Meet the DJ: Nils Illokken

You've heard them on air. Maybe you've seen them post on Facebook. But who are they really? Staff writer Leila Srouji sits down with INHAILER's best to find out what makes them tick. It's time to Meet the DJ!

Alright, picture this: a guy with very long blonde hair is jamming some alternative punk rock in his headphones while browsing the aisles of a thrift store. As he strolls, he sees an aesthetically pleasing arrangement and grabs his camera to capture the moment. A few more steps down the way, the jolly guy stumbles upon a bell-sleeved high-collared button-up shirt in a super funky ‘70s pattern. Without hesitation, he purchases said shirt and gleefully he is off with his day.

Intrigued by this rad mystery dude? So were we! Nils Illoken joined up with us at INHAILER a few months ago and has since swept us off our feet! A former pole vaulter, an avid of Montreal lover, and an all-things-cats adorer, Nils really brings the hipster heat.

Nils was homegrown right here in the ‘Nati. He claims he was terrible at sports, but in fact he played a lot of them growing up. He managed to do pretty well in pole vaulting and track, and I imagine this has something to do with the fact that both sports are rather independent in their play. He can’t pinpoint when his interest in music blossomed, but he does recall getting wrapped up in the emo-punk Warp Tour bands in middle school. His affection for a girl who was into the scene at the time prompted him to take a closer look; he ended up realizing his fondness was for the bands instead.

After high school, Nils went on to study Integrated Media at Ohio University, where he also became the music director of The Nightshift on WOUB 1340 AM. For the past three years, he has been the Hospitality Assistant during Nelsonville Music Festival (you’ve got to attend if you haven’t yet!). In his free time, Nils messes around as an amateur photographer and feels lucky and refreshed when he has gotten done with a hike in Red River Gorge. He told me he's currently doing his best to get through a 1,000-page novel by George Saunders, but he spends a majority of his free time looking for new tunes. We all know that one person who loves music so much it is almost unimaginable to us. INHAILER has a lot of those, and Nils is certainly one of them. That is why we decided to make him INHAILER’s Music Director just a few weeks ago! *clapping and cheering*

Nils brings an unstoppable attitude to INHAILER and is always contributing with ideas to help make operations go smoother. His wealth of musical knowledge and forward thinking are so valued by INHAILER. It’s also worth noting that Nils also comes into the studio in a cooler shirt each day than he did the last. He’s innovative! So here’s the sitch: DJ Nils can be of value to you, too. Download the app for your iPhone or Android and in two short taps you’ll be transported into Nil’s fantastical world!

Catch Music Director Nils Illokken every day from 11 AM to 3 PM on INHAILER Radio.

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