Not neccesairily. I did some small stints in the whole nightlife, promoting, etc. buisiness when I was 15, and knew noone. With 16, I considered myself pretty well connected in that crowd. You really have to go out your way to be "awesome", but it will get positive attention, and you'll slowly get to know the whole social circle around a given metier.

In retrospect, i had a weird childhood.