Meet Stavros Vakis

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Stavros Vakis. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Stavros below.

Stavros, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

I was seventeen when my guitar teacher took me to the music school’s “recording suite.” It was an old closet that they had converted to start teaching production classes, and I was the first student to try it out. It had a single microphone, a small interface, and my teacher’s old laptop. He sat me down, opened a DAW, and showed me how to hit record. That moment completely changed the trajectory of my life.

The ability to capture a moment and create a story with sound made me realize what I loved most wasn’t just music, but how it connects us all. Music production and sound design became my tools for telling stories that can reach anyone, anywhere. Through music, you can comfort someone during difficult times or elevate their best moments, and that’s what I strive for.

Today my passion lies in producing, mixing, and mastering. By helping bring other artists’ music to life, I help them share their stories, and together, we make a bigger impact than any of us could alone.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I was born and raised in Nicosia, Cyprus. Growing up in a family of music lovers, I was always surrounded by music from as long as I can remember. What started as curiosity quickly became an obsession. I learned as many instruments as I could convince my parents to enroll me in lessons for, which set me on a path toward pursuing music academically. By the time I was 18, I had earned awards and diplomas in electric guitar and saxophone from the Hellenic Conservatory, along with additional certifications in drums, piano, and music theory.

In 2020, I was accepted into Berklee College of Music with a scholarship. During my time there, I dove headfirst into the world of music production and engineering. I studied mastering under renowned engineer Jonathan Wyner and received mixing mentorship from Grammy-winning engineer John Paterno. I spent most of my days in the studios refining my mixing chops, producing for other artists, and exploring advanced synthesis and sound design techniques, fueled by my newly found obsession with analog synthesizers and gear.

When I graduated with honors in 2024, I moved to Nashville to cut my teeth in a commercial recording studio. That’s where I began working with Andrew Masters, a well-known engineer and content creator whose discography exceeds 2.8 billion streams, supporting his studio and post-production work. Around that same time, I also began creating my own content and building my personal brand, while continuing to grow my freelance career as a producer, mixing, and mastering engineer.

I’m now based in New York, where I continue my work as a producer and mixing engineer. I also create content focused on audio engineering and sound design, sharing insights, techniques, and behind-the-scenes experiences from both client projects and my personal creative work. I continue to work with Andrew Masters, contributing to his studio’s business while developing my own voice in the audio community. My own discography includes collaborations with artists whose releases have surpassed 22 million streams, and projects I’ve directly contributed to as a producer and engineer have already accumulated tens of thousands of streams.

I’m also developing a series of creative tools, including software instruments, preset and sample packs, and production templates, so stay tuned for that!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Looking back, the three most impactful qualities in my journey have been adaptability, work ethic, and the ability to build meaningful relationships.

Being open and flexible, especially when things don’t go as planned, has been crucial. Some of the best opportunities in my career came from unexpected places. I’ve learned that it’s important to stay curious, say yes more often than no, and not get too attached to a single idea of what my path “should” look like. I never imagined I’d be creating content, for example, but it’s become one of the most powerful tools I have for standing out and sharing my expertise with a broader audience.

The second, and perhaps most important quality that helped me stand out is giving 100% to everything I do. It’s a mindset my father drilled into me from a young age, and it’s shaped how I’ve approached both school and my career. I’ve been told I stand out because of the attention to detail I bring, whether it was in my sound-alike production assignments at Berklee, or vacuuming the studio more thoroughly than any other intern, or taking initiative without waiting to be told. No task is too small, and in this industry, that kind of work ethic doesn’t go unnoticed.

Finally, the music industry revolves around personal and professional connections, which makes it essential to develop meaningful relationships. Learning how to network, how to pitch yourself in one sentence, and how to be genuinely interested in others are skills that matter just as much as your technical chops. I try to be fully present with the people I meet, to ask questions, and really pay attention. That mindset has helped me build friendships and collaborations that continue to shape my career to this day.

My advice to anyone early in their journey is to keep an open mind, always give your best effort, and prioritize real, genuine relationships over shallow “industry connections.”

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

Absolutely! I’m always looking to collaborate with artists, producers, songwriters, and other creatives who care deeply about the emotional and sonic quality of their work. Whether you’re an independent artist looking to develop your sound, a commercial studio in need of a reliable engineer, or a brand exploring sound design for digital media, I’m interested in working with people who are intentional, curious, and serious about their craft.

I’m especially passionate about projects that allow for creative collaboration, where I can bring my experience in production, mixing, and sound design to help create something unique and meaningful. I’ve worked across a wide range of genres, but I have a soft spot for rock, folk, pop, electronic, and progressive rock.

If you’re reading this and looking for a creative partner who’s both technically precise and emotionally invested in the music, feel free to reach out! You can book me on SoundBetter, follow my content on Instagram or YouTube, or contact me directly through my website: stavrosvakis.com.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Andrew Masters
Kate Kibby

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