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The Man Who Has Something For Everybody And His Newest Addition

The Man Who Has Something For Everybody And His Newest Addition
  • PublishedMay 16, 2023


If you’ve spent much time in Sulphur Springs or Hopkins County, there’s a good chance you’ve had some kind of encounter with Calvin Hickerson. Whether it be music lessons, party bus or limo rentals, maybe being at an event he DJ’d, you’ve probably come across Calvin at some point in your stay in Sulphur Springs. 

Hickerson is a man who wears many hats. Perhaps you’ve heard him called DJ Calvin, or heard of his businesses such as Rythmic Productions or CJ’s Custom Transportation Services. The man does a little bit of everything. 

Calvin has been playing music for most of his life, which is how Rythmic Productions began. “I’ve been playing music, especially in church, all my life,” Hickerson said. “My dad is a pastor and a saxophonist and he just taught me growing up.”

It wasn’t long before people wanted to learn how to play like Calvin, so he began giving lessons. “I actually started in Paris when I lived there,” before making the move to Sulphur Springs. 

Now with the talent and demand for customers, Calvin needed a name for his business. “I asked my dad one day, I need a name for my business and he told me I should call it Rythmic Productions, because you know how to play almost every instrument in the rhythm section,” Hickerson said. “But everything I do is custom, and I wanted the name to reflect that,” hence the spelling of Rythmic Productions. 

While the musically inclined Hickerson proudly wears the title of DJ Calvin now, that wasn’t always the case. “Once I started Dj’ing people were calling me a DJ, and I’m like man I’m really a musician,” Hickerson said. “I used to get offended by people saying ‘ah man, he’s just a DJ, he’s just a push-button DJ, and I used to get offended by it but I kept getting better at it and that kind of grew into DJ Calvin,” which led to yet another business venture. “Then While I was DJ’ing, CJ’s Custom Transportation birthed.”

Calvin began by buying a party bus, which led to a pair of limo’s and continued to grow. “People just wanted to ride together and be able to face each other,” Calvin said. “People wanted the luxury of being able to ride together and talk and have a good time.” So who better to provide that experience?

“I love it all, a lot of people say that I work a lot, and I do but I love to work and I love what I do, so I don’t even consider it work,” Hickerson said. “Sometimes I’m here at 6:30 in the morning and I don’t leave until 11 or 12 or 1 in the morning.”

Calvin stayed busy and his businesses kept growing, leading to having three suites on South Broadway. He wasn’t done coming up with new ventures though. 

“My dad told me, ‘son I want you to make this building [Suite D] into an arcade’ and me, I’ve got to sleep on it, I’ve got to really think about it,” and think about it he did. Hickerson realized, though he has hat in plenty of rings, he didn’t have anything geared towards kids.

“I’ve got to do something for the kids,” Calvin said. “We have hardly anything around here to do for kids. I do a lot of weddings, but those aren’t really geared towards kids. I do a lot of party bus and limo rentals, but those aren’t really geared towards kids.”

“I want Rythmic Productions to be very versatile,” he added. “I want to have something for everybody. I can DJ, I have limo’s and the party bus, and now I have an arcade too, I can bundle all of that.”


Calvin acted quickly, having the idea for the arcade and immediately seeing it through. In just a matter of days, Calvin was able to fill his space with classic arcade games such as Pacman, Street Fighter, NBA Jam, NFL Blitz, as well as modern systems such as a PS5 and more. 

As of now, it is just $10 to get in and you can play for an hour and a half, with all of the games being free to play. Hickerson already has plans of expanding as well, mentioning he has pool table, air hockey and plans of adding more legendary games such as Mortal Kombat. “I want something for the kids to do.” 

Between the name and multiple business ideas, Calvin made it clear that his father is a huge influence in his life. “My dad is my world man, he’s the reason I do what I do. My dad is very influential in my life, I love him and he’ll always be my No. 1.” 

Calvin also credited his father and God with instilling his strong work ethic. “I love everything I do and I give all the glory to God because he’s the one that gives me the strength. People say ‘ah man, he’s going to have a heart attack’ but I can do this all day. It is tiring, but other than that, I just love it and love doing it.”

While Hickerson is a very busy man, it doesn’t seem things will be slowing down anytime soon. If you’re looking to book him for an event, you may have to act fast. 

“I do probably 12 proms a year and last year I did anywhere from 50 to 60 weddings. I’m probably booked up to 2025 right now. I know for a fact I’m booked up in 2024.”

Despite being a very busy man, Calvin was more than happy to take the time to sit and talk with us. Calvin ended the interview by making sure the readers knew some of the things that are important to him. 

“I want people to know that first, first of all, keep God first in everything that you do. Another thing I want people to know is to shoot for the stars, don’t let anybody tell you what you can’t do, don’t let anybody tell you what you aren’t able to do.”

“If it’s on your mind, it can be done,” Calvin added. “You only live once, do everything you want to do. I’ve always wanted to do all of this and that’s why I’m doing it all.”

He also let us know, that he’s still not quite done adding to his enterprise. “I will be, in the future, incorporating a seafood restaurant, that’s my goal. That and I want to open a hand-wash detail service.”

“Those are my last two things and I promise I won’t open up anything else,” Hickerson said jokingly. 

He also had many people he wanted to thank. “I want to give a shoutout to all of my drivers and all the supporters in Sulphur Springs and Paris. Anybody who supports DJ Calvin or any one of my businesses.”

“I want them to know that I really do appreciate them, because without them, I wouldn’t be anything. I want everybody to know that I love them and I will continue to give 1000% in everything that I do.”

You can visit the arcade or any of the Rythmic Production headquarters at 1217 South Broadway, Suites Q1, Q2 and D. You can also contact him for a booking or more information at 903-689-6781. 

photos by Chloe Kopal 

Written By
Tyler Lennon

Tyler Lennon is the sports editor for Front Porch News and Chad’s Media. Previously with the Sulphur Springs News-Telegram, Lennon has now covered sports in Hopkins County for four years. He also covers the Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks and Texas Rangers and has media credentials for both the Rangers and the Mavericks. On top of his writing, Lennon is also the lead play-by-play broadcaster for Chad’s Media. He has been the lead broadcaster for Sulphur Springs football, volleyball, basketball, softball, baseball and more. He is also the host of the sports talkshow Down & Out on Chad’s Media, along side Korey Hankins and Ryan Humphries. You can follow Down & Out on all social medias @Downandout903