This Is Me

Adrian Cunanan

Diagnosis: Bipolar I • Year Diagnosed: 2002 • Location: Brooklyn, NY

Age: 37 • Occupation: Creative Technologist, Entrepreneur


NICKNAME: A-dreeeeeeeeee! It is what my girlfriend and her 8-year-old son call me. Nothing beats coming home to a loving family that is so happy to see me.

FAVORITE TV SHOW: Silicon Valley on HBO. I have my own company, so I can relate to the challenges of launching a start-up. And I grew up not far from San Francisco, so I love the inside jokes about the Bay Area.

MOST TREASURED ITEM: An album with pictures and letters from my family and best friends, given to me during my second hospitalization. It was a reminder that I was not alone in my effort to recover and learn to thrive again.

IT MIGHT SURPRISE YOU TO KNOW: I used to dance for a hip-hop crew called Kaba Modern.

MY HERO IS: Leonardo da Vinci, for embodying the concept of realizing one’s potential.

BEST RESOURCE: My brother. Anthony has been there to help me when I couldn’t help myself.

BIGGEST CHALLENGE I’VE OVERCOME: Learning to accept my condition. Acceptance was the first step toward gaining management techniques and rebuilding my confidence.

PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENT: Pairing my experience of learning to manage bipolar disorder with my technology skills to launch ThriveTracker, a mental health platform for web and mobile devices.

CURRENT STATE OF MIND: Blessed and grateful.


Photo: ANTHONY CUNANAN FIVE ZERO TWO for bp Magazine

Source: http://bphope.com