LA Lakers DJ gets the beach volleyball party started in Rio

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Anyone who’s watched the beach volleyball competition on Copacabana Beach at the Rio Olympics has probably taken note of the pulsating soundtrack that’s been getting the crowd pumped as the likes of Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross hit the sand to compete.

Music has long been a big part of what makes beach volleyball such a crowd-pleaser and at the Rio Olympics, the man behind the turntables is someone who knows what it takes to get the party rocking at a major sporting event.

That’s because he’s DJ Roueche, the official DJ for the Los Angeles Lakers.

[Related: Team USA vs. Argentina headlines men’s Olympic basketball quarterfinals]

DJ Roueche is in fact Jeremy Roueche (pronounced Ru-shay) and has a long history of DJing at beach volleyball events, having been the official DJ for the AVP (Association Volleyball Professionals) Pro Beach Volleyball tour for eight years.

A 17-year veteran of the DJ circuit, Roueche began his career spinning at school dances in northern Virginia. But it was after moving to Los Angeles in his mid-twenties that he got the break that would change his career when a friend asked him to “help out with some volleyball thing.”

That volleyball thing turned out to be the AVP Tour, the domestic professional competition where the likes of Walsh Jennings, Ross, Phil Dalhausser, Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson ply their trade in between Olympic cycles.

[Related: Phil Dalhausser on his Olympic beach volleyball future]

Roueche soon established himself as the AVP’s “house” DJ, and has remained the tour’s regular DJ ever since, barring the short period when the AVP went inactive for a couple of years.

But by then Roueche had already attracted the attention of the Los Angeles Clippers -eventually becoming the team’s musical director – as well as UCLA, where he became the official DJ for Bruins’ men’s basketball. Earlier this year, he left the Clippers to become the house DJ for the Lakers.

“DJng sporting events was not something that was even on my radar,” said Roueche, speaking to avp.com in 2015. “I just wanted to play music.”

It might not have been on his radar, but DJing sporting events is certainly working out well for him. His Olympic break came about after he did a gig at the 2011 Arab Games. It was there he met Christy Nicolay, Executive Producer, Sports Presentation and Victory Ceremonies for the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee. Nicolay later reached out to him about DJing the beach volleyball competition in Rio and in his own words, he “didn’t hesitate to respond with a ‘yes.’”

It was a prescient move by Nicolay as Roueche has been a huge hit at the Games, earning fans among athletes, journalists, and even the Rio Olympics favorite social media commentator, Leslie Jones.

Roueche’s party rocking sets on the beach have also drawn accolades from NBC commentator Mike Tirico who called him the “MVP” of one match.

His strategy for keeping the party rocking at Copacabana is pretty simple.

“I’m definitely trying to give each country’s fans a little taste of home. I’m also trying to add a little Brazilian flavor as much as possible to give everyone the feeling of where these Games are taking place,” said Roueche to NBC Sports.

[Related: Young Brazilian fan feels every emotion possible during beach volleyball match]

Some of the selections that have been getting the best responses from the crowd in Rio apparently include “Seven Nation Army” by the White Stripes, “Barbra Streisand” by Duck Sauce and “Sound Bang” by Major Lazer.

Thanks to his familiarity with the athletes on the AVP Tour, Roueche also has something of an inside track on what Team USA’s beach volleyball players like to hear. According to Roueche, “April Ross likes to listen to hip hop” and “Brooke Sweat is a big fan of country music.”

As for Walsh Jennings?

“The Humpty Dance” by Digital Underground.

Beach Volleyball has long been one of the signature sports of the Summer Olympics. In Rio, with its late night main events and free-flowing beer service, it’s been nothing short of a beach party, thanks in no small part to the man behind the console.

“He’s a professional. He’s very good,” said Ross, speaking to USA Today. “And he has a ton of respect for beach volleyball. He knows the sport inside out.”

“We have to give him credit for the energy in the stands too,” adds Walsh Jennings.

“And he knows our jams.”