Christian Picciolini

Christian Picciolini was born in the Blue Island neighborhood of Chicago, where he was radicalized at the age of fourteen and went on to become the leader of the notorious Chicago Hammerskins, one of the most violent hate groups in America, and the singer of two white power propaganda punk bands. After leaving the hate movement when he was nineteen years old, Picciolini began the painstaking process of rebuilding his life. He went on to earn a degree in International Business and International Relations from DePaul University and launch an entertainment and media firm. In 2010, he co-founded Life After Hate, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping communities and organizations gain the knowledge necessary to implement long-term solutions that counter all types of racism and violent extremism.