“Sometimes it’s very difficult to believe in yourself when things aren’t going well, but all it takes is one person to put a bit of belief in you, for you to realise that anything is possible. That can really change how you conduct yourself and how you carry yourself.”
Growing up in Somers Town, a district of Camden, Charlie Sloth learnt the value of hard work from his parents. “I had a great family unit. When I was a kid, my mum was a cleaner. She had six, seven jobs, probably more. She used to clean a lot of the rich folks’ houses in Primrose Hill and Parliament Hill, office spaces around Euston. My dad was an electrician. They always did their best for me and instilled some very, very important morals into me.”
His parents also gave Sloth a deep love of music. “My dad and my mum would always be playing music around the house. My dad would listen to Dennis Brown, John Holt, The Beatles, Rod Stewart – a very eclectic mix of music. My mum had an even stranger mix; classical, Dolly Parton, a lot of country music. From when I was 13, I was just super adamant that my career would involve music to some capacity.”
Outside of the family home, Sloth’s environment was also shaping his worldview. “There’s always been a darker side to Camden,” he says. “There was a lot of crime, drug abuse, prostitution. Growing up and seeing all of that, it gives you a very different view of the world. There was a point where friends I’d grown up with were doing some pretty shitty things. I wasn’t comfortable with being around that and becoming what all of our elders were, in and out of jail their whole life, taking drugs, selling drugs. I’ve always thought I’m worth more than that. I’m not disrespecting anyone. That’s just how I felt about myself.
“Once I removed myself from my environment – which was super difficult, because it’s all I’d ever known – everything changed pretty much overnight. My outlook on the world, on people, everything just changed.”
Read more:
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Youth clubs were vital for cutting his teeth as a DJ and pursuing his ambitions. “From 13, I was DJing at youth clubs around Camden,” he says. “We kind of took for granted the importance of having these outlets… like the community centre, the youth club, where you’d be a little shit, and one of the elders would clip you around the ear and say, ‘Have some respect.’ I feel we’ve lost that now, being a father and seeing what’s available to my kids, it’s scary. You can see the knock-on effects in today’s society.
“Anyway, I started doing regular shows on pirate radio stations, playing at clubs where I’d do sets for like, 20 or 30 quid. By the time I was 19, I had pirate radio shows on seven stations.”
But pirate radio didn’t pay the bills. “At this point, it’s not a career, it’s a massive passion project,” Charlie Sloth says. “You go, this is great, but what am I going to do for a living?” Sloth began training himself in video editing, digital effects and web design. He was soon working as a video editor to support his new family.
“By the time I got to 22, I’d become a father. That was a massive turning point in terms of responsibility. I had to put my dreams on the back burner, and concentrate on making money, which was super difficult. We were living in a garden shed where there was no sanitation and I was working long hours every day for not very much money. I was struggling to buy nappies and milk. But my experience of homelessness was a motivator, not wanting to go back to that.
“I started doing some edits for [hip-hop-based media platform] JumpOff. One night, Ara [Bozadjian], who started it with his brother Harry, was like, ‘I need this edit delivered, can I come round and go through it with you?’ I was like, yeah, but I was embarrassed, I was living in a shed, but I thought, I appreciate this opportunity. I’m just gonna have to bite the bullet. He came around and was like, ‘Is this where you live?’
“I ended up working for them for four or five months, then one night, he come round and was just like, ‘You’re fired.’ I’m like, what? I’ve been putting in a crazy shift for these guys. What have I done wrong? He’s like, ‘You’re just too talented to be working as an editor. There’s so much more to you, to your character, your personality, your work ethic. I want to manage you.’
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
“Fast-forward 20 years, he’s still part of my management team, still a mentor in my life. It took that faith and belief he put in me to give me that extra oomph and go and chase what was possible.
“Things happened very quickly from there and before you know it, I’m on Radio 1 prime time, travelling the world as a DJ. I moved on to Apple, one of the biggest companies in the world and I’m still there now.”
But Charlie Sloth hasn’t forgotten where he came from. “I try to take responsibility and inspire people from backgrounds like mine, and do my bit. I’ll always try and put something in there that may inspire people. I finish every single one of my radio shows by saying to my audience, ‘I believe in you.’”
Sloth jumped at the chance to spread the word about the work that BillyChip are doing. “It’s amazing, because somewhere out there, there is someone who’s in an identical situation to the one I was in, who hasn’t met that person who believed in them yet to give them that belief, to go on and fulfill their dreams.
“Big Issue were the first to do that for homeless people. It’s not just, ‘Here you go, take that.’ It’s like, ‘We’re going to give you a product and an infrastructure, go out and do it yourself. We believe you can do it. Go out and earn your money.’ I fucking love it. I just got goosebumps saying it, but to this day, any time I’m in London, I’ll stop for every Big Issue seller, I’ll have a chat. I’ll buy the magazine, and I’ll leave London, I kid you not, with five or six copies in my car.
“If there’s companies like BillyChip and Big Issue out there who can provide a platform, a voice, a shove in the right direction, that’s incredible, because a lot of those other support systems just ain’t in place any more.”
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more.
It’s helping people with disabilities.
It’s creating safer living conditions for renters.
It’s getting answers for the most vulnerable.
Big Issue brings you trustworthy journalism that drives real change.
If this article gave you something to think about, help us keep doing this work from £5 a month.
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
