Ashley Purdy

Ashley Abrocket Purdy was born on January 28, 1984, in California. He lost both his parents early on in his life. He moved to a small town in Missouri where he was raised by his grandparents. He attended a local high school where he was kind of a misfit as he was very different from the other students. However, fortunately for him, his uniqueness made him cool to his peers, unlike many of his future band mates who were bullied for being different. He was very much interested in arts, music and fashion, and also took part in sports. He lived with his grandparents till he was 18, after which he moved out to Los Angeles to pursue a career in graphics designing. He initially got into the Academy of Art in San Francisco, but was later transferred to Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. His college projects were focused on fashion and advertising, and he eventually graduated with a BFA in Communication Design with an emphasis on Marketing and Advertising.

Ashley Purdy's journey to become the bassist of Black Veil Brides is an interesting one. He initially moved to Los Angeles with the dream of becoming a graphics designer. However, was interested in music since he was a child, and always sought people who were different like him, in order to form a band of his own. Unfortunately, when he found people who looked like he did, they lacked musical talent; and in case he was lucky enough to meet skilled people, he would have to dress them up the way he wanted them to look. In his own words, he always struggled with "mish-moshed bands". Incidentally, he saw an ad on craigslist from Black Veil Brides frontman Andy Biersack, looking for a bass player. Looking at the similar interests and influences listed, he decided to meet with Biersack with the hidden agenda of stealing members from Biersack’s band to form his own band. However, he eventually liked the environment of his new band and decided to stay as a member of Black Veil Brides. He joined the band in 2009, following which the group released their debut album 'We Stitch These Wounds' on July 20, 2010. It sold over 10,000 copies in the first week, and ranked at No. 36 and No. 1 on the 'Billboard' Top 200 chart and the 'Billboard' Independent chart respectively.

While Ashley Purdy has gained success as a musician and singer, he is also a certified graphics designer with skills in fashion designing and marketing. Having his own lifestyle brand was a dream that he nurtured for a long time, but could not spare enough time to achieve. He finally put his skills to good use by launching his own clothing line, Ashley Purdy Fashion Inc., in early 2013. He mentioned in an interview that every item he sells is conceptualized and handcrafted by him, from silk-screening to sewing and customization.