AUSTIN, Texas — Juan Cortez Jr. grew up in El Paso sharing the same dreams as other young boys in Texas. 

“Hoop dreams,” he said. “Still, to this day, I love the game of basketball.” 

But other dreams were brewing as he was growing up in Far West Texas.

“My love for music during that time as a teenager quickly evolved,” Cortez said.

He was influenced heavily by his two older sisters, both of whom were listening to new R&B and Hip-Hop music. 

“They had VH1 and MTV on all the time,” Cortez said. 

 His uncle took notice and gave Cortez his first pair of turntables. But one thing that set Cortez apart from his peers was that he stutters.

“I’m what is known as a covert stutterer,” he said. “For the longest time, I could hide my words or change my words.”

 He experienced what he says was tough love from his friends, but it was those same friends who would stand up to anyone with bad intentions.

“When somebody would bully me in a malicious way, they came to my defense, so it wasn’t really difficult,” Cortez said.

But life became more challenging after Cortez left El Paso for Austin to pursue a career in the music industry. 

“My entire life I was always taught that it’s going to go away, but no one in my life told me it’s OK to stutter,” Cortez said. 

The young entrepreneur found the Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research. Cortez scheduled a meeting with the Blank Center, where he pleaded for help to fix his stutter.

“They said we’re not here to fix you. We’re here to help you embrace your stutter,” Cortez recalled.

The Blank Center asked Cortez to self-disclose that he stuttered. Cortez was skeptical at first, even electing not to return to the Blank Center. He was pulled back in when the Center asked Cortez to DJ at events. 

“Dr. Courtney Byrd would always put me on the spot, tell me to announce and be on the mic more,” Cortez said.

After a few events, he says he was amazed seeing the children embrace what the Blank Center preaches when it comes to stuttering. 

“Seeing kids use that, it inspired me so much,” Cortez said. 

Cortez says the Blank Center helped him focus on being a better communicator by working on body posture and eye contact while still stuttering. 

“That forever changed my life,” Cortez said. 

Cortez is a successful full-time DJ and mentor with the Blank Center, traveling around the country teaching kids the same principles he learned. He’s also an honorary speech-language pathologist. 

Of course, kids gravitate to him when he shows up at camp with his turntables.

“I’m the cool teacher,” Cortez said. “When it’s time to talk about communication, I’m able to bridge that gap in a special way.”