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Grant Buchowicz

@iontheprize

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1850

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I 🩷 making memories with people through music
🏳️‍🌈♎️🏋️🏃🏼‍♂️👨‍🍳
Pro DJ & Producer
Guitar Center DJ Instructor
Data Scientist
SF-based 🌁
Chicago-born 🐻

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Another night out, another dancefloor ✨
✨ always made to feel like I’m at home 😊

Pics with family @princess.4evr @dad_sf @bootiemashup @vault9sf April-May 2026
📸#1 by @rachel.z.photography taken in San Francisco, California by @iontheprize

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5 months ago

from 6 years ago - me & my DJ controller off to play a #ValentinesDay event just outside LAX 😉

sure both of us are a little older, and some of the buttons don’t work the same, but we both still know how to service a large crowd betcha that 😂

I <3 you DJing

#bemyvalentine❤️ #gaydj #queerdj #gayvalentine taken in The Past by @iontheprize

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8 months ago

ITS TRUE I’M 41! 🎉
It’s also true that I leaned on my friends this year more than ever before.

As much as I fiercely want to be seen as strong, independent, and always capable, that mindset unchecked can become a rigid, isolating, never-letting-up echo chamber. Sooner or later, I’m tearing myself down again, measuring how far I still have to go, and losing sight of what’s already here.

Enter friends who have helped pull me out of that headspace. They’ve reminded me that I’m not my fears or failings, and that I don’t have to figure everything out on my own. I would tell you that sometimes, getting unstuck takes an extra hand or two you didn’t see coming, a different way of thinking, a little extra time, or all of the above.

There’s a lot from the past 12 months I’m still trying to let go of, but I will keep showing up for the many eclectic friendships that made it all more manageable, even when I wasn’t always able to show up for them in return.

All this to say, I’m lucky to have people to lean on, open up to, laugh with, and find my way forward alongside. 😊Even as our lives may go their separate ways, it matters that we’re here now and want to show up in the present together.  To those pictured here at my birthday party Tuesday night, and the many more of you I’m so happy to know… thank you! CAKE FOR EVERYONE! 🎂

s/o @shengkeebakery ‘s strawberry mousse cake by @iontheprize

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7 days ago

Summer’s last stand ☀️ taken in Marshall Beach by @iontheprize

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a month ago

@outsidelands 2026 🥰🥹🤯
Thank you for letting me put my Resilience, Rhythms & Ridiculousness out on full display this year!
And with the amazing company of @theoasissf and @princess.4evr fam on the 1-of-1 Dolores Stage 🎪

You can stream my full set now on Soundcloud (LINK DANS LE BIO) including this Ariana mashup you’re hearing 🔊🧏

This will always be a uniquely special memory, as someone who’s a product of almost now 10 years DJing in Bay Area nightlife, and who’s taken a path here that’s anything but predictable or painless…  But if I can get to do something like this, you can too! And I will keep striving to help music peers reach their goals just as so many people over the years have helped me in countless ways. Know that I have endless love for the SF community like none other 🫶

🪄Reel compiled and edited by me 📸Video shot by Pseuda & Veronica - thank u both! taken in Golden Gate Park by @iontheprize

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2 months ago

“Black & Blue” self-portrait for my return to @outsidelands next Saturday 🩵🖤💙

A reclamation of black and blue to acknowledge the year behind me, and a splash of turquoise in my hair for the future I’m building right now (inspired by @iloveboostersmovie ) 
Pouring all the love I have for music into these next two weeks: for creating, entertaining, and bringing people together. And living out the big dreams of my boyhood self from River Forest, Illinois 🥰

Updates on my set times and new music in the days ahead 💋

#outsidelands #iontheprize #doloresstage #sanfrancisco by @iontheprize

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3 months ago

10 years ago, this was me in Barcelona… holding down our DJ app’s exhibit at Sonar+D, climbing the #PalauNacional , helping take over a night at the Club Otto Zutz, and even finding my own way to #SitgesPride

At the time, I wasn’t particularly confident or prepared in any of those situations. But looking back now, it’s wild how much that trip foreshadowed the next decade of my life, launching a most improbable yet fulfilling DJ career for myself in San Francisco nightlife, with countless more Pride stories to tell.

More unexpected twists and turns have made this year one of my toughest, but I still love being able to share and champion music as a DJ. And I love having a curiosity-driven life where I’m unapologetically my true self. And I love sharing both my passions and my life with the people I care about.

Community, curiosity and connection have never been more important to the core of me 🩷 and I’m forever thankful for where they’ve helped me get to today taken in Barcelona, Spain by @iontheprize

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4 months ago

My #Pridemonth stands on the shoulders of gratitude & appreciation 🩷🧡💛💚🩵💜

Appreciation for the sensational art designs of @simonmalvaez & the musical encouragement of @kk_nark2

For getting to share this night with one of the most impactful people in my life in @sergioaudio & one of my favorite song collaborators in @miraaj.music

And me being fortunate enough to DJ the one and only @younghearts.party on the shortest night of the year 😍 let’s make it count! 🎉 taken in SF Eagle by @iontheprize

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4 months ago

JUNE Goal: MORE sharing new music, LESS measuring myself by gigs…

Each Pride Month I’ve let the quantity and quality of DJing opportunities creep into my perception of self in SF, often sending my mental health into a spiral before we even reach the Solstice.

I know I’m not alone in that. But when comparison and resentment start clouding my perspective, and I feel disconnected from how my friends and peers are celebrating, this month can become surprisingly lonely.

So this time, I’m shifting focus back to the source of my passion: music-making 🥁🎹🔊  It means rolling out new songs I’ve poured myself into without letting the business of nightlife get in the way. 
It means gathering years of my idea droplets into one river surging forward with renewed enthusiasm.
 It means reclaiming my creative purpose in times of being laid off, priced out, cast aside, and left on read.

I’m definitely not done with DJing—I have two events this month that genuinely mean the world to me. But I’m not on here looking to sell you tickets, a certain fashion or physique, or the idea that you need to party every night…

I’m looking to open up and share music flowing from a more personal part of me—the same river that carried me to DJing in the first place.

Am grateful & optimistic for what this month can be!
xo, Ion 🏳️‍🌈 taken in Lands End by @iontheprize

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4 months ago

Living my hue in-between greens & blues 💚💙🩵

Energized by a wonderful weekend in #palmsprings and #sandiego w/ @lumosarcanum @anhtuan3090 @johnfrankoh ..plus some good news to build on back here in San Francisco ☺️🤞an unpredictable but encouraging summer journey begins

#summertime #boyfriends #california by @iontheprize

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5 months ago

It’s taken so much reflection to keep believing in myself, keep caring so deeply about a craft I’ve sacrificed nearly everything in my adult life for - it’s what has me ever grateful for the platform @something_queer to sculpt & showcase two distinct, complimentary DJ sets that reflect my dual identity & how far I’ve grown in my sonic storytelling 🙏

“FAUNA IN HEAT” 🦁❤️‍🔥 is my playful Puck from Midsummer Night’s Dream-inspired Saturday night set blending disco, jackin’ house, tech house, latin/tribal house, and sensual/soulful vocals, with hot temptations & carnal appetites to encounter in every direction

“FLORA AURORA” 🌸✨ is my more ethereal, emotional, Elven magic-inspired rave set from Sunday night in the A-Frame - all 130bpm or faster blending trance, eurodance, uk garage, deep house, lyrics of unity & moments of spiritual euphoria unlike anything I’ve ever recorded or performed before

Thank you so much @justin.boren @spenser_morris and your amazing team, and thank you all amazing friends I could share this weekend with! 🤗 There’s absolutely nothing more nourishing & gratifying fo me than bringing joy and excitement to your faces, and creating more beautiful lasting memories together 🩷🩷🩷   Stream both DJ sets on my Mixcloud.com page, or find the links on my linktr.ee - and please I’d love to know what you think of them & how you experience them!

I don’t care how long this caption is going, it’s very important to me to stay connected or fail trying 😂
But I promise I will see you again on the dancefloor in June! 🏳️‍🌈
xo, Ion taken in Tuolumne, California by @iontheprize

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5 months ago

Uploaded my two Fergie and Raye mashup edits from Saturday @dad_sf 🙌➡️ tinyurl.com/april-dad-mashups

Thank you all for the best night I could’ve dreamt up! 🥰 two of the most fun hours I’ve ever performed in my life, and got to play with one of the most amazing crews going now 9 years strong

Next up: @princess.4evr 6 Year Anniversary on Friday April 24th at @grayareaorg

(Source video by @josmith94701 ) taken in F8 Nightclub & Bar by @iontheprize

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6 months ago