Episode 35: Moby

An interview with Moby about how growing up poor impacted him as an adult, how he recovered from the lowest point in his career, the positive influences in his life that came to his rescue, how he handles mental health and his best career advice.

Welcome to the 35th episode of 5 Questions with Dan Schawbel. As your host, my goal is to curate the best advice from the world’s smartest and most interesting people by asking them just 5 questions.

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This episodes guest:

My guest today is songwriter, producer and author, Moby. Born Richard Melville Hall in Harlem, New York City, Moby was named after Herman Melville, who authored the classic Moby-Dick. His father died in a car crash while drinking when he was only two years old. His mother struggled to support him, relying on food stamps and welfare to make ends meet. His first job was a caddy on a golf course then took up music when he turned nine. Moby played guitar and his mom taught him how to play the piano. In 1983, he became the guitarist for the punk band The Vatican Commandos and started producing electronic music. After dropping out of college, he pursued his career as a DJ, eventually signing with Instinct Records in the mid-1990s. In 1999, Moby released his fifth and most well known album entitled Play, which sold over 12 million copies worldwide, and he went on tour for almost two years. He’s written two memoirs, Porcelain and his latest Then It Fell Apart, which we will be discussing in this episode.

Video interview from New York City:

The 5 questions questions I ask in this episode:

What long-term impact did growing up in poverty have on you?
When you were at your lowest point what was the first thing you did to revive yourself and your career?
Who were some of the positive influences in your life that helped get you through hard times?
How do you best deal with mental health and being empathetic to others you interact with?
What is your best piece of career advice?

Follow Moby’s journey: