Reckless Ryan Builds His Drop Through Beatport Charts, Family Time, and The Dallas Long Game
- Sophia Chartrand
- Jul 25
- 4 min read
Under the electric pulse of Sounders, a familiar figure steps behind the decks - one hand slicing the air, the other twisting a knob with practiced precision. Bass house grooves steer the floor into pure, organized chaos. Meet Reckless Ryan: Dallas DJ, Beatport-charting producer, and proud Husband and Dad, who’s been shaking up the city’s sound system for over a decade.
Born and bred in the DFW scene, Reckless Ryan has turned late-night sets and local residencies into something that feels more like legacy. With two Beatport chart placements and shows alongside names like Crizzly and YOOKiE, he’s a familiar face in Texas clubs. Now, after a deliberate pause to focus on family, he’s stepping back in with a plan: land that first festival slot, chart again, headline new cities, and keep giving back to the city that raised him.
Reckless Ryan builds his sets like a rollercoaster engineered for release - tight turns, plunging drops, and unexpected climbs. His sound rumbles with edge, fusing thumping basslines with pop-sparked remixes that light up the crowd before the drop even lands, whether it’s at the Neon Paint Party or Techno & Tequila. “I go into each of my sets with one key objective in mind,” Ryan says, “Make sure the crowd is having fun.”
That instinct came into sharper focus during his three-year break from performing. In dive bars, backyard parties, and sweaty concert pits, he watched - not as a DJ, but as a fan. He tracked what moved people. What made them throw their hands up? What made them stay? “It’s no different at a rave,” he says. “We’re all there to have a good time. I try my hardest to make sure my hour in front of everyone is the best hour of their night.”
DFW didn’t hand anything to Reckless Ryan. He earned it - hauling gear into clubs in 2012, setting up in corners of bars for ten-person crowds, sometimes 200. From the start, he felt the city’s current: raw and unfiltered. “The DFW music scene has given me that extra attitude, inside and outside of the scene,” he says. “If you don’t have some grit, some attitude, you ain’t making it far.”
A decade later, the venues got bigger, but that grit still anchors every beat. At Sounders, he headlined nights and has also shared lineups with artists whose names top festival bills. But what defines Dallas to him isn’t the venue - it’s the energy. “It’s wild,” Ryan adds, “on any weekend night there’s easily 10 events going on - something for everyone.” He calls it a creative melting pot, and it shows. Dallas gave him the roots and room to grow.
Most DJs never hit the Beatport charts. Reckless Ryan has done it twice with his tracks, "Smith's Point" and "Somber". “It was amazing to chart on Beatport,” he says. “I’ve always considered myself a better DJ than a producer. Charting validated me in my mind that I belong in this realm and my stuff is good enough to play out.” But the universe didn’t hand over these wins. They come from stacking shows year after year, tightening his sound, and building trust with crowds who kept showing up. Sounders became a home base - to test, refine, and evolve. And while the gigs grew, the center stayed steady. “Staying grounded is easy when you have a wife and two kids,” he said. “I’m not Reckless Ryan at home. I’m Husband, Dad and best friend.”
From 2021 to 2024, he stepped back from performing entirely to focus on fatherhood and his career outside of music. The break sharpened him. “I matured during this time away,” he adds, “It’s helped contribute to this recent run of success. My family will always come first. There will always be other gigs and time to release new music, but you don’t get back those moments with your family, especially with my kids. I always make time to make sure they are taken care of for whatever they need!”
Now, with clarity and momentum, Ryan has his eyes locked on the next wave. More direct support slots. A festival debut. Regular chart placements. Whether through mentorship, collabs, or simply showing up, Ryan understands that longevity means staying not only relevant, but real. “Longevity to me looks like what I’m doing - without tooting my own horn,” he says. “It looks like Johnny Funk, DJ Titan, TNA. It appears that being in the scene for 15+ years and still receiving direct support slots, headlining local shows, releasing music, and hustling is a viable approach. I want to make space for the next generation.”
Whether he’s tearing up the Sounders ecosystem or passing wisdom to newcomers behind the booth, his presence resonates through Dallas’s dance floors. While other DJs chase the next viral drop, Reckless Ryan plays the long game. And if the past decade was the warm-up, the next one might be his main stage moment.
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