Martin Garrix
Inspired by Tiësto at the 2004 Olympics, Martin Garrix had a UK No. 1 with Animals at 17 and has topped the DJ Mag Top 100 five times. The sets behind the name.
- Dutch DJ and producer born Martijn Garritsen on 14 May 1996 in Amstelveen.
- Scored a UK No. 1 with “Animals” (Spinnin’ Records, 2013) at 17.
- DJ Mag Top 100 No. 1 in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022 and 2024; founder of STMPD RCRDS.
Martin Garrix was eight when he watched Tiësto play the opening ceremony of the 2004 Athens Olympics. Nine years later he had a UK No. 1; three years after that, DJ Mag readers voted him the world’s No. 1 DJ. His career has been built on festival main stages, and on the DJ sets that keep him there.
From FL Studio to “Animals”
Garritsen learned guitar at eight. Seeing Tiësto in Athens, and especially his track “Traffic”, made him download FL Studio and start producing. He graduated from the Herman Brood Academy in Utrecht in 2013.
He signed with Spinnin’ Records in 2012, releasing “Error 404” with Jay Hardway. On 17 June 2013 came “Animals”, a big room house track that went to No. 1 in the UK and Belgium, No. 3 in the Netherlands and No. 21 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It also made him the youngest producer to top the Beatport 100.
Main stages at 17
The big bookings came fast. In 2014, aged 17, he became the youngest DJ to headline Ultra Music Festival in Miami, and he headlined the first Ultra South Africa the same year. At Ultra 2015 he premiered “Rewind Repeat It”, a collaboration with Ed Sheeran that was never officially released. By then he was also a resident at Hakkasan, Omnia and Wet Republic in Las Vegas.
Ibiza followed, with residencies at Ushuaïa in 2016 and 2018 and at Hï Ibiza in 2017. He closed the PyeongChang Winter Olympics ceremony on 25 February 2018 and headlined Tomorrowland that summer.
Number one, and his own label
In 2016 he topped the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs for the first time, and he kept the title in 2017 and 2018. After leaving Spinnin’ in 2015, a split that went through the courts until 2019, he founded STMPD RCRDS in 2016 and signed a worldwide deal with Sony Music.
The singles of those years crossed over to pop radio: “In the Name of Love” with Bebe Rexha (2016), “Scared to Be Lonely” with Dua Lipa, “There for You” with Troye Sivan and “So Far Away” with David Guetta (all 2017). He returned to No. 1 in DJ Mag’s poll in 2022 and 2024, and finished second in 2019 and 2025.
Aliases, anthems and an album
Garrix uses side projects to step outside his main sound. YTRAM, “Marty” spelled backwards, debuted at Tomorrowland 2017. GRX carried releases such as “Boomerang” (2017) and “X’s” (2018), and AREA21 is his duo with Maejor.
In 2021 he released “We Are the People” with Bono and The Edge of U2, the official song of UEFA Euro 2020. His debut album, Sentio, followed on 29 April 2022, the same year as “Follow” with Zedd. For another Dutch DJ who turned a club hit into a festival career, read about Fedde Le Grand.
FAQ
What is Martin Garrix’s real name?
Martijn Gerard Garritsen. He was born on 14 May 1996 in Amstelveen, in the Netherlands.
How many times has Martin Garrix been DJ Mag’s No. 1?
Five: in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022 and 2024. He finished second in 2019 and 2025.
How old was Martin Garrix when Animals came out?
He was 17. “Animals” came out on Spinnin’ Records in June 2013 and reached No. 1 in the UK.
What are Martin Garrix’s aliases?
YTRAM (“Marty” spelled backwards), first used at Tomorrowland 2017; GRX; and AREA21, his duo with Maejor.
