About Vlad

Vladimir Pereira was born in 1988 in poverty in Brazil, unknowingly on the autism spectrum and visibly expressing gender fluidity. Bullied relentlessly for being different, at age 5-6 he witnessed "Bicha Loca" painted on his family's home wall — his father painted over it. First lesson learned: "I am loved, but I am not ideal."

At 12, ballet changed everything. A community that saw his "weirdness" as beautiful uniqueness. They called him "a diamond in the rough." Through dance, he found purpose, identity, and a reason to keep living.

The golden years followed — training in Mexico, then Goh Ballet Academy in Vancouver, joining the Youth Company, dancing lead roles in professional productions. But invisible battles with bipolar depression grew. Peers called him lazy. Directors like Chan Hon Goh showed only compassion, continuing to choose him for lead roles despite his absences.

In 2013, his dance career ended. His heart "shattered into more pieces than there are stars in the sky."

What followed was the descent — and eventually, the climb back. Divorce. Custody battles. Substance abuse. Multiple suicide attempts. Rock bottom came in 2018, staring at a pill bottle. Then Jordan appeared — not rescue, but reason.

Four years of deep personal work followed — therapy, self-reflection, and rebuilding from the ground up. Then in October 2022: a breakthrough. A shift in perspective. "I realized the good in my life had always outweighed the bad. I'd just been looking through a distorted lens."

Today, Vlad serves as a Medical Equipment Advanced Technician at the Canadian Red Cross, is an artistic advisor for seven Chinese universities, and produces sold-out shows that raise tens of thousands for charity. The journey continues — now with radical authenticity and purpose.