SQUNTO Confirms He's Retiring From DJing Full-Time Due to Mental Health Struggles

Whether someone seems to be at the top of their game, or at their lowest of the low, everyone is dealing with something in their lives. As we're gearing up to step into a new decade, we're overjoyed to look back on the progression that the stigma associated with mental illness has come to be. Over the past few years, a long list of celebrities, newsmakers and other extraordinary individuals have stepped up to share their personal stories and ongoing struggles with mental health. As a result, people feel less inclined to tiptoe around the important topic.

If we examine the world of dance music, specifically, a vast array of artists have shed a light on the daily struggles they face due to their demanding tour schedules and other pressures from the industry. Following Avicii's sudden death, mental heath seemed to become one of the most talked about subjects of 2018. Since then, the domino effect related to the true cause of his tragic passing has come into play. Most recently, SQUNTO expressed his personal struggles with "some really intense mental stuff", resulting in the American DJ confirming his retirement from DJing full-time. 

Due to personal mental health reasons I will not be able to make my shows in Florida tonight and tomorrow.

Sorry guys - as I’m in the process of retiring from DJing full time some really intense mental stuff comes up and I need to put my mind first.

Love you 💚

— sQunto (∞%) (@squnto) October 30, 2019

"Many people don’t realize how important ‘the cycle’ is," SQUNTO told YourEDM. "That is: play this tour to build your profile for festival season, hit all the big festivals to build your profile for your next tour, etc. People always say ‘well why don’t you just take a break?’ It really doesn’t work like that."

"I’ve been struggling with severe mental health issues for close to half of my life, and having a very mentally straining career on top of that does NOT bode well for my overall existence," he elaborated. "I think it can be an amazing career for lots of people, and I’m incredibly proud of all my friends who are CRUSHING right now. Simply put though, it’s just not the career for me."

That's right, Flag Fam, as of 2020, you won't be able to catch Eric Hunter Roth, AKA SQUNTO, performing live. However, it's important to note the talented musician isn't leaving the scene in its entirety. He stated, "this all started because of my passion for music and dubstep, and I will continue to do it as a hobby!" That said, he plans to begin teaching music production at Salt Lake DJ & Production in Salt Lake City, Utah, after retiring from full-time DJing. Furthermore, he'll still be creating and releasing music, alongside exploring some of his other passions.

His last show is set to take place in Atlanta for the Winter Solstice on Saturday, December 21, 2019. The soon-to-be historic performance promises to feature a special “red Pill MegaChop Audio/Visual set”. In the meantime, we want to take a moment to praise SQUNTO for taking a step back and ensuring to focus on his own well-being. After all, nothing is more important than one's own mental health and overall happiness...