For CJ Hokdal, aka That Swedish Drummer, the journey to The UK Drum Show has been a long way from the dreams of an 18-year-old drummer in Sweden.
His first drum teacher had attended the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles in the early 1990s, and the way he described the school immediately captured CJ’s imagination. Just a year after starting to play drums, CJ had decided he wanted to follow in his footsteps.
“I had a blast,” CJ says of his time at MI. “The teachers were amazing. I had such a fun time attending the school.”
Fast-forward to 2026 and those teenage ambitions have taken CJ in directions he could probably never have predicted. He has toured and gigged extensively, including performing with guitarist Paul Gilbert, but it was the arrival of the pandemic that completely changed the trajectory of his career.
With live work suddenly disappearing, CJ poured that energy into content creation. Having already posted drum covers on YouTube since 2012, he began producing instructional videos alongside short-form content for Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
The results were extraordinary.
After consistently uploading content, CJ reached 10,000 Instagram followers. A year later, that had become 100,000. Today, That Swedish Drummer has more than 340,000 followers on Instagram, alongside hundreds of thousands across his two YouTube channels, That Swedish Drummer and 30-Second Drum Lessons.
CJ jokingly describes himself as a “drumfluencer”, but there is considerably more substance behind the title. His approach is built around making drumming understandable and achievable, often taking something that looks intimidating and breaking it down into its simplest components.
“Just focus on the kind of drumming that makes you happy,” he explains. “The drumming that inspires you, and kind of make it your own.”
That philosophy will be put firmly into practice when CJ makes his debut at The UK Drum Show this October. Rather than appearing on the main stage, he’ll be spending the weekend in Mike Dolbear’s education room, delivering a 40–45 minute masterclass.
Exactly what CJ will bring to the room is still being decided, but expect a mixture of playing, educational material, timing, phrasing and orchestration – with the possibility of some audience participation and plenty of opportunity for questions.
For CJ, it represents another significant milestone. Earlier this year, he made the decision to leave his day job and go all-in on drumming, with ambitions to expand into courses, private lessons and more work with artists.
Whatever the next five years hold, his advice to aspiring drummers is refreshingly simple: play, have fun, and don’t compare yourself to other people.
“Try to take inspiration instead,” he says. “Don’t compare yourself, because you’re not that person. You’re you.”
From an old phone and a few drum covers to hundreds of thousands of followers and a place at the UK Drum Show, it’s difficult to argue with that approach.
Check out the full interview HERE and get your tickets to The UK Drum Show HERE
