Erik Zachary was born on September 11th, 1991 to Virginia and Richard Zachary. Raised in Bartlett, IL (a western suburb of Chicago), Erik grew up learning the ins and outs of his Parents’ mobile DJ company which naturally lead to him being in the spotlight at a very young age. By 7, he had already begun a child modeling and acting career and was quickly becoming acclimated to talking into a microphone. At 15, his resume of numerous local theatre productions and print ads was elevated when he was cast as a performing understudy in Steppenwolf’s adaptation of ‘Dandelion Wine’ by Ray Bradberry. Although he continued to participate in acting throughout high school, Erik quickly realized his favorite part about being on stage was engaging with the crowd and performers alike. During his sophomore year, he was asked to MC his High School’s talent show and it was this moment that he shifted his primary focus to hosting, both on stage and on-air.

When Erik was 16 years old, he launched his own internet radio station (from his parent’s basement) and invited friends and neighborhood bands on as guests, even going so far as to receive sponsorship from local businesses. After graduating from Bartlett High School in 2010, he furthered his education at Columbia College Chicago where he studied Television and Radio Broadcasting from which he graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree.

His video content and national radio shows led to his discovery by Viacom who relocated him to New York City to serve as a host on MTV’s Summer in the City and the official revival of TRL. At Viacom he continued on to host and voice a variety of shows for the MTV and Viacom Digital Studio network, including TRL, MTV PUSH, The VMAs Red Carpet LIVE, SXSW, VidCon, How Far is Tattoo Far, The Sneak Peak Show, and more

He now hosts XYZ which you can hear weeknights 7 till Midnight and Saturday 7pm to 10p on Today’s Best Music Q108.