Meet Bradley Gunn Raver: the boy with Asperger’s who became a rave celebrity

As a child Bradley Gunn was diagnosed with Asperger’s, and the condition left him struggling in social situations… until he discovered sober raving!

“Music is my drug. Rave is my expression.” — Bradley Gunn Raver

21 year old Bristolian, Bradley Gunn, spends his weekdays working as a software developer and his weekends sober-raving across the country. From House to Drum and Bass to Techno to Trance, Bradley enjoys various styles of dance music. He travels all over the country to attend different events and sometimes even abroad. If you see Bradley at an event, say hello and have a dance. He has a popular Facebook page with 25,000+ likes, and even a short documentary about his life.

He dances in his bedroom, he dances at his desk, he dances at events all over the country

For those unacquainted with Bradley Gunn, he is the man that dances. He dances in his bedroom, sometimes broadcasting live via video for the world to see. He dances at his desk whilst he’s developing software during the week. He dances at events all over the country hosted by major promoters such as LWE and Abode, and serves an ambassadorial role for major sober raving promoters Morning Gloryville, acting as a genuine pull for potential ticket-buyers. He once even danced for 38 hours straight, via no less than 4 back-to-back raves over 2015’s new year celebrations.

Bradley Gunn loves to dance, and people love him for it. At the time of writing, Bradley’s Facebook fan page has 25,000+ likes and followers  —  more than a hefty few of the producers and DJs that Bradley loves so dearly. He told James Choi for DataTransmission that 2017 is his “biggest year yet”, mentioning that he intends to “become more global”. With international promoters flying Bradley out to Berlin and San Francisco for raves this year, it’s hard to disagree with him.

A childhood school companion of Bradley’s rather neatly sums up his appeal upon being asked why people gravitate towards him. “It’s the self-purpose and carefree nature, doing exactly what he wants to do, how he wants to do it. He’s simply living his life the only way he knows how: channelling all he has into one thing. Most people can’t really just throw all their eggs in one basket like that. Who among us could simply go raving every weekend and pour our hearts and souls into it like Bradley does? What would you become? Bradley doesn’t have those barriers, and people are probably wishing that they didn’t either.”

Source: DataTransmission Main Image: Facebook/BradleyGunnRaver

Bradley’s dance moves are made all the more astounding by the fact he’s doing all of this sober

Bradley doesn’t so much dance like a man possessed; he dances as though nothing else in the entire world matters. He shimmies and shakes as if the floor was some kind of doomsday pressure sensor, giving the impression that if he were to stop moving his feet with such rabid nonchalance, the universe might just implode around him.

Bradley’s dance moves are made even more astounding by the reality that he is doing all of this stone cold sober. Not a drop of alcohol. Not a trace of anything illegal. Bradley says that before he became a sober-raving phenomenon, club-goers would often approach him to ask “What are you on?” followed by a rather cheeky, “Can I have some?”, because heaven forbid anybody could be enjoying themselves this much without the assistance of drugs.

Bradley, suitably amused, would simply whip out the ergonomically-shaped bottle strapped to his waist and reply, “Water, mate. Do you want some?”

Whilst he is a particularly well-known advocate of sober raving, Bradley isn’t the kind of in-your-face activist that one might associate with certain, more extremist teetotalers that they might have encountered. You won’t find Bradley Gunn doling out tedious lectures on how the cheaply sourced gin and tonic you’re sipping is something akin to liver-suicide, or how the cocaine you’re snorting is funding gang warfare in South America and probably made up of 95% speed, anyway. “To be completely honest with you, I just do what I do because that’s the way I personally prefer to operate. I try not to shove my sobriety down people’s throats.”

Source: DataTransmission

Dancing and music were the catalysts to bringing young Bradley out of his shell

The degree by which Bradley appears to have learned to deal with his Asperger’s is impressive, and the manner in which he achieved it just as much. “Around the time I turned 18, I went to my first rave with a close friend of mine. It was held in a little village hall as a surprise for someone who was leaving town.”

Dancing and music, as it turns out, were the catalysts to bringing young Bradley out of his shell. “It was like throwing myself into the deep end; heading full steam into what I was uncomfortable with. I used all that negative energy and channelled it to push myself into a positive state, which really empowered me.”

At this point Bradley raises two fingers and a thumb, shaped like a pistol. Within a dancefloor context the ‘gunfingers’ are usually reserved for the most jaw-dropping of tracks played in clubs — or ‘bangers’, as those more acquainted might say. “It made my mind go pew pew pew”.

It’s evident in one swift glance that Bradley has learned not to care what other people think about him from a young age. Every aspect of his distinctly recognisable, utilitarian appearance is geared towards dialling in his rave experience, rather than for the purpose of appearing fashionable. The raggedy auburn beard gives him the illusion of age beyond his 21 years. The steampunk-esque goggles resting atop his forehead allow for an element of anonymity among the crowded dancefloor when they’re pulled over his eyes. The skin-tight lycra bottoms ensure utmost comfort and freedom of movement whilst he’s shuffling away. The fanny-pack strapped to his waist carries his hydration supply among various other essentials. In an age where people so often allow themselves to be defined by their appearance, Bradley’s middle-finger at convention is a welcome breath of fresh air.

Check out the Vimeo video of Bradley’s story below…