WHILE in his teens, Franz Collins would often ‘fool around’ the virtual DJ software on his home computer. It was not until he got a laptop that he decided to take things a step further by playing music for friends and family at house parties.

Later, Collins moved into professional gigs for corporate companies as well as campus events.

The 22-year-old is known as DJ Flexi. He is also a final-year medical student at the University of the West Indies (UWI).

Two weeks ago, he won the college DJ competition, JN WAY Masters Of Mix, which took place at The Spot, on UWI’s Mona campus. He defeated University of Technology’s DJ Scott The Supreme for the title.

“I tried to bring a different style to each aspect of the competition, both in my song selection and my transitioning between songs and different genres,” DJ Flexi told Splash. “I put in a lot of work and it feels good that after all this time I can see the fruits of my labour.”

He said he entered the Masters of Mix to gain recognition among his peers and more importantly, win an internship at Fame FM, which was part of the competition’s winners’ package.

“The competition definitely gave me the push I needed to practise more and to hone my skills. It also helped me to develop my skills on the microphone,” he explained.

Originally from Kingston, Franz Collins moved to May Pen, Clarendon as a child. He attended Glenmuir High School in Clarendon before returning to Kingston where he became a student at St George’s College.

After tinkering around as a virtual DJ, he moved on to playing intimate functions as DJ Nice. He was then known as Flexi Back but has since settled on DJ Flexi.

Winning the JN WAY Masters of Mix contest not only gave him additional exposure, but paved the way for him to learn more about being a selector from the pros at Fame.

The station has been a training ground for top selectors such as Arif Cooper and Kurt Riley.

“I am definitely looking forward to my internship at Fame FM. I hope that I will get the opportunity to play at bigger events for larger crowds,” said DJ Flexi.

But while ‘spinning’ music is a passion, a career in medicine is priority.

“I am definitely planning on finishing my medical degree and going on to specialise in surgery,” he said. “This is not to say that I have don’t have big hopes for my music career. I definitely do plan to continue spinning for as long as I can.”