Growing up, I was a soccer player that went to an all-boys Catholic high school. My sophomore year, I gave up the soccer team to pursue theatre, which was a bit of a shock to the community. I was the real-life Troy Bolton. With the support of my parents and friends, I auditioned for, attended, and graduated from Boston Conservatory with a BFA in musical theatre. About two years ago, I found myself working as a singer on a cruise ship that toured Dubai and Abu Dhabi. That's when I really started getting into makeup. I would go to the Dubai mall and get makeup to experiment with, but because the culture was very conservative, I felt like I could never truly express myself unless I was on the ship.