Meet Patrick Demarco

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Patrick Demarco a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Patrick, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been a resilient person! I believe immersing myself in all types of music, owning the stage when I was younger, and living for pop culture and the performing arts basically my entire life have certainly made me creatively resilient in the best ways possible!

However, my personal resilience these days comes in many, many facets and forms. Facing my addiction demons for almost five years now has definitely played an intricate part. I’ve also had to face some truly unthinkable grief as of late, sometimes without a lot of family by my side, and it has certainly rocked my world more than life itself ever could, even when fighting a hardcore crystal meth addiction—to keep it completely real.

Losing someone very close to you can really trigger some subconscious elements you might have never experienced before. But after fighting for quite some time, the energy that surrounds me now feels truly surreal, almost cosmic-like. The experience has certainly played out as a spiritual journey, that’s for sure! The power of grief has been a true force in my life, as well as the impending future, wherever the road may take me! I’m now an extremely firm believer that loved ones we’ve lost along the way are watching our every move!

Trust me, I could write a book based off of my dearly departed Grandmom’s flashing lamp on my end table! I highly, highly suggest to anyone out there to be as resilient as you possibly can when facing it all head-on, as indefinite personal magic is only bound to occur! You just have to fight really, really, really hard for… it all.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Oh, where do we truly begin? I’ll start things off the only way us Philly kids know how by saying just one word…. Yo! My name is Patrick! I thoroughly enjoy long walks and deep conversation anywhere and everywhere. I undoubtedly live for my cat, the unstoppable Miranda Jean, and, oh, one more thing? As a warrior for all things inclusivity, I believe you are who you are… because you are who you are! And absolutely no one should ever tell you or make you feel otherwise!

I was born in Hamilton, New Jersey, and raised in fabulous Bucks County, Pennsylvania, which is a suburb about a half-hour north of Philadelphia. In fact, one random day later in my suburban life, I literally just said, “I’m moving to the city!” So, I did! Just over a decade later, I have absolutely no regrets about making that bold life change, as I’m happy to say that I’ve built a successful DJ turned writing career for myself in this most culturally and historically rich, deliciously tasting, yet oddly under-appreciated city. First with a tenure at Philadelphia Magazine, which was followed by the creation of Philly Mixtape, an all-inclusive arts and entertainment blog where I served as creative director for just under a decade before the “P” took a hold of our lives.
However, I must say my creative path and absolutely my overall life path have truly only flourished a few short years ago, when I bravely decided to face my personal battles with crystal meth addiction, relapsing, and grief head-on to inspire myself and, hopefully, the world! By adding unique visuals to my bold selection of powerful thoughts and words on social media, I solemnly hope to inspire others to shout their authentic truth from the rooftops as loudly as they possibly can. But most importantly, I hope for everyone to open their eyes and minds just a little bit further and wider to survive this incredibly bizarre ride we call living.

But perhaps my greatest accomplishment in this blessed moment is working hard to share my first visual novel with the world! Appropriately titled, “You Got This, Bitch!” this personal story is visually layered in finding positive light through mental darkness and personal affliction by using the infinite powers of music, nature, creativity…. and you, dammit! No matter how this tattered world spins, we must keep writing our individual pages to see it all for what it really is. Pen up with those eyes and mind wide open! You absolutely got this… right now.

While the project took on many different versions and variants over an excruciating five years to complete through many, many life changes, I honestly wouldn’t change the “torturous” experience for the world! It was extremely important for me to finish this project no matter how long, or what mental strength it took. I not only knew that this was truly the beginning of a deeply creative story, but perhaps the beginning of my own personal story as well. It was also very crucial for me to open my own eyes through the destruction to see it all for what it really is: life just being life. As always. Unfortunately, it’s a message most of us will never realize until it’s too late. Here’s hoping and praying we can change that. We got this, bitch! I know I certainly do now. For life.

Looking back, I’m glad this experience was as mentally painful as it was. Honestly, there wouldn’t have been any other way to fight through any of this. I firmly and permanently believe that when strong inner feelings arise about your artistic visions, there should be no stopping any of us. No matter what splendid age, race, skin color, or sexual orientation you are, we must stand up and fight for what we believe in—no matter the mental turmoil that may lie before us!

Cheers!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

While there are many qualities that have kept me guided along the reinvented path, I would say an endless hustle, boatloads of self-awareness, and making sure I add authentic personality into everything I do are at the top of the list! Listen, whether you dream big or small, you absolutely need to keep emotionally pushing through like it’s your job! I mean, isn’t it, though? You need to own the hustle while withstanding mental tornadoes of epic proportions, as there is no other way to survive and thrive. And the more self-aware you are, the better off you’ll be to get the job done, and the more of a fighter you’re only bound to be! Of course, your personality must shine through with whatever it is you do, even when you just don’t feel like it. The lighter and freer you are as a person, the more you’re bound to stand out and soar!

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

Any one of the late, great Shel Silverstein’s visual works not only shaped my childhood but also my adult life and certainly my visual writing career. In fact, I don’t know where I would be right now without his brilliant mind and penmanship! His inspired words and visuals will remain absolutely timeless! From ‘The Giving Tree,’ ‘A Light in the Attic,” to ‘Where the Sidewalk Ends,’ each one of these has inspired me in countless ways, and I’m sure for many others across the world! Thank you, Mr. Silverstein.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @demarcocommapatrick

Image Credits

All photos taken by me!