Recovery was long and painful especially the neck tear which took longer to heal than the spine fracture.
"I couldn't even mash potatoes without being in agony."
The renowned music mixer was off work for over two years.
He credits a specialist at Habit, in Paraparaumu, who treated him for over 17 weeks, which got him into shape where he could return to work in a limited capacity.
"And its got better since and I'm back to full strength."
David has been involved in dance music for more than 25 years.
His career started when house music became popular in the United Kingdom and he "made a left turn from my hospitality career" where he was a restaurant manager.
"I instantly switched and knew it was the right thing for me to do," said David who started collecting records as a 10-year-old with The Stranglers No More Heroes being the first.
"I had been collecting the music, and it made a lot of sense to get involved somehow. The first thing I did was a club night called Cultural Vibes [in 1991] which was hugely successful.
"It was in my hometown of Plymouth, in the southwest of England.
"It was top of the UK club charts for most of 93 and 94, and was the biggest club in the country at that time with about 2500 each Saturday night.
"I just picked the right venue at a time when Margaret Thatcher made it illegal to dance in fields and everyone had to move indoors.
"Every city had a club that became an enormous success and mine [in an old art deco building] was Plymouth."
David, whose deejay name is Verdi, performed around Europe for five years after the club closed in 1995, and then enrolled at university in late 2001 where he successfully studied broadcast journalism at Falmouth College of Arts.
After an extended world trip, which started in 2003, he emigrated to New Zealand in 2005, settling first in Auckland, and playing at various venues, before moving to Wellington in 2010 and becoming the resident deejay at many top venues, including Matterhorn, Foxglove, Malthouse, and The Southern Cross.
David, who lives in Otaki Gorge Rd with his wife and two young children, Martha and Bonnie, does gigs in the capital as well as producing a weekly radio show on Wellington's RadioActive.
But there's one place he has a strong affection for and that is the Waterfront, at Raumati Beach.
"I just love playing sunsets."
David performs at the Waterfront each Wednesday from 6pm to 9pm and Friday from 5pm to close, as well as the last Saturday of every month.
He uses two turntables and generally has about 250 records with him to choose from.
The songs cover a wide variety of music genres so he can cater for a wide range of age groups.
