Ricky D Rio

Ricky D Rio shutterstock_125598815

My first amateur performance as a DJ was in 1980 at Flannigan’s on 163rd Street and US 1. After that I joined the U.S. Air Force and did broadcasting and DJ work at the NCO Club during my stay at Tucson, AZ. (I was only there for a year.) I had just turned 18 and was barely legal enough to get into clubs at the time. However, I had been doing private gigs since age 14.

Ricky D Rio's Equipment

I got my first DJ equipment from Olsen Electronics on NE 2nd Avenue, near downtown where I lived in 1976. At age 14, I started doing house parties in Overtown, Wynwood, and later on Miami Beach. I used to DJ at the Delano and the Ritz Plaza poolside during the summers.

 

In 1976 to 1981 I was in Miami. Then I was in Tucson, AZ, in 1986. When I moved back to Miami I continued to do social events, private parties, and banquet hall events. Unfortunately, I got caught up in the fast life, leading me to stop doing gigs while I got my life back on track. Now that I have been clean and sober for almost four years, I am reconnecting with my DJ friends and getting involved again.