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 systematic ego dismantling followed — what Vlad calls "the toddler meeting the train." Then in October 2022: awakening. The mind rebooted. "Life was always beautiful. Suffering was the minority, viewed through distortion."

Today, Vlad serves as a Medical Equipment Advanced Technician at the Canadian Red Cross, teaches ballet internationally at seven Chinese universities, produces sold-out theatrical productions that raise tens of thousands for charity, and builds a portfolio of AI-powered ventures. The journey continues — now with radical authenticity and purpose.