Conjure up an image of the most interesting man in the world. It’s not, as one might imagine, the suave silver fox who represents an alcohol brand. Arguably, the actual most interesting man in the world—or, at least, the most interesting man in music—is a guy born in Tupelo, Mississippi. At present, Thomas Wesley Pentz is likely bathing in the Ganges River in India, or sweating it out on mile 15 of a marathon. He’s likely to be playing with his three kids, or doing hot yoga. Or, perhaps most famously, he’s poised on a stage in front of thousands of raucous partygoers, controlling the hearts and melting the minds of an impossibly large crowd. Pentz—who has appeared for over two decades in the public imagination as Grammy-winning producer, musician, and DJ Diplo—seems to have been nearly everywhere and done nearly everything. But, true to form, Diplo is still searching.

The aforementioned search began very young, with Pentz traipsing like an aughts Kerouac through Miami until the city’s signature bass reached his marrow. In his twenties, he moved to Philadelphia, where he would penetrate the city’s techno scene as a rave DJ, integrating sound patterns from his ventures to India and Brazil into his works.

“When I moved to Philly, I was a small fish in a huge city,” Diplo tells me from the back of a car traveling next to the Pacific—a picturesque setting to which he looks to recall the earliest days of his career. “It was a very scary city [and I had no friends]. I just did whatever. I [used to] run along the Schuylkill River. I think being alone and exploring a city gives you a grasp of who you are in a place, and you get this feeling of it being yours. I think the world is like that. It starts small and it gets bigger. You always gotta find the things that make you happy,” he says.

And, after those days on the Schuylkill River and helming the decks of underground clubs, the world got exponentially larger for Pentz. Drop a pin anywhere on the map of pop-culture post 2008 and Diplo will appear. After releasing his first record in 2004 under the moniker (short for Diplodocus, inspired by an early love for dinosaurs), Diplo saw his first international smash hit with “Paper Planes,” which he co-wrote and produced with M.I.A. It was a song so ubiquitous it had everyone raring to shoot guns and take money (all in good fun). From there, Diplo’s sphere of influence would continue to grow. In 2008, he and fellow musicians Switch (and later, Jillionaire) formed a no-fucks-given electronic dance group called Major Lazer (most recognizable for 2015’s “Lean On” or 2016’s “Cold Water”). He founded the record label Mad Decent, which helped create hits like Baauer’s 2012 rip-roarer “Harlem Shake.” He started a duo, Jack Ü, with fellow electronic titan Skrillex and released Grammy-winning, era-making song with Justin Bieber, “Where are Ü Now.” Pentz (or Diplo, or Lazer or Jack Ü, depending on the context) has unquestionably defined the sound of the 21st century party. But, years into his career, Diplo takes life in a much more comprehensive context.

“I learned at a young age not to ever leave an opportunity on the table. I tried to never be a bored person,” he says of building his presence on the international stage through music production. “At a young age I saw what my family comes from and I realized hard work pays off… I was alone with some ideas when it came to music and creating and I realized, ‘Damn, I should actually lock in’…as I got older and I started DJing and making money and having this lifestyle that was given to me as a job; I was like, ‘This is insane!’ Once that wore off, I was like, ‘What else can I do with my time?’”

Behind the curtain of hell-bent partying, Diplo talks easily about age and wisdom, largely concerned with the expenditure of energy it takes to be the person on whom people can rely to have a Good Time. “There’s so much energy spent performing and giving your energy to people,” he ponders. “People don’t realize that it is the energy that is the most tiring.” He speaks about his vices and virtues smiling, yet serious, seeming to know where he’s trying to go. After all—in order to stay alive as a rock star you have to be aware. Which brings up the idea of misconceptions of the DJ: “At the end of the day, it’s a job,” he says.

“My dad woke up and went to work every day at 7 AM, and when he got home, he would mow the lawn. He would sleep less than me, and would spend all day doing work—like real work. I have the freedom to choose what I want to do and build my creativity and my brand and my legacy and that feels great and is such a powerful way to work knowing I accomplished something and it’s for the world.”

Nowadays, Diplo’s been evaluating his creative legacy by reinvigorating legendary group, Major Lazer. Now consisting of artists Walshy Fire and Ape Drums with newly minted member America Foster, the group just released album Gyalgebra, set to bring serious fuel to the radio fire—think: reggae and dancehall and EDM and reggaeton and soca and house and moombahton. The album offers music to twerk like the seven deadly sins shivering up your euphoric spine. “It’s the beginning or Chapter One of us reuniting Major Lazer,” Diplo says of the album, his chameleonic hair tousling off the Malibu wind. “We had been gone for like seven years. The four of us—now with America Foster—wanted to create something new. We put out records and videos that people can listen to and start up our creative cycle because we have some big records coming out next year. What we created about 15 years ago with Lazer was so special and so weird. It feels like right now, people want club anarchy, where we just don’t give a fuck. Everything is acceptable in Gyalgebra and Lazer’s world.”

Diplo’s world does not begin and end with music, though. He is also an ardent runner, a venture that started as a kind of lark and ended up a key part of his oeuvre. “I really wanted to run marathons, so I did it like three years ago,” he says. He began Diplo’s Run Club in 2024, an event series which was inaugurated in San Francisco and soon expanded nationwide. The Run Club involves Diplo himself running a 5k alongside attendees, and concludes with him DJing an enormous dance party at the finish line.

“The genesis of the run club finishing up the Miami Marathon and going to Space night club at 9 AM and partying with DJ Tennis and other DJs and wearing my bib and shorts and being like, ‘This is great!’ I was like, ‘What the fuck? Let’s just have a party in the morning!’”

Dopamine on top of dopamine. Diplo has felt this vibe coming as he has gotten older and wiser and more in tune with his physical body. “It’s like a conversation I have with my body. It feels like the world’s best antidepressant to just talk to your body and feel—what do you need, how do we work together? And I don’t think I’m giving anybody breaking news, but when you go along in life you kind of have to understand how your mind and body are connected.”

To an outside eye, there may not be an obvious parallel between health nuts and professional partiers, but Diplo says it makes perfect sense. “If you’re a DJ, you get used to sunrise sets. People don’t realize we don’t stay up all night and party and go to the sunrise set because we would be dead. We go to sleep and wake up at 6 AM and then we go to the party. So why not just run at sunrise, and then you party and you have a great day and the energy levels of these parties at 11 AM are like ten times more than at EDC or a rave…It’s not like being sloppy at night with your sunglasses on and slurring your speech. People want to be with other people and experience things because we are getting so disassociated from that because of our phones. There will be more run clubs after mine, but I just wanted to incorporate my music into it because I realized it’s more powerful than me chasing nightclubs all the time. Bringing more people to running is a legacy I would like to have.”

Ah, the legacy. That Dos Equis guy should be so lucky. Diplo has built and continues to build. The horizon he has created is as vast as the Pacific Ocean outside of the car window from which he speaks. He truly is a dreamer to behold. “Being happy with yourself is the first thing. And when you can be alone and be comfortable and do things on your own and be great that’s all you need…If you can just understand yourself there is so much to explore. Have a sense of fascination. That is our gift as human beings.”

Photographed by Harry Eelman

Styled by Annie & Nora at The Only Agency

Written by Augustus Britton

Grooming: Jesse Alexandre

DP and Film Editor: Kat Guerra

Photo Assistant: Mike Yates 

Production Assistants: Abby Shewmaker and Sophie Saunders

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