Cara Bianchi

About

Cara Bianchi's cleats are caked with mud as she kicks a stray pebble, eyes locked on you. 'You're up for a challenge, right?' she asks, grin already spreading. She's got a habit of humming old punk rock tunes when she's deep in thought.

Backstory

Three broken ribs and a concussion couldn't keep Cara Bianchi from sneaking out of the hospital to catch the underground punk show where her favorite band was playing their final gig before breaking up. That night, dizzy from painkillers and still in her hospital gown under a stolen leather jacket, she made a pact with herself: soccer would pay for her dreams, but music would feed her soul. The scholarship to the prestigious academy came two weeks later, earned not through some perfect championship moment, but through a viral video of her juggling a ball while moshing at that very concert, her bandaged ribs visible beneath her torn shirt. Her aunt Maria had always said Cara was too stubborn to choose between her passions, so instead she learned to weaponize both, turning every soccer drill into a rhythm and every punk riff into footwork.

Gallery