Christian Picciolini was born and raised on the south side of Chicago, in a working-class town called Blue Island, the birthplace of the American white power skinhead movement in the mid 1980s. At 14 years old, Picciolini became entrenched in the first neo-Nazi skinhead gang in the United States and began mingling with members almost twice his age. From tattoos to weapons, brawls to drunken rallies to political aspirations, Picciolini immersed himself in the racist skinhead culture at an early age and quickly became one of the movement’s most respected leaders.
In 2011, Picciolini completed his autobiographical manuscript Romantic Violence: Memoirs Of An American Skinhead, in order to illustrate how shockingly easily a well-adapted, abundantly loved kid from a good immigrant family became a pioneer and leader in the early American racist skinhead movement. He was the lead singer in the first white power band from the United States to ever leave the country and play in Europe. He attended and spoke at KKK rallies, was kicked out of five different high schools, and stockpiled weapons so, if necessary, he’d be ready to fight the United States government to protect the white race from annihilation. By the time his skinhead involvement destroyed his first marriage, he had already realized the hollowness and rancor of the movement.
He went on to earn a degree in International Business and International Relations from DePaul University in Chicago, started his own global record label (Sinister Muse) and artist development / entertainment / brand innovation firm (Goldmill Group), and was appointed a member of the Chicago Grammy Rock Music Committee. In 2010 and 2011, he was nominated for three regional Emmy Awards for his role as Executive Producer and General Manager of JBTV, one of America’s longest-running, independent and nationally-broadcast music television programs, as well as for his work on Flatfoot 56’s ‘Courage’ music video. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at Tribeca Flashpoint Academy and the Community Partnerships Manager at Threadless, a company that combines a thriving online art community with a highly successful e-commerce business model. Threadless was recently named “the most innovative small company in America” by Inc. Magazine.
Christian’s writings have been published in Alternative Press magazine and on his personal blog entitled Inveniam Viam Aut Faciam. In early 2010, he co-founded and became Executive Board Chairman of Life After Hate, a monthly non-profit online literary magazine and personal outreach organization dedicated to promoting peace, diversity, character development and basic human goodness.
He’s a pescetarian. Loves sushi, soccer, startups, and strategy. He’s happily married and lives in the Chicago area with his amazing wife and two awesome sons.
