Tell no one

A Mostly True Memoir

DJ Big Duck emblem — a headphone-wearing duck in a neon ring reading DJ Big Duck

My Story

How a kid from San Diego picked up a very strange nickname in a Moscow hot tub — and where it’s taking him next.

Born San Diego Named Moscow Headed Las Vegas

“Big Duck” is a nickname. I didn’t pick it — a translation app did, in a hot tub, in Moscow. This is the whole story: where I started, how I got the name, and where it’s all going.

A true story · give or take a Vegas ending

SAN DIEGOCA · home
Big Duck riding a black-and-gold Sea-Doo across Mission Bay with the San Diego skyline behind day one ✎

Chapter One — Where It Started

San Diego

This is home. Before the desk, before the nickname, before any of it — just a San Diego kid tearing across Mission Bay on a Sea-Doo, starting to feel ready for a change.

Packed for the trip: a Sea-Doo (borrowed), a taco order three places have memorized, and no idea what was coming.
QK
Duck Air
SAN→JFK
FlightQK 001
Seat1A (aspirational)
Reasona job
NEW YORKNY · the job
Big Duck in a fur coat hailing a yellow cab in a neon Times Square at night the big move ✎

Chapter Two — The Job

New York City

Then a job offer in New York landed out of nowhere. I took the leap, moved clear across the country, and stayed a decade. Traded the beach for a desk, bought a fur coat I absolutely did not need, and learned to hail a cab like I meant it.

Souvenirs: one faux-fur coat, a metro card, and a brand-new respect for indoor heating.
QK
Duck Air
JFK→SVO
FlightQK 024
Seat1A
Reasonvacation, finally
МОСКВАSVO · vacation
Big Duck in a snowy rooftop Moscow hot tub with champagne and friends, one holding up a phone the night I got my name ✎
Phone translation: Russian 'Bolshaya Utka. Vozmi menya seychas.' to English 'Big Duck. Take me now.'
Exhibit A — the text that named me

Chapter Three — The Nickname

Moscow

I took my vacation in Moscow. We didn’t share a language, so we talked through a translation app — passing a phone back and forth. Then she typed this and turned the screen around: “Big Duck. Take me now.” I’ve answered to Big Duck ever since.

Souvenirs: a nickname (permanent), a lifelong wariness of translation apps, one unforgettable night.
QK
Duck Air
SVO→HKG
FlightQK 025
Seat1A
Reasonback to work (via my desk)
HONG KONGHKG · work
Big Duck in a glamorous Hong Kong nightclub with champagne and a group of women, Victoria Harbour skyline through the windows “networking” ✎

Chapter Four — “Strictly Business”

Hong Kong

The job kept sending me back to Hong Kong — again, and again, and again. Officially: business. In reality: legendary clubs, unforgettable company, and “networking” until sunrise. I stopped counting the trips. And the nights.

Souvenirs: a bar tab with its own zip code, a phone full of new contacts, and a stack of expense reports I’m still not ready to explain.
QK
Duck Air
HKG→SAN
FlightQK 088
Seat1A
Reasonhome for good
SAN DIEGOCA · now
Big Duck relaxing in a beach chair with a taco and cocktail, San Diego skyline behind the corner office ✎

Chapter Five — Home

San Diego

Ten years of New York winters was plenty. When work went remote in 2020, I came home to San Diego for good — same job, now from a beach chair. Turns out the dream setup pairs beautifully with a taco.

Current status: employed, remote, sandy. Same Sea-Doo, much better commute.
QK
Duck Air
SAN→LAS
FlightQK — —
Seat1A (reserved)
Statusnot booked… yet
LAS VEGASNV · someday
Big Duck in a tuxedo arriving at the Rent's Due Club on the Las Vegas Strip, stepping out of a limo with an entourage opening night ✎

Chapter Six — The Plan

Las Vegas

Here’s how it ends: Big Duck, back on the Strip — headlining the Rent’s Due Club, right where he always belonged. A bona fide icon. I haven’t booked the flight yet… but I already know the seat. 1A. Obviously.

Souvenirs: to be determined — check back when the Rent’s Due Club marquee is lit.

The End?

Not even close. The San Diego chapter is still running — and the Vegas one hasn’t started yet.

Big Duck · My Story · djbigduck.com