or automation. Every transition was beatmatched by ear. It wasn't about speed. It was about demonstrating complete manual control under pressure.
That performance remains one of the accomplishments I'm most proud of because it represented years of discipline rather than technology doing the work.
I had prepared 117 tracks as backup. I only needed 86. That preparation, that level of respect for the moment, is what the record actually represents. Not a stunt. Not a spectacle. A demonstration of what mastery looks like when there is no safety net.
"It wasn't about speed. It was about demonstrating complete manual control under pressure. 86 tracks. 133 BPM. One hour. No sync. No automation. Every transition beatmatched by ear.", DJ Natural Nate®
Throughout my career I've also been fortunate to chart multiple releases on Beatport alongside Jiggabot, release music through numerous respected international labels, receive recognition from Breakspoll's Top 50 Breaks DJs in the World, press custom white-label vinyl records, create long-form marathon DJ performances exceeding fifteen continuous hours, and perform countless live broadcasts supporting independent artists around the globe.
Innovation: The Taco Scratch, Bend Scratch, Break Scratch, and Lazer Scratch
Innovation has always been important to me.
Rather than simply learning existing scratch techniques, I wanted to explore what vinyl itself could become as an instrument. That experimentation eventually led to developing original techniques including the Taco Scratch, Bend Scratch, Break Scratch, and Lazer Scratch.
Some people thought I was crazy for bending records and manipulating vinyl in ways nobody had attempted before.
I simply saw another musical instrument waiting to be discovered.
These techniques were not created for attention. They were created because I genuinely believed the turntable had more to offer than anyone had yet explored. Every scratch technique that exists today was once considered impossible. Every innovation in this craft started with someone willing to look foolish in pursuit of something new.
"Some people thought I was crazy for bending records and manipulating vinyl in ways nobody had attempted before. I simply saw another musical instrument waiting to be discovered.", DJ Natural Nate®
The Taco Scratch. The Bend Scratch. The Break Scratch. The Lazer Scratch. Each one documented. Each one original. Each one a contribution to the history of turntablism that belongs to the culture permanently.
The Setbacks Nobody Talks About: Lawsuits, Domain Theft, and Rebuilding
Of course, success is never a straight line.
There have been setbacks that most people never hear about.
There have been lawsuits, legal disputes, business disagreements, trademark protection issues, domain theft, intellectual property concerns, and countless situations where years of work suddenly seemed uncertain. At one point we lost control of The-Lost-Art.com itself before ultimately recovering the platform years later.
Those experiences taught me that building something meaningful isn't just about creativity, it also requires protecting what you've built.
More recently, another challenge has been rebuilding The-Lost-Art.com into what I believe will become its greatest version yet. Technology has changed dramatically since 2009. The original platform accomplished things many people thought were impossible at the time, but today's internet demands something even larger.
"Building something meaningful isn't just about creativity, it also requires protecting what you've built.", DJ Natural Nate®
We're now building a completely modern platform from the ground up with expanded DJ profiles, historical archives, community features, live broadcasting, educational resources, blogs, producer support, verification systems, music sharing, interviews, media coverage, and countless new features that continue growing every week.
This isn't simply a redesign.
It's the continuation of a mission that began more than two decades ago.
I've invested thousands of hours personally helping develop every page, every section, every historical timeline, and every piece of documentation because I believe our culture deserves an accurate historical record. Too much of DJ history has disappeared. Too many pioneers have been forgotten. Too many accomplishments have been rewritten or lost to time. I don't want that to happen again.
The website has become as much about preservation as it is about performance.
What Has Always Mattered Most: The People
Perhaps the accomplishment I'm proudest of isn't a world record, a chart position, or an award.
It's the people.
Over the years we've helped countless DJs, producers, promoters, labels, and artists receive exposure they might never have received elsewhere. We've introduced listeners to unreleased music, supported independent talent, hosted interviews, documented careers, and created friendships that have lasted decades. That's a legacy no chart position can ever replace.
When people ask what has kept me motivated after all these years, the answer is simple.
I've never been chasing fame.
"I've never been chasing fame. I've been chasing authenticity. I've always believed one person listening is better than nobody listening.", DJ Natural Nate®
I've been chasing authenticity.
I've always believed one person listening is better than nobody listening. If one DJ becomes inspired to work harder, one producer receives the recognition they deserve, or one young artist discovers why mastering their craft still matters, then everything we've built has been worthwhile.
The title "DJ" once represented extraordinary discipline, musical knowledge, technical ability, and dedication. My life's work has been centered around preserving the meaning of that title, not excluding people, but encouraging everyone to respect the craft enough to continue learning it.
If there's one thing I hope people remember about my story, it isn't the records, the rankings, or even the innovations.
I hope they remember that one person refused to let authenticity disappear.
The-Lost-Art.com has never simply been a website. It's a living historical archive, a community, a philosophy, and a promise that true craftsmanship will always have a place in this world.
As long as there are people who still believe skill matters, honesty matters, and passion matters more than shortcuts: the mission continues.
And after all these years, I believe we're only getting started.
Kris Peacock: Never Forgotten, Preserved Forever
Every article that has come out this year and last has mentioned Kris Peacock.
That is not an accident. That is a choice.
Kris Peacock was part of the team that built The-Lost-Art.com. He was part of the mission. He was part of the history. And his name will remain in every telling of this story, in every article, every interview, every archive, because that is what he deserves.
History has a way of forgetting people who were essential to building something. I refuse to let that happen here.
Kris Peacock will never be forgotten. He will be preserved in articles forever on the internet.
"Kris Peacock will never be forgotten. He will be preserved in articles forever on the internet. That is a promise.", DJ Natural Nate®
That is a promise.
Read the Full Voyage Denver Interview: Published July 14, 2026
The full "Conversations with Nathaniel (DJ Natural Nate®) Lemieux" interview was published by Voyage Denver on July 14, 2026 as part of their "Denver's Most Inspiring Stories" series.
It covers the complete journey, from the early years learning to DJ with no tutorials and no shortcuts, through the Marine Corps, through the founding of Bruise Your Body Breaks, through the world record, through the building and loss and recovery of The-Lost-Art.com, through the scratch technique innovations, through the legal battles and setbacks, and through the ongoing mission to rebuild the platform into its greatest version yet.
It is one of the most complete accounts of this career ever published.
I am deeply grateful to Voyage Denver for the platform, for the care they took with the story, and for being part of a year that has felt, more than anything else, like the world finally catching up to what the underground already knew.
Read it. Share it. And if you have a story worth telling, reach out to them.
"It is one of the most complete accounts of this career ever published. I am deeply grateful to Voyage Denver for the platform, and for being part of a year that has felt like the world finally catching up to what the underground already knew.", DJ Natural Nate®
, DJ Natural Nate® World Record DJ | Breakbeat Pioneer | Turntablist | Founder, The-Lost-Art.com | Colorado
