Reflection Series: Bravo - Thank You. I Love You.
When the world slowed down, Bravo looked out his window and saw something unusual: a redhead in the middle of the street with a camera, a tripod, and a measuring tape. It was the beginning of what would become the Making Waves Project, though neither of us knew it yet.
Within half an hour, we were in his apartment. He had thrown on a vibrant technicolor sweater, one that matched the bright, curious energy he carries with him still. The shoot was spontaneous, but it felt like something was being set in motion.
At the time, Bravo had already lived in the neighborhood for over a decade. We had never met. But the pandemic, in all its isolation, made space for unexpected connections. Bravo was one of our first waves, one of the first to say yes. His story continues to ripple outward.
Bravo did not begin identifying as an artist until age 57.
His early years were steeped in art and culture. Raised in New York by two parents who worked at Billboard Magazine, Bravo grew up on a steady diet of Pete Seeger, Broadway, folk music, museums, and labor movement politics. But being surrounded by creativity is not the same as claiming it for yourself. He always felt like the observer, never the artist. Music never quite clicked. Drawing felt like something his brother did better. Photography? He considered himself a klutz.
That started to shift after a traumatic family event. In the aftermath, his son, fresh out of film school, noticed his father was fading into a kind of numbness. “You are just paying bills,” his son said. “That is not the same as living.” So he handed Bravo a camera. No pressure to take pictures, just an invitation to notice. To see.
That day, standing on the sand at Santa Monica Beach, something opened. Looking through the lens, Bravo saw the light, the contrast, the framing, all differently. “Give me a lens and I can move the sun,” he later said, tearing up at the thought. That moment marked the beginning of something new.
From there, his creativity bloomed. First street photography, then painting, then scribbling. The scribbles led to something unexpected, visions, intuitive drawings, and moments of inexplicable connection. What began as casual marks on a page became something deeper. On one occasion, he scribbled a face, only to watch that same person walk into the café moments later. “It unlocked something,” he says. “A kind of telepathy I did not understand yet.”
Then came the moment that changed everything: an LSD trip that delivered a message he could not shake.
“Thank you. I love you.”
Those four words became his personal mantra. His north star. A secret password, as he describes it, whispered during a moment of cosmic clarity. Later, the words would appear again, this time through a hidden face in a Victor Vasarely poster on his bedroom wall.
Bravo began to channel more than just creativity. Over time, he came to identify as a medium, something he never believed in before. He describes ongoing connections with Vasarely himself, sharing messages around healing, ancestry, and the power of art to shift consciousness.
Through it all, Bravo has continued to document the unseen LA. His series, Everybody Gets Shot in LA, is a visual love letter to the overlooked. The goth kids. The Hasidic families. The skaters. The dreamers. The bold. The restless. The forgotten. For Bravo, the camera became a tool of healing, a way to capture humanity, not spectacle. To connect, not consume.
“I used to think art was about talent or technique,” he says. “Now I know it is about seeing. It is about being present with what others miss and turning that into a mirror.”
Bravo’s journey is a reminder that it is never too late to become something new. That creativity can be a lifeline. And that healing often starts in the places we least expect, like an empty beach, a scribbled line, or a quiet voice that says: thank you, I love you.
His story is not about perfection. It is about possibility.
About rediscovery. About reflection.
And it is exactly why we started Making Waves.
Learn More:
Want to see more of Bravo’s world? Click the link below to explore his artwork, photography, and the creative waves he continues to make.
Website: https://www.bravovalenti.com/
This post was created by Making Waves Project to share real stories of strength, resilience, and community. We believe that when people open up, it creates space for connection, healing, and collective impact and we’re here to keep that going.
If you or someone you know has a story worth sharing, we’d love to hear from you. And if you're looking to get involved whether that means submitting a story, donating, or simply spreading the word…your support helps us keep these stories alive and amplify the voices within them.
These stories aren’t just reflections of individual experiences…they're reminders of what it means to belong to something bigger. A growing community. A movement grounded in purpose and shared humanity.
We also partner with brands and organizations that are committed to making a difference. By creating thoughtful, story-driven campaigns together, we’re able to fund this work and extend its reach. If that sounds like something you believe in, reach out to us at hello@makingwavesproject.com.
-
Photography by Robiee Ziegler
