We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Elle Gargano. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Elle below.
Hi Elle , really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
I found my purpose, unfortunately, through tragedy. Often times it’s through life’s most terrible moments that we find our biggest sources of inspiration.
My story starts on October 1, 2017.
I was about a year out of college, fresh in my first big girl job in marketing and I decided to take a long weekend off to attend my first three-day music festival in Las Vegas, NV; the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival.
Unbeknownst to me, this festival would go down as the largest mass-shooting in modern American history.
It was around 10pm on Sunday night. The headliner Jason Aldean was on stage performing. We were having the time of our lives. In a split second that fun would turn from terrific to terror.
It had only been a matter of minutes after the shots began that I was struck by a bullet in the back of the head. I lost consciousness for a few seconds and then to my surprise, I realized that I was still alive.
As my consciousness returned, my vision blurred, my hand touched the back of my head and was covered in dark red blood.
I called out to my friend for help and with the help of strangers, we ran out of the concert venue.
As if it were heaven-sent, a car pulled up and took me and a few other injured people to the hospital. I would loose consciousness in the back of the vehicle, and wouldn’t wake up until days later after a three-day medically induced coma.
Surgery number one would be performed that night. An emergency craniotomy to remove fragments of my shattered skull and to relieve internal swelling and brain bleeding.
Surgery number two would happen about a month later, a scheduled cranioplasty to replace my skull-less right side with a synthetic plate.
In November, I would return home to California where I would have surgery number three in February 2018. A subgaleal shunt would be put in to drain leaking fluid from my brain to my stomach cavity.
This would begin a long journey of healing. Healing from a traumatic brain injury and healing after trauma.
After a what most would call a miraculous recovery, I slowly but surely regained my strength.
I started recognizing the incredible work of the people that helped me with my recovery; doctors, nurses, occupational and physical therapists. These people help people every single day! I started asking myself what I was doing to help others in my life.
I began thinking about life in a completely different way. I had a second chance. I almost died at 23-years-old. I knew from that moment forward I wanted to live a life of purpose and meaning.
I started thinking about going back to my office job. But I was fixated on these therapists and physicians that helped me along my journey and how they change people’s lives daily.
Knowing that I didn’t want to go back to school to completely change occupations, I thought about what I could do using my degree (advertising and public relations) to help people from the comfort of my own home.
I started sharing my story on Instagram, and sharing my journey with mental health struggles after brain injury and experiencing trauma.
From here, I knew I could do more. In 2020 I decided to start a clothing brand for mental health awareness called Brave the Label. Creating a brand focused on resiliency, finding your inner bravery and giving back to mental health initiatives has been my passion and focus ever since. Brave the Label is more than just a brand, it is a community where we inspire each other to be brave daily and to tackle mental health challenges.
I knew that this single traumatic event would forever change my life, but I had no idea that because of it I would find my purpose, find my voice and find my inner bravery.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Woops! I kind of touched on this already.
I am a writer and mental health advocate. My focus is on helping people find meaning and purpose in their lives after trauma.
I also speak openly about my experiences with being in a mass shooting, recovering after brain injury, and suffering from an emotionally and domestically abusive relationship.
I am also an entrepreneur/ small business owner. My small-business, Brave the Label is an inspirational loungewear brand for mental health advocacy and awareness. We are female-owned and operated (it’s a one woman show), AAPI owned, and we give back 10% to mental health initiatives that are important to our community.
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?
Confidence – one of the most important qualities I’ve developed more recently is confidence. Always having the confidence in yourself, your capabilities to accomplish any goals and dreams that you possess is essential. I haven’t always been the most socially confident person in the room, and still am not. However, I have always had confidence in my abilities to go after my dreams and that anything is possible for me. Believe in yourself is number one!
Positivity – life has thrown a lot of curve balls my way. some days have been very dark. However dark, I have always tried my best to look for the good in every day and live for the small moments. Living with gratitude will get you far.
Self-awareness – I had little to no self-awareness until after my brain injury, going through trauma and starting therapy. After years of therapy I can finally say that I know myself and love myself for who I truly am. I have more awareness about my feelings and finally have the words to communicate my needs to others. Therapy has been game-changing for getting to know myself fully.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I am always looking to collab with likeminded individuals who share my passion for mental health awareness. My story reaches a wide span of people. From people who have experienced trauma, suffered from traumatic brain injury, to victims of gun violence and domestic abuse. I am also always looking to connect with other small business owners who share my passion for doing what they love.
Contact Info:
- Website: ellegargano.com
- Instagram: @ellegargano
- Other: Small business Instagram: @brave_the_label small business website: bravethelabel.com
Image Credits
Photographed by Kevin Jara – Brave the Label
