Tijs Michiel Verwest is a prominent Dutch DJ and record producer who is better known to a massive audience by his stage name, Tiësto. For those who don’t listen to electronic music and don’t know much about DJs, it would be an understatement to say that he is a famous DJ.
Tiësto is often counted as the best DJ in the last 20 years, and most of his fans and others in the industry call him the Godfather of EDM (electronic dance music). It’s one thing to be a famous DJ, but to be called a godfather to a whole genre is something else entirely.
This shining beacon in the world of DJs has been in the business since 1994, but he truly came into his own in 2000, when his remix of Delerium’s Silence threw him into the mainstream. Only a year later, his first solo album, In My Memory, massively launched his DJ career. From 2002 to 2004, he was the number one DJ in DJ Magazine’s list of top DJs in the world.
Today, Tiësto has released four more albums and received over a hundred awards and nominations. He has an MTV Europe Music Award and a Grammy for his remixed version of John Legend’s All of Me.
Tiësto could be enjoying life on a high note with all the fame, glory, and money he has obtained over the years, just like many other music stars. However, Tiësto is a great philanthropist and charitable giver. The leading causes he has supported over the years include health, children, AIDS and HIV, poverty, and women’s rights.
Furthermore, he has supported the Global Poverty Project, a massive campaign that fights to end poverty worldwide, and (RED), an organization that sells some of the biggest brands in the world, all to raise money and awareness for fighting HIV and AIDS. He released a compilation album for (RED), and all the proceeds from the sales of the album went to the fight against AIDS.
That’s not all, of course. Tiësto has performed many times across the globe for good causes. For example, in 2005, he performed at a fundraiser in Amsterdam. It aimed to provide financial aid to the people affected by the 2004 earthquake and tsunami that hit the Indian Ocean and the surrounding countries in Asia.
In 2006, the Dance4Life foundation named him their official worldwide ambassador for promoting awareness of HIV and AIDS.
In 2014, he led an interesting charity event. He called on people to donate to charity and get the chance to hang out with him in Las Vegas. Naturally, the concept was that the more you donate, the more chances you have to win.
All in all, Tiësto never ceases to work on the causes he believes in and to help people who are in great need. When we consider all that he has done, we can safely say that he is a great agent for positive change.
