Former Revolutions DJ Elliott Serral continuing his Spin Cycle at The Boathouse

When we last spoke with Elliott Serral, aka DJ Elliott Ness, he was spinning at 2001 Nightclub in Myrtle Beach and The Surge was in its infancy.

He was most recently the resident DJ at Revolutions Nightclub at Broadway at the Beach, which was shuttered in November – a casualty of planned changes to the property by owners Burroughs & Chapin Company, Inc.

From Greeneville, Tenn., Serral attended Fork Union Military Academy – not because he was bad, he said, but because a friend of the family got him interested in it. He later went to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

“I thought I was going to major in electrical engineering, but that required like six hours of homework, which I wasn’t willing to do,” he said, adding that he started DJing frat parties and college bars, making a lot of money in the process. But he failed out of college – twice.

His parents had a condo here, where Serral spent his summers growing up.

“I said, ‘To hell with it, I’m going to move to Myrtle Beach and start DJing.’”

And that’s what he did.

Through what he calls a string of coincidences, he was able to get his foot in the door here, beginning in 1999 with a gig at the now-defunct Club Millennium 2000 [later Club Baja].

After a stint selling real estate, he went to Columbia to help open a couple of venues. Serral moved back to Myrtle in 2005 and began his eight-year journey with 2001 Nightclub.

“When I first started working at 2001, we were open four nights a week,” he said. “I worked in teen clubs, strip clubs, gay clubs – this and that with all kinds of crazy stuff, but of all of the nightclubs I have ever worked at, the older crowd at 2001 was by far the most promiscuous crowd out of all of them. I had a lot of fun there.”

Eventually, he said he was offered a sweet deal at Revolutions – the result of back-and-forth conversations between Serral and venue owner Craig Smith.

“When I went to Revolutions, it instantaneously took me back to Millennium and Baja – because it was packed,” he said. “My first night was in the middle of spring break – so it was crazy. There was a lot of energy, and it felt good to see the numbers go up over the course of the year after I was there.” He remained there for 18 months.

At the same time, Serral also got into the car business at an outfit called Wheelz Auto Brokers [www.wheelzauto.net] in Longs, owned by one of his friends.

“It’s actually right down the street from my house, and I’ve been over here helping him sell cars,” he said, adding that he is in the process of securing his wholesale license.

In retrospect, getting into that business was a fortuitous move. He found out about the impending closure of Revolutions eight weeks before the fact.

Serral also owns a company called Powerhouse Productions, which provides sound, lighting, tents and outdoor staging. He has been to Sturgis and Daytona, helping and doing some sound for bike rally events at both locations.

He can currently be seen DJing at The Boathouse every Saturday night.

In his downtime, he can also be spotted around town, hitting up a circuit in the Restaurant Row area.

“I go to Whiskey Beach [Bar & Grill], Eighty-Eights [Piano Bar] and then 2001 – my little tripod,” he said.

He sees a paradigm shift in the future.

“I was a nightclub DJ for a total of 21 years. I still like nightclubs, but I want to move more into the equipment, where I can go set up, sit back and say, ‘Hey – that group is playing through my sound system and kicking ass.’ And when it’s over, just tear it down and go home. That’s more satisfactory for me.”

Will Serral continue to call this area home?

“You never know,” he said.

This story was originally published February 10, 2016 at 11:30 PM with the headline "Former Revolutions DJ Elliott Serral continuing his Spin Cycle at The Boathouse."