As a DJ who studied business management and marketing, Chris "The Greek" Panaghi admits that he’s a very goal-oriented person. Indeed, his story is somewhat typical, as the Long Island, N.Y.-based DJ went from doing mobiles to rocking clubs, then onto radio, remixing and production, and eventually owning his own studio and production company. Always the climber, Panaghi says he has no intention of stopping there.

Not that he’s doing so poorly now. Panaghi co-hosts "The Island Underground" radio show Sunday nights on Garden City-based WLIR and maintains a residency a few miles down the road at The Dallenger club in the five-star Garden City Hotel. Additionally, from his Omega Studios and DJG Productions, Panaghi has released a flurry of original productions and remixes for artists that include Gloria Estefan and Michael Jackson. Lucky for him and DJs of various tastes, his studio work ranges from true-to-the-vocal, pop-oriented remixes and harder, progressive house tracks. From his home in Valley Stream, Long Island, Chris "The Greek" took the time to talk to DJ Times about the progression of his career and where it’s headed next.

DJ Times: How did you get started DJing?

Panaghi: In high school at 15, I started messing around with some old Run-DMC records. I had bought a turntable from a friend, installed Mom and Dad’s old turntable and started DJing with some old-school records. By 16 or 17, I was getting into some local bars, which eventually led me into the whole club scene in Long Island. By 18, I was doing all the clubs around this area, like Malibu, J. Sprats, Metro 700 – that whole scene.

DJ Times: Was your goal always to be a professional club DJ?

Panaghi: Definitely, without a doubt. I was trying to not only play good music, but play a good array of music throughout the night. Once my name grew I was doing all the big parties on Long Island and just started to spread myself out. I got a couple of gigs in Manhattan and then started traveling a little bit. One thing led to another and that’s how it evolved.

DJ Times: How did you go from DJing to remixing, editing and producing?

Panaghi: I see it as a natural transition. First, I started playing records and then it came to a certain point where I said, "How do I make the records that I’m playing?" From when I was younger, and from doing the clubs and some mobile stuff – weddings, bar mitzvahs –I started buying equipment a little at a time. Since 18, I’ve been buying equipment and now I have a comfortable studio [Omega Studios] here in Long Island. I started buying the equipment, and I started learning. Learning the equipment, learning some basic theory on keyboards and music, then I started to get other guys, keyboardists and engineers that would work for me and I built this whole little thing.

DJ Times: How did you build your profile?

Panaghi: One of the first records I did was called "Boriqua" on Third Millennium Entertainment. I did that and that record made some noise and that led me to do some remixes, like Albita’s "Valga El Brillo De Tus Ojos" on Epic Records. Then one thing led to another with Epic and they started to throw me some other mixes. My name started growing and I got some remixes for 3rd Party, Judy Torres, Michael Jackson. Once you start to create a buzz on your name and you get things out there, people start to hear your sound and they hire you based on that.

DJ Times: Do the record companies just send you the vocal track?

Panaghi: Yeah, sometimes you can request the whole master, but I usually just request the a cappella. I bring in my keyboard player and work from the ground up and create chords around the vocals.

DJ Times: Did you go to school to study music or is all your knowledge from hands-on experience?

Panaghi: I went to college at Adelphi University for Business Management/Marketing, but I didn’t go for any music theory only because my whole take on the music industry is that to get to the next level you have to learn every aspect of it. I’ve worked at record companies and I know how the business of a record label works. I have a head for business and how businesses work, and I have the ear. My goal was to get a good, general understanding of the whole industry. A lot of guys are very creative, but when it comes down to it, they don’t understand how the business works.

DJ Times: Are you still DJing regularly?

Panaghi: I’m working Wednesday nights at a club called Dallenger at the Garden City Hotel here on Long Island. I work Friday nights at Zachary’s on Long Island and Saturday nights at a club called DNA in Astoria, Queens, plus I do guest spots when they come up. On top of that, I’m on two days a week at a radio station called Party 105, Friday and Sunday. The Friday show is called "Feta Cheese Friday" and my Sunday night show, which is called "The Island Underground," is syndicated to other stations.