Radio personality, self-starter, and award-winning business owner, DJ BAD GYRL, begins with the story of a young girl from Hammond, Indiana. Imagine this young girl looking at the television but seeing a mirror. The young Imani Ortiz (DJ BAD GYRL) has always had her eyes set on big dreams. Often brought down to reality by her family, and in particular, her father, over-time led itself to an internal rebellion. Despite the resistance, she’s always known who she is..an artist with a gift “passed down through generations”. Similar to her artistic grandmother, she was destined to be who she always was, herself.

Growing up in a midwest home, child of a “very strict military household”, you would think the authoritarian approach to parenting would create a carbon-copy-cut-out. However, this approach did not settle in BAD GYRL’s young heart. Instead, the internal rebellion and unwillingness to conform to the expectations placed on her from a young age, favored the creation of her true self. She knew was attracted to girls by the age of seven and came out to her family at age 14. Although her family had difficulty understanding Imani, that worked out to solidify her identity. DJ BAD GYRL is Imani Ortiz, and both are self-starting, award-winning, business owning, people-driven, forces in the real world.

When speaking to Rough Draft Magazine, DJ BAD GYRL recalls traveling from the small town of Hammond, Indiana to the city life of Las Vegas and mentions, “I didn’t know nobody, been there a few times, but it was all me..it was fast, crazy..I had to be there.” Her open-mind and personal drive eventually manifested her relocation to Las Vegas, Nevada. She became a successful business owner of a wireless company and saw monetary gains. However, life takes shape when we least expect it. This rough draft story began when a loving father called his daughter..only when she answered, it was to say I love you and goodbye one last time.

After a long battle with cancer, her father passed away in December of 2013. Their last phone conversation a glowing memory in BAD GYRL’s soul. She recalls her father telling her, “You’re gonna be alright. I know I’ve taught you enough to be strong through whatever”. Sure enough, her father was right.

As the darkness of the trauma set into reality, her life began to take a new and redefined shape. Diving further into her wireless company as an attempted distraction, she found herself at a radio station a few days after the passing of her father, seeking a commercial to promote her business. She approaches an employee at the radio station and begins to describe her desires for the commercial. “I want it to sound like this, look like this, be like this”. Also mentioning to Rough Draft Magazine, “mind you, I was depressed and on edge ya know..my dad had just died.”

“Why don’t you do it?” “I have an ear for radio, you have a voice for radio. It just needs to be shaped and molded. Come by the radio station sometime and do it yourself.” insisted the employee. “Excuse me, what?” replies BAD GYRL.

Also interjecting, “Now this employee, Bruce Commander Garrett, just won’t give up on me doing my commercial..I came here to hire them to do it for my business...not for him to tell me to do it myself.”

BAD GYRL continues, “now this is where things get interesting in my head..a few weeks pass..I have this whole successful business, but I’m alone. My Dad just passed away and I am depressed. And here is this guy all bubbly telling me to come to the radio station. Meanwhile, I was in a dark place. I was sitting in my car in my garage..starting to feel sick..and my phone lights up to him calling me. He’s telling me to ‘come to the radio station’. I don’t know if it was God or what, but something made me go”.

Seven years later, DJ BAD GYRL is a global radio personality and founder of 22.3 TAKEOVER VEGAS RADIO. Her purpose in life is clearly one that was gifted to her at the time she least expected it. When she didn’t know she needed a platform for her voice, the divine intervention of Bruce Commander Garrett, offered a remarkably ordinary opportunity that transformed an entire life.

Since then, the Mayor of the City of Las Vegas proclaimed a key to the city to BAD GYRL and the 22.3 team, proclaiming a day in Las Vegas as 22.3 TakeOver Vegas Radio Day. The praise she receives is always refocused from her, to her amazing team, which embodies the type of leader DJ BAD GYRL is. A personal video shoutout by Charlamagne tha God even highlights a common denominator, DJ BAD GYRL’s presence is a positive force throughout the industry.

DJ BAD GYRL’s portfolio of work runs deep. From covering the Electronic Daisy Carnival and the Amber Rose Slut Walk to highlighting the Latin Billboard Awards, her work pushes boundaries with a colorful energy. 22.3 TakeOver Vegas Radio created the first ever radio award show, focused on rewarding and highlighting media personalities throughout the industry. They are currently branching out and developing a sister station that will be formed in 2021. On top of that, they are now steaming live over video platforms, adding flexibility to any viewer or listener, via TAKEOVER TV. DJ BAD GYRL is a powerful businesswoman and a personality that the entertainment industry cannot refuse, even when they have tried to silence her, her voice will be heard throughout her journey.

For more on DJ BAD GYRL, visit 22.3 TakeOver Vegas Radio’s Official Website and follow her on Instagram @DeeJay_BadGYRL

Written by: David Biga

Edited by: Dan Machowsky