Bad accountant on purpose. DJ in the last 15 minutes.
John Walter Schuster (John Summit) — Naperville, outside Chicago — studied accounting at UIUC (Delta Tau Delta), DJed Canopy Club in 2015 as “Johnny Mountains” nearly, then worked as an EY accountant (2018–2019) while playing The Red Lion and Canopy between spreadsheets.
The timeline (what actually happened)
2015 — Canopy Club opener for Cash Cash UIUC
First show as John Summit. Tried to sneak house into Top 40 sets — 15 min at the end. Learned to borrow rooms before owning them.
2018–2019 — Ernst & Young accountant, Chicago REPLICABLE
The audit job funded gear and the studio grind; he left with roughly $5k saved. Quote: “I was a bad worker on purpose, because I didn’t have the balls to leave myself.” Left EY 2019.
2019–2020 — Pandemic studio grind REPLICABLE
Relentless sessions, bootlegs/edits sent to labels. No TikTok house audience yet — distribution was still Beatport + DJs.
2020 — “Deep End” on Defected · TikTok viral · Beatport Overall #1 BREAKTHROUGH
100M+ streams, longest-running Beatport #1 that year. Chicago house history (Green Velvet, Kaskade) gives credibility; Defected gives global push. TikTok is accelerant, not cause.
2020–2022 — Single ladder: “Human”, “La Danza”, then “Where You Are” (w/ Hayla) MECHANIC
“Where You Are” lands on Obama’s 2023 list, RIAA Gold. Each release widens range without leaving house.
2022 — Founds Experts Only label + events brand OWNERSHIP
Explicit reason: fewer restrictions on what he could release, and to give new artists the gigs he was once given. Named SiriusXM Powertools Label of the Year 2025.
2023 — Remixes the canon: Kaskade & deadmau5 “I Remember” CRED LOOP
Remixing heroes converts purist hate into respect — house equivalent of fashion co-sign.
2025–2026 — Experts Only Festival NYC (50k, Randall’s Island) + Arena Tour · “CTRL ESCAPE” album (Apr 15 tbd) ONE-TIME SCALE
Label roster (Mau P, Kaskade, Odd Mob, Cassian) + his own Experts Only Radio + Forum shows. Scale is post-distribution, not pre.
Three facts that matter more than myth
- 1He didn’t leave to go viral. He saved runway at EY, was intentionally mediocre, then left before Deep End blew. Job = studio grant.
- 2He didn’t sell his own crowd first. College bars + frat rooms + borrowed festival slots taught him to read a Top 40 floor, then flip it.
- 3Experts Only is the product. Not a vanity label — it's distribution, radio, and a festival that books his signees. That's the moat.
Cost sheet
| Cost | What it bought |
|---|---|
| 5 years of bars/Canopy/Red Lion | Crowd-reading, stamina, Chicago lineage |
| Being “accountant-turned-DJ” meme | Press hook that still headlines every bio |
| Tour grind / “when to slow down” | Arena-level demand, but burnout risk |