DJ Phatty gets his own online show

YOUNGSTOWN -- Mike Richmond, who goes by DJ Phatty when he works as the house DJ at the Cell Nightclub, 221 Belmont Ave., has expanded his reach to the Internet.
The Liberty resident, a 1993 graduate of Austintown Fitch High School, signed a contract with www.iwebradio.com, one of the Internet radio stations.
Richmond will do a rap, hip-hop and dance music show for the year-old Web station on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday nights. The time has not yet been determined.
Motorola cell phone customers can listen to Richmond's show on their phones by downloading the podcast from www.iwebradio.com. He is the only rap-dance DJ on the site.
Richmond started working at the Cell three years ago, starting as a bouncer. He has a background in music and was hired as a DJ when the position became open.
"It took me a while to find my voice, but once I did, it just seemed to take off," Richmond said. "We began to see more and more customers the more I was in the DJ booth. Then I finally figured out that this was my calling -- to entertain and to make people laugh and have a good time."
Richmond said he will be creating his own music and playing it on his iwebradio program. He will sell merchandise, such as T-shirts and coffee mugs, at the station's online store.