Steve Aoki says there were times when he "crumbled" over personal criticism directed at him.
The DJ is the subject of a new documentary in which he addresses some of the hate he gets from peers and the public.
"You can let your hate consume you," he tells Newsbeat. "That break can be fatal to your career."
According to Forbes, Steve Aoki is the fifth highest paid DJ in the world.
At one point, fellow DJ and producer Seth Troxler called Steve an "overpaid, performing monkey."
He admits comments like that have got to him in the past: "I would overthink decisions on what I should or shouldn't do because of what one influential voice would say."
Steve Aoki famously 'cakes' his crowds
He now says he's learnt to shrug off the criticism and get on with performing.
"I treat what I do with absolute care and I'm deeply involved in my world.
"What did Andy Warhol say? When people hate your art, just create more."
The documentary, I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, also focuses on Steve's relationship with his father, Rocky Aoki.
Rocky founded a chain of Japanese restaurants across America and was a well known TV personality. He died in 2008.
"He was a superhero who would fly in and whisk me away on these trips," says Steve.
"I vicariously lived these incredible life experiences through my dad. I was lucky with that."
Puppy love
The Netflix documentary was directed by Justin Krook, who was allowed to film most of Steve's day-to-day life.
"It was an eye opener, a therapy session. I decided I was going to bare nude and tell a personal journey."
He says he finds the film "hard to watch" because he's rarely let the public see what's going on behind closed doors.
Whatever you may think of Steve and his attitude, it's hard to deny that he has a ruthless and intimidating work ethic.
He performs more gigs than most of his peers.
He says "it does come up" when we ask him whether his family and girlfriend tell him he's working too hard.
"There's a sacrifice and a personal sacrifice. It's not all fun and games but I have this drive that I can't let it go.
"If I take my foot off the gas, I lose momentum. Momentum is everything."
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