“This is the life of somebody who’s an artist, a father with two grown children, and also somebody who is trans — I no longer have to hide anything. In fact, we trans are fathers, children, daughters, sons, friends, cousins, uncles, nephews, it’s who we are. The truer we are, the better we are. The art of making art is no different than the art of living.”
According to legend, the phoenix is a beautiful bird who at the end of its life-cycle bursts into flame but emerges from the ashes with a new, powerful life. Because of its ability to arise so gracefully from a tragic end, it has come to symbolize rebirth, renewal, and healing. Although the phoenix is mythical, Gio Bertucelli could very easily be the personification of the phoenix. Several times in her life when she achieved success, tragedy struck and snatched it away. While others may have been defeated and given up, Gio gracefully arose from the ashes and emerged as a beautiful, more powerful version of herself.
After years of hard work and dedicated training, Gio found great success as a soccer player. She was well on her way to a great career as a star athlete when a broken leg shattered all prospects of professional sports. As she lay in bed recovering, she could have easily wallowed in self-pity, but she took that opportunity to develop her talent with music and technology. She moved to Los Angeles and began working with Michael Skloff creating music for various television shows, including the hit series Friends. Gio co-created her own record label, Electric Monkey, which earned her critical praise and a grammy nomination. She created the music for television advertisements for Levi’s, Coca-Cola, Experian, MTV, UPS and many other companies. She produced the score for various movies and other entertainment projects. At the height of her career, she moved her studio to New Orleans to be closer to her family. A month later, tragedy struck again. Between Hurricane Katrina and a divorce, Gio lost almost everything. Once again, she rose above the tragedy and emerged as a more beautiful, more powerful person. She returned to California to start this new chapter of her life, one in which she could be her authentic self, as a woman.
While growing up in Viareggio, Italy, Gio always felt different than the other boys. She remembers the first time she saw someone she really identified with. She was sitting down, tying her shoe after finishing swimming, when an amazing, tall, blonde woman walked up, her hair was flowing and she was gorgeous. Gio looked at her and their eyes met and they smiled at each other. As Gio walked home, the men on the corner said, “Watch out, that’s a man!” Instead of being scared, Gio thought, “If that’s a man, that’s how I want to be.” She used to tuck her penis between her legs to see what it would be like to be a woman. In the morning, before going to Catholic school, she used to pray to God, asking him to make her a girl. Growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, Gio felt she had to live the life that was expected of her. She married a woman and was blessed with two wonderful sons. In spite of her love for her sons and all her successes, Gio was unhappy. She had become overweight and was not healthy. She wondered if she would even live to the age of 55. After Hurricane Katrina, she realized life is too short to live a lie. She knew it was time for her to be true to whom she had known herself to be all along and come out as trans.
Finally accepting herself and trying to live a healthier life, Gio was ready to reach out and help others find the love and acceptance everyone deserves. Along with a friend she helped create T-Girl Nights, an event on Tuesday nights at Hamburger Mary’s in Long Beach. At first it was a small event with about six to eight people attending. Eventually Gio began posting videos of T-Girl Nights on YouTube and the event grew to be one of the largest Transgender events in the world. “T-Girl Nights gave me a safe place to go and be myself. I fell in love with the club. I fell in love with myself. I fell in love with my community. That’s when I found my tribe. That’s when I knew who I was. That’s when I was my happiest. That’s when I felt really complete.”
Gio continues to work tirelessly for the Trans community. She volunteers at the Los Angeles LGBTQ center and is involved with various Trans programs. She has become a guiding light, a shining star, and a beacon of hope for people everywhere. Through all of her hardships she has always risen up a stronger, more powerful, more beautiful person. Gio Bertucelli truly is an Uncommon Hero.
