Today we’d like to introduce you to Kace Valentine.
Hi Kace, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My early years as a child were fairly difficult. To cut a long story short, I was an undiagnosed autistic 9-year-old who had to raise my two younger sisters as my own children. During the most difficult times, I focused on the arts as a distraction.
I grew up in an artistically focused family. From the moment I could hold a crayon I was drawing non-stop. That was my primary art form until I picked up a guitar for the first time in the 5th grade. Once I grabbed that guitar, I knew what I wanted to do with my life. As an autistic person, I have always used art and music as a method of communication. As a child, my language was very delayed so I never really spoke. Even today, as a 20-year-old, I am not a very verbal or emotive person. But when it comes to music or art, that is where I flourished.
Today I am a senior Marketing Major and Entrepreneurship Minor at Florida State University. I live in Tallahassee to attend classes and come back to my family in Orlando whenever I get the chance. When not focusing on my academics I perform in my Emo band Unwanted Company or work on my Goth solo project Kace Valentine. I am also an autism acceptance/ autism pride advocate on Instagram and TikTok. Ig: @kace.valentine TikTok: @kacevalentine
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Being an autistic content creator who holds pride within their identity, I have been met with a lot of ignorance. Considering the fact that I am a queer, alternative, & femme individual, most people are very quick to claim that I am faking my autism for attention. This is simply based on ignorance and misinformation about autism, and even though I know this, it is still difficult to receive hate comments and death threats so often. People have gone so far as to use my content in YouTube videos and Reddit threads to fake claim. Although at the end of the day it’s all worth it because many people have reached out to me to tell me how much my content has helped them. I couldn’t be more grateful to be given the ability to help others find their place and learn to love themselves and find pride within their autism.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Musician: singer/songwriter, front man & guitarist for Unwanted Company. Solo artist.
Content creator: Autism advocacy & goth influencer. Instagram: @kace.valentine TikTok: @kacevalentine
I’m most proud of being able to have a positive impact on other autistic people.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I would like to put out my debut album and begin performing and touring in both my solo act and my band. I would like to be a full-time content creator and musician. I would also like to be a more active IRL autism advocate. I would love to work for some autism acceptance organizations. I would be interested in helping businesses adapt their business models to become more autism-friendly. Overall, I would like to use my platform to build a sense of community among autistic people who are musicians or alternative.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/Kace.valentine
- Other: https://tiktok.com/@Kacevalentine
