Meet PI3RCE: artist, fashion blogger AND charity creator for patients suffering with brain cancer. When I first came across PI3RCE, I was initially surprised by her cheery obsessions with pink and kawaii-inspired styles, but her inspirations and creativity penetrate deeper. As a survivor of brain injury herself, Pi3rce opens up about her personal experiences, style inspirations as well as her perspective on the influence of social media today. To learn more, please read our exclusive interview below!

Where are you based?
I’m based between LA, CA and Nashville, TN.

What got you interested in singing?
My mom really started my journey in the entertainment industry. She has been a professional singer and actress her whole life. I was literally in her stomach while she was recording her own album in Los Angeles! So, music came very naturally to me and I’ve been taking lessons since I was very little. When I started winning awards for poetry in middle school, I decided to try combining my love of writing and music, and that’s how I became a songwriter.

You originally wanted to pursue country music, but your music entails different genres and sounds, including alternative and pop. What made you want to switch gears?
Yes! I’ve written for many different genres of music. I wrote music for a blues artist at age 15, then branched off into writing my own country and alternative pop music at 16, and now I’m currently focused on electronic pop. I am hoping my other influences can come out in future albums though. My writing is very versatile and I can morph my emotions into whatever style I’m feeling inspired by at the moment. I will always have a deep love for country music and that’s why I love living in Nashville.

Congrats on your two recent single releases, “Like Kylie” and “Famous”! They both have a similar theme. Can you tell us a little bit about that and what inspired you to write them?
Absolutely! My new singles are from my upcoming EP, “Influencers,” coming out January 2020. The album is a commentary about the positive and negative effects of social media on myself and the world around me. My new single “Famous” speaks to many people’s inflated egos and self-entitlement caused by their social media, with a trend of everyone posing as mini celebrities. However, my other single, “Like Kylie”, is about a really hard time in my life where I looked to social media influencers for inspiration to chase my dreams.

Your upcoming EP, “Influencers”, has a very fitting name, as it explores the social commentary surrounding social media. What does this mean to you? Why do you think social media has such a powerful impact on society today?
Social media seems to be the cornerstone of American society in 2019. Everything we do is impacted by it, affecting our social, private, and professional lives, as well as all businesses. I was a professional fashion blogger and influencer for years and I have seen the ins and outs of the cyber world. I wanted to capture what I’ve observed in this album. Whether we like it or not, social media has changed the world forever, and I’m not sure we are prepared for the consequences to come.

How has social media influenced your life?
Social media has been a huge part of my success but has also almost destroyed my relationship, and leaves me more and more hopeless and nihilistic these days. I’ve actually decided to take a step back from social media for the holidays. I really think once it starts to negatively impact your mental state, that’s a huge sign you’ve been on overload and need to take a break. Social media has left a huge gash in our country’s mental health, and that’s another part of the conversation I’m very passionate about.

PI3RCE is all about pink, pink, pink! What compelled you to embody a pink theme? What does pink mean to you?
I love the über femininity of pink and the way the aesthetic shouts bubblegum fun. There’s currently a huge resurgence of 2000s culture going around, and pink has become a large part of that trend too. I’m currently embracing all of the y2k trends I grew up with, and expressing myself in a youthful, nostalgic pink haze.

Where do you get your style inspirations from?
I love the movie Clueless and am in as much plaid as possible. I try to work some gothic inspiration into my style as well and have gotten really involved in the “pastel goth” movement . I also love Kawaii fashion.

You were involved in an accident in which you suffered a major brain injury. Can you tell us a little about what happened and what helped you get through it?
In 2016, I suffered a traumatic brain injury that changed my life forever. I was kicked in the head during a dance performance rehearsal at my high school, and all I remember is that I woke up on the floor with everyone crowded around me. I had a huge black eye and began to develop serious cognitive problems that took me out of school for a year and a half. I basically had to sit in my room with no screens and no bright lights, unable to go out in public or really be with more than two people at once because I developed social anxiety that was off the charts. I had daily panic attacks, constant migraines, and was nauseous 24/7. To cope, I listened to comedians or podcasts, painted, and wrote my pain into songs.

How has your life changed since?
I still overcome my anxiety daily. I developed depression during that time that I had to work through. My brain is pretty much back to normal now, but it’s still hard for me to read and almost impossible for me to go through a normal schooling experience. Having an unseen injury that most people didn’t understand made me incredibly isolated, but I had to be strong enough to get through it myself. I developed a large amount of faith during that time and now focus on physical activity so that I will never feel as powerless and weak as I did then.

How has your accident inspired your music and creativity?
I have this incredible song in the EP called “Happy” that really speaks about what I go through daily, and what I went through during the hardest time of my life. The period after my injury was so dark that I haven’t really discussed it much, but I am starting to open up more now because I want to help others who have experienced similar trauma, or anyone who has extreme anxiety and depression in their lives as well.

Jejune loves that at the age of 16, you launched your own charity, selling repurposed vintage clothing and sending 100% of the proceeds to brain cancer patients to cover their medical expenses. Can you tell us a bit about this charity? Does it still exist?
Absolutely. I couldn’t do much of anything after my injury and I was going through so much pain that I thought, if I’m experiencing this, I can’t imagine what those who are worse off than I am are going through. So, I wanted to create something that could help those who were suffering more than I was, and I started my own online charity.

Why vintage clothing?
I was always into fashion, and we had many beautiful costume pieces we didn’t need anymore from previous theatrical productions. So, I just took what was around me and began to style different dresses and coats on my friends and launched an online clothing store.

How did this charity help you cope with your own trauma?
It’s really important to find purpose in your life, especially if you’re dealing with trauma. The best thing I could have done at the time was look outside myself and see what the world needed around me. In a short amount of time, I helped three young women pay for their chemotherapy treatments and it’s still one of the proudest achievements of my life.

Can you tell us a bit about your fashion blog? What inspired you to create it? Are you still very interested in vintage clothing?
I started a blog to document my clean eating journey and it quickly turned into a lifestyle, cooking, and fashion blog that progressed into a full online business. I would write about the latest trends and model designer clothing shipped to me from around the world. I’ve always had a knack for design and really wanted to be a designer growing up. I’d pick a trend for a season and explore how far I could make it go. I’m still doing very similar things now with my music page, pushing the limits on a new eccentric style that matches my online persona and musical identity.

As an artist, musician, fashion blogger, and digital influencer, what do you hope fans will take away from your work? How do you hope it can help others with brain injury trauma?
I’m really hoping to reach a lot of the misfits of our world, since I’ve never fit in anywhere. I have always felt like a little black sheep in the crowd. More than ever, I want people to know that adversity in life is your greatest strength, and only by overcoming obstacles, hardship, and darkness are we able to find our true strength.

Whether in fashion or music, who are some of your biggest influences?
I am a huge fan of Lorde, who has inspired most of my music thus far. I also loved Avril Lavigne as a child and now completely channel her pink punk vibe on the daily.

What is your life motto?
Never be afraid to fail.