We’re looking forward to introducing you to murad gastelum. Check out our conversation below.
Hi murad, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What do you think is misunderstood about your business?
One of the biggest misunderstandings about what we do is that people think we’re “just throwing parties.” What we actually run is a full cultural ecosystem. There’s permitting, logistics, safety planning, creative direction, artist development, community outreach, and weeks of coordination with the city.
Our events look effortless on the surface because of how much structure and preparation goes into them behind the scenes. We treat every show with the same seriousness as a major production company — even when it’s an underground concept.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Murad Gastelum, founder of Cross Border Warriors (CBW) — a cultural platform that blends underground electronic music, design, and community-building across Dallas, Austin, and Juárez. I was born in Juárez, Mexico, and that border identity has been the foundation of my story. Growing up between two cultures gave me a perspective that now fuels everything I create: connection, movement, and the belief that music erases walls.
CBW began in 2016 and has since evolved into a multi-city ecosystem. Today, I lead the organization alongside Linda Winn, our operations director and a key force behind everything we build. Linda oversees logistics, planning, community communication, safety, and the overall structure that allows our events to run at a high level. Together, we combine creative vision and operational precision to push the culture forward.
We produce elevated techno and house events, develop artists, collaborate with visual creators, and host Grooves & Eats, a podcast where I bring DJs into my kitchen to cook and share their stories.
What makes CBW unique is our approach: we treat underground culture with the same detail, intention, and professionalism as a major festival brand — while keeping the authenticity and soul that make the underground special. We focus on design, storytelling, community respect, and building something that truly represents the cities we stand for.
Right now, our biggest project is NOT REVERSE, an open-air techno concept under the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge — the first of its kind in Dallas. With Linda leading operations and me driving creative and cultural direction, NOT REVERSE blends European inspiration, Juárez energy, and Texas creativity. For us, this work isn’t about events; it’s about creating spaces where people feel connected, inspired, and part of something bigger.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
Bonds break when people stop choosing each other.
They are restored when people start choosing each other again with clarity, honesty, and consistency.
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
The defining wounds in my life came from growing up between two worlds. Being born in Juárez and navigating immigration, separation, uncertainty, and starting over in a new country at a young age shaped me in ways I didn’t fully understand until much later. There’s a kind of wound that comes from constantly having to rebuild yourself — where you’re always proving you belong, always carrying responsibility early, always surviving instead of simply living.
Those moments left marks:
the feeling of being uprooted, the pressure to succeed without guidance, the fear of failing when so many people depend on you, and the loneliness of being the one who has to stay strong.
For a long time, I thought healing meant forgetting or pushing through it.
But the real healing came from turning those wounds into purpose.
I healed by:
Finding identity instead of running from it
My background became my strength — the bridge between cultures, not a burden.
Building community instead of carrying everything alone
CBW, Grooves and Eats & NOT REVERSE, and all my creative work are a response to the isolation I felt growing up. I created the spaces I once needed.
Creating instead of internalizing
Art, events, design, and culture gave me a way to transform the pain into something that connects people.
Giving opportunity to others
Helping artists, building platforms, and opening doors has been a way of healing the parts of me that never had those opportunities.
Choosing growth over survival
For years I operated from a survival mindset. Healing meant allowing myself to dream bigger and build without fear.
Today, my story isn’t about the wounds — it’s about what I built from them.
Every event, every project, every community moment is proof that something meaningful can grow out of the hardest parts of your life.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
I’m committed to building a cultural movement that goes far beyond a single event or moment. For me, it’s about creating a long-term ecosystem that connects Dallas, Austin, and Juárez through music, storytelling, community, and creativity. This isn’t a short project it’s something I’m committed to for as long as it takes.
The belief behind everything I do is simple:
music and culture can transform a city when they’re built with intention.
That belief fuels all of my work:
Building a global-level techno and house culture in Dallas
A scene that stands confidently next to cities like Amsterdam, Berlin, and Mexico City but carries its own identity and roots.
Developing NOT REVERSE into a signature open-air cultural experience for Dallas
Something that becomes part of the city’s fabric, not just a once-a-year event.
Expanding CBW as a platform for artists, creatives, and community
Helping emerging talent rise, giving them a stage, and creating the opportunities that never existed for us growing up.
Growing Grooves & Eats into a storytelling platform that connects people through food and music
The podcast is more than conversations it’s a space where artists feel human, where culture is documented, and where the community hears the stories behind the music. I see Grooves & Eats becoming a long-term archive of our scene and the people shaping it.
Building bridges between cities, communities, and cultures
My background is literally about crossing borders, and now I use that experience to connect people through creativity, not divide them.
This mission CBW, NOT REVERSE, Grooves & Eats — is something I’m committed to no matter how long it takes. Even if it takes years or decades, I believe in creating something that outlives me and continues to bring people together. That’s the real project.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What do you think people will most misunderstand about your legacy?
I think the biggest misunderstanding about my legacy will be the idea that I was simply “throwing events.” People may see the parties, the crowds, the music, the lights but they won’t always see the years of building, the sacrifices, the cultural intention, or the mission behind it.
What I’ve been creating isn’t nightlife.
It’s a cultural infrastructure.
People won’t immediately understand:
How much of this work came from being an immigrant navigating two worlds, and wanting to build a home for people who never felt like they belonged anywhere.
How much community work happens behind the scenes the conversations with neighborhoods, the relationships with artists, the city planning, the storytelling, the design. None of that is visible in a 30-second video on Instagram.
That CBW, NOT REVERSE, and Grooves & Eats were never meant to be “projects” — they are chapters in a much bigger mission to build something lasting for Dallas, Austin, and Juárez.
That the vision was always long-term, even when the resources weren’t. I wasn’t building for the next event — I was building for the next generation.
That every decision came from wanting people to feel seen, connected, and represented, because I didn’t always have that growing up.
Over time, people may misunderstand the scale of what this actually is. They may think it was “just events,” “just music,” or “just a podcast.” But my legacy was never about entertainment it was about architecture. Cultural architecture. Community architecture. A blueprint for how an underground movement becomes a city’s identity.
My legacy will likely be misunderstood as something loud and modern,
when in reality, it was built quietly through patience, intention, relationships, and a lifetime of carrying two cultures and trying to merge them into something meaningful.
The people who were there, who lived it, who felt it they’ll understand.
The rest will learn in time.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cbwofficial.com
- Instagram: thelastmurad
- Facebook: Murad gastelum
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Groovesneats
Image Credits
I will email the group picture next week, Wednesday
