Vwillz: Behind the Music, the Anxiety, and the Courage to Be Different

What happens when the artist entertaining a crowd is quietly battling a panic attack while performing?

That is just one of the powerful truths that emerged during my conversation with Vwillz, whose real name is Victor Williams, following his appearance at the 2026 Austin City Limits Music Festival.

When I originally arranged this interview, the plan was to sit down for five to ten minutes during ACL Weekend Two. But sometimes things don't go according to plan, and in this case, I am grateful they didn't.

What followed was a much deeper conversation about mental health, identity, belonging, the pressures of the music industry, and the experiences that shape who we become.

And somewhere along the way, I realized how much our stories had in common.

From Green Day to Vwillz: Where It All Began

For Vwillz, his love for music started at a young age, during a Thanksgiving gathering at his uncle's house.

He remembers watching his cousin play Green Day's "Time of Your Life" on the guitar and immediately feeling drawn to the experience.

But looking back, he realizes it wasn't just the music that captured his attention. It was the way music brought people together.

That connection became part of what would eventually define his journey as an artist.

And then there is the name Vwillz.

As he explained, the inspiration came from his high school fascination with rapper G-Eazy.

He loved the way the artist's name was structured and decided to create something similar using the first letter of his name, Victor, and part of his last name, Williams, adding a Z for a little extra personality.

What I found particularly interesting was his admission that he sometimes questions whether the name still fits the artist he has become.

His musical style has evolved, and while his music still incorporates melodic, rap-influenced verses, he no longer considers himself strictly a rapper.

I told him I actually liked the name because it creates an element of surprise. You might expect one particular sound, but when you hear his music, you discover something entirely different.

And perhaps that's fitting for someone whose message is about refusing to be defined by other people's expectations.

Creating Music for People Who Don't Fit In

One of my favorite moments in our conversation came when I asked Vwillz why he feels so strongly about reaching people who don't fit traditional expectations.

His response was deeply personal.

He explained that throughout his life, he often felt different. Although he eventually found friendships and people he connected with, the feeling of not quite belonging followed him through school and eventually into the music industry.

He had believed that entering the music business would mean finally finding his people.

Instead, he discovered that he still didn't fit neatly into the spaces around him.

For a long time, he tried to change himself to meet those expectations.

Eventually, he began to understand that being different wasn't necessarily something he needed to fix.

It was something he could embrace.

As he explained, he wants to create music for those who feel uncertain about where they belong.

He believes that the very qualities that make someone feel different may also be the qualities that allow them to contribute something meaningful to the world.

His message is not that anyone is better than someone else, but that individuality has value.

And that conversation struck a chord with me.

After retiring from the Army in 2016, I spent years trying to figure out where I belonged.

I tried to find my place in the veteran community, entrepreneurship, and different professional spaces. I felt like I was constantly searching for an identity that made sense outside the military.

Eventually, I realized that perhaps I wasn't supposed to keep searching for a place to fit in.

Perhaps I needed to create one.

That realization became part of my journey with A Wild Ride Called Life and eventually AWRCL Media.

Listening to Vwillz speak about embracing his differences reminded me why creating our own spaces can be so powerful.

The Identity Crisis Nobody Talks About

Our conversation took another unexpected turn when Vwillz shared that his wife had served in the Air Force.

That connection opened the door to a discussion about military identity and the difficult transition many service members experience after leaving the military.

He reflected on how young people enter military service, develop identities within a structured environment, and eventually must figure out who they are when that structure is gone.

It was something I understood personally.

When you spend years being trained to think, lead, respond, and live a certain way, transitioning into civilian life isn't always as simple as changing careers.

Sometimes you are rebuilding your entire sense of self.

Vwillz also drew an interesting connection between leaving military service and coming home after a music tour.

Although the experiences are different, he recognized that both can involve leaving behind an intense, highly structured world and having to readjust to everyday life.

He shared that he had recently come off tour and was experiencing some of those emotional challenges himself.

For me, that was an important reminder that identity struggles aren't exclusive to veterans.

They can happen to artists, athletes, professionals, and anyone whose identity has become deeply connected to a particular role.

The Panic Attacks Behind the Performance

Perhaps the most revealing moment of our conversation came when we began discussing the mental health challenges that can exist behind an artist's public image.

From the audience, an ACL performance can look effortless.

The music is playing. Fans are dancing. The energy is incredible.

But what the audience doesn't always see is what the artist may be experiencing internally.

Vwillz shared something that surprised me.

During much of his ACL performance, he said he was experiencing a panic attack while continuing to sing and interact with the crowd.

He had become so accustomed to managing those feelings that he could continue performing even while struggling internally.

He described how his mind could be processing several different things simultaneously while he was singing, watching the audience, and trying to remain present.

That is a side of the music industry we rarely hear about.

He also explained that after his ACL performance, he needed approximately 25 minutes backstage to calm himself.

Between the adrenaline, the anxiety, and the heat, he needed time to recover before continuing with the day's activities.

This was one of the reasons our originally planned festival interview couldn't happen at that moment.

But hearing him explain what he was experiencing gave me an even greater appreciation for why conversations like ours matter.

People see the performance.

They don't always see the person trying to hold everything together behind it.

The Pressure of Being an Artist in a Social Media World

As we continued talking, another common struggle became clear: the pressure of constantly proving ourselves.

Vwillz admitted that if he had the choice, he would prefer not to be on social media.

But as an artist, he understands that maintaining an online presence is part of building a career.

I could relate.

As the founder of a growing media company, I know what it feels like to pitch an interview while wondering whether your audience, following, or platform is large enough to be taken seriously.

It is easy to compare ourselves with others and question whether we deserve the opportunities we receive.

Then Vwillz shared something that genuinely meant a great deal to me.

He explained that when his manager, Ron, mentioned that I wanted to interview him about mental health, he immediately agreed.

He hadn't even looked at my social media.

The subject alone was enough.

For him, the size of someone's following wasn't nearly as important as having a meaningful conversation about something he cared about.

And that reaffirmed exactly why I created AWRCL Media.

I never wanted to build just another media company.

I wanted to create a platform where the conversation mattered more than the numbers.

Learning to Live With Anxiety

Throughout our conversation, Vwillz was open about his experiences with anxiety and panic attacks.

He spoke about the importance of finding different approaches to managing those feelings and understanding that what works for one person may not work for another.

He gave considerable credit to his manager, Ron, for challenging him to continue doing things that sometimes felt overwhelming.

Vwillz described how facing certain fears and continuing to perform, even when anxious, had helped him personally.

He was also careful to acknowledge that exposure-based approaches aren't effective for everyone.

For him, the experience of doing something difficult and discovering he could get through it has been meaningful.

He also shared that running, meditation, breathing exercises, and spiritual practices have played roles in his efforts to manage his mental health.

We discussed the importance of experimenting with coping tools and recognizing that something helpful today might not work the same way tomorrow.

As someone who has spent years advocating for mental health awareness, I appreciated his willingness to discuss these experiences without pretending to have everything figured out.

That is the reality for so many of us.

We learn. We adapt. We have better days and harder days.

And sometimes, the most important thing we can offer someone else is the knowledge that they aren't the only one struggling.

Finding Belonging Without Losing Yourself

When I asked Vwillz what he would say to someone listening to his music who was struggling silently or feeling like they didn't belong, he shared advice that began with something his father had always told him:

"Keep fighting the good fight."

He went on to discuss the importance of understanding how our past experiences can influence the way we see ourselves.

He recalled being a young student who showed up at a new school wearing purple skinny jeans while other students wore American Eagle clothing.

Wanting desperately to fit in, he convinced his mother to buy him an American Eagle polo, which he then wore repeatedly.

It was a funny story on the surface, but it carried a much deeper meaning.

How many of us can remember changing something about ourselves simply because we wanted to be accepted?

How often do those early experiences stay with us into adulthood?

For Vwillz, learning to look at those experiences with greater perspective has become part of understanding his own anxiety.

He encouraged people to seek understanding without becoming consumed by their past and acknowledged that working with a professional can be helpful.

Our conversation reminded me that belonging shouldn't require us to abandon who we are.

Sometimes healing begins when we recognize that we no longer have to prove our worth to everyone around us.

Turning Personal Loss Into Mental Health Advocacy

One of the most meaningful parts of our interview came when Vwillz shared his involvement with a mental health fundraising initiative in Nashville.

Through his relationship with songwriter Ben Johnson and Ben's wife, Lauren Johnson, Vwillz became connected with a nonprofit called Mental Health Initiative.

He explained that Lauren and her sister helped establish the organization.

His connection to the cause became deeply personal when, on the night he attended one of the organization's early events, he received devastating news.

The father of one of his closest friends had died by suicide.

This was someone who had been like a second father to him growing up.

The loss affected him profoundly and strengthened his desire to support mental health efforts beyond his music.

As someone who has experienced the impact of suicide and has dedicated years to advocating for mental health awareness, I understood the importance of what he was sharing.

Vwillz eventually found a way to combine another one of his passions, golf, with his desire to help others.

Working with the Mental Health Initiative, he helped establish the Vwillz x Mental Health Initiative Open, a fundraising golf tournament in Nashville.

According to Vwillz, the event has now completed its second year.

He shared that the first tournament raised enough funding to help someone receive mental health treatment and that the individual is now doing well.

The second tournament was also successful, and plans are underway for a third year.

For Vwillz, the initiative represents an opportunity to make a difference beyond the stage.

And I couldn't help but ask how I might become involved in the future.

After all, if there is one thing that connects my work as a veteran advocate and media professional, it is the belief that telling stories and helping people should go hand in hand.

More Than a Festival Interview

When I look back on this conversation, what stands out isn't simply that I interviewed an artist who performed at Austin City Limits.

I also had the opportunity to watch Vwillz perform live at ACL on October 11, alongside jgriff (@jgriff830) and Adam Yokum (@adamyokum). Seeing them perform together onstage was amazing—one of those moments that reminded me why I love experiencing music in person. It made my virtual conversation with Vwillz on October 17 even more meaningful.

It's that we had the opportunity to talk about things that people often keep hidden.

The uncertainty of identity.

The desire to belong.

The anxiety that can exist behind public success.

The pressure of social media.

The emotional transitions that follow major life experiences.

And the importance of using our experiences to make a difference for someone else.

What I appreciated most about Vwillz was his willingness to speak openly about the challenges he continues to navigate.

He didn't present himself as someone with all the answers.

Instead, he offered his experiences, his perspective, and his belief that people should continue looking for ways to understand themselves and seek support.

That is what makes conversations like this so valuable.

During our interview, he also reminded me that the value of a conversation isn't determined by the size of the platform hosting it.

Sometimes it is simply about two people connecting over something that matters.

And as someone who has spent years working to create that kind of space, I couldn't agree more.

This is why AWRCL Media exists.

Because behind every performance, every artist, and every public success story, there is a human being navigating a life that the audience may never see.

And those are the stories worth telling.