Throughout the years I have meet some uniquely incredible people. Today I get to share with you an awesome and maybe frightening one. 😉 Ian Eskelson is one of the most wonderful and good hearted people you will ever meet. He is an independent musician who is also an amazing makeup artist/haunted attraction extraordinaire/vampire lord/actor. I had the opportunity to discuss with him his road to self understanding and acceptance.

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Tell us a little bit about yourself: Born and raised an only child in Salt Lake City, Utah. I grew up with a hatred for drugs & alcohol from watching it destroy my family and friends. I became bitter and isolated from a bad social life in all phases and discovered my savior in 1999 playing music. Nothing was as rewarding as artistically expressing every part of me like music could. Metal & Rock called to me for the passion, darkness, and intensity I could relate to. Within the first seconds of rehearsing with my first band was a euphoric epiphany that I knew wouldn’t die. I eventually went solo in 2013 singing and playing every instrument after trying to get bands to work for 14 years. Being born in October, I also had a natural love for everything about Halloween. I certainly changed to my passions. Black was a must with everything I wore, and the crazy hair and accessories came shortly after. I then joined the legendary Rocky Point Haunted House to have a secondary release of emotions while meeting great friends and fully indulging myself in the joys of Halloween. I became a natural at acting, winning Rookie of the Year, and Actor of the Year thereafter. Once playing Dracula, I was hooked on the lifestyle of a vampire, and have made it my own since. I value life, and have always respected my vehicle throughout it, keeping out from anything harmful. Not only do I want to look and feel good, I want to continue writing music and enjoying the success I gain for as long as I physically can. I already know what I want, all that matters is action and the health to do it.

What did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be an elite player of a sport. Basketball became my choice. I would shoot hoops for hours and hours everyday but just never got that good. My heart just wasn’t in it.

What was the best thing/worst thing about High School? The best thing was certainly hanging out with friends and making new ones. The worst thing about High School would be everything else. The stereotyping/trends, the bullying, the food, the schoolwork that a lot us wouldn’t use in our lives, etc. But I hated school because I was a daydreamer and was going insane waiting to graduate so that I could finally pursue music full steam.

What advice would you give to high school kids now? Make memories and savor those moments the best you can. Take photo’s and videos and even write a journal. Because guaranteed, you will look back on your school days often when you’re older and what you’ve captured will make it all the more enjoyable.

How long have you been a vampire? Since I awoke to that reality.

What is the best/worst aspect of being a vampire? The best is that you feel strong & confident while enjoying the style it comes with. The worst is the complications of keeping it to yourself or playfully identifying yourself publicly. You know who you are, just don’t let others dictate or weaken that.

What else do you enjoy? I bleed the fifth

What is your favorite part of Halloween? It’s all about the intensity of it. The abnormal creatures and decorations that bring joy to darkness, fears and death. And who doesn’t like dressing up as something/someone else than yourself for a change?

What was the most important aspect for you to learn to accept yourself? Realizing that you can never make everyone happy.

What challenge would you give to other people who are trying to learn to
love and accept themselves for who they are? The more heart that’s involved, the easiest it is to accept. If you’re doing something while feeling numb, then don’t force the inevitable. Whatever you choose to be, you’ll always have people that love it and people that hate it. So, you’d might as well just be yourself as long as your heart is truly behind that. Don’t focus on identifying yourself, focus on identifying your passion. You are what you do.

-Ian Eskelson

Learn More about Ian Eskelson Here:
http://www.ianeskelson.net
https://www.facebook.com/ianeskelsonmusic
@IanEskelson

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My Challenge to you: We are going to take the vampires’ advice this week and realize that we can not make everyone happy. Find a passion and put your heart into it. I love this concept of going and doing an activity that relates to that passion. It gets you started down the path of really embracing who you are and what you love. 

Go do your activity & tell us about it! As for me- I’m going to finish my Harley Quinn bat. 🙂

Happy haunting friends!

-Jessie the Therapist