Alig moved to New York to attend college at Fordham University from which he later dropped out. He began working at Danceteria in 1983 as a bus boy. A natural at throwing parties with little or no resources he soon began to rise in New York's party scene.[1] Alig was mentored by socialite James St. James and club owner Peter Gatien while rising in popularity and prominence in the national underground club scene. Alig was also influential in the early promotion of his then boyfriend DJ Keoki[4] who studied under DJ Brian Telfair, top DJ at the time in Alig's and Gatien's clubs, most notably the New York club The Limelight, owned by Gatien and designed by Ari Bahat.[5] In Sept 1995 the Limelight was closed by the police on suspicion of drug trafficking,[6] but subsequently reopened several times during the 1990s.[7] In September 2003, it reopened under the name "Avalon". Alig's Club KidsAlig's other protegés included Gitsie, Jennytalia, Robert "Freez" Riggs, Richie Rich, Charlie Prestano "Dash" Amanda Lepore, RuPaul, and many other Club Kid personalities. The Club Kids' outrageousness resulted in their appearing on the news and the television talk show circuit—they appeared on the Geraldo Rivera show five times.
