Montreal musician raising awareness about Tourette syndrome
Posted October 26, 2022 9:18 pm.
Last Updated October 26, 2022 11:15 pm.
Diagnosed with Tourette syndrome at the age of seven, Montreal producer, singer and songwriter Anthony Pen, says his main goal with music is to raise awareness about Tourette by proving that achieving your dreams despite adversity is possible.
“It doesn’t make me any different from my classmates or my friends. You know, I’m still capable of doing amazing things in life,” says Pen.
Tourette Syndrome is a nervous system condition which forces those who have it to experience sudden movements and sound. When Pen started creating music it helped him take a break from his symptoms.
“It’s kind of like therapy for me, you know? I do this so I can really escape a bit and just focus on something else other than Tourette,”
The 25 year-old has been spreading awareness on the syndrome since he was in school. “I would always explain to my teachers, classmates, and friends what Tourette is,” the main goal of informing others, was to take away the stigma behind it.
“They would really respect it …I feel like it’s just important to speak on it and just raise awareness on it and explain to people what it is,”
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- Anthony Pen, holds up a photo of himself playing piano when he was younger, while standing in his music studio. (Photo credit: Felisha Adam)
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- A young Anthony Pen, holding a flute. (Photo credit: Felisha Adam)
Pen has always loved the arts, taking part in dance performances when he was younger, music becoming a release. He soon realized, just making music wasn’t enough, he wanted to help others with Tourette.
“Just showing people that, you know, I have Tourette syndrome and I’ve had it my whole life, look at me, if I can do it, then you can do it, too,” he says.
He now has over twenty thousand streams on YouTube, his most recent releases,‘Disguise” and ‘Bankroll’ it showcases his relationship with Tourette Syndrome. Pen says it enforces the idea that no matter what, the syndrome will be with him, rather than try and change that, he should accept it and adapt.
Pen says, through his music he hopes to provide more information and awareness about Tourette, to help normalize the syndrome and end the stigma around it.
“Just start more conversations about Tourette … how can we help people with Tourette especially kids, just pushing them to do what they like”
