Self-proclaimed “Uncrowned Prince of Norristown,” Tyler Pierre showed up for this interview in his best royal attire: oversized sweats and a hot pink tie-dye hoodie, headphones tilted to the side and still playing to music.
He commented, “Right now, I’m looking at my competition, and some of them, not that great,”
There’s no denying that Tyler Pierre is an experience. He’s known for his BandLab diss tracks, goofy attitude, and corny humor. He is almost inescapable, whether he’s on Eagle News, peer tutoring, DECA, or even the Wingspan. Like him or not, he’s undoubtedly a character. However, he took a while to become the cornball we all know today.
Pierre had a rough start. He spent his freshman year in needless conflict with other students while simultaneously staying quiet in class.
“My first two years; I was opping people,” he said rather blankly.
Sophomore year is when he gained his new perspective and sense of maturity, citing a long-form interview project he did for his journalism class. He conducted deep conversations with a variety of adults in the building, reflecting on their lives. While the project never became an article, it at least gave him an important revelation about life.
“Without talking to people, I wouldn’t find my way,” Pierre recounts.
Human connection has been a driving force in Pierre’s life ever since. His interview work ended up landing him a podcast position at Real World Leaders Radio, marking his spike in community involvement.
“That’s the most important thing in Norristown: community,” he said. “When you have a community and a support system, you’re able to excel.”
This trajectory led him unexpectedly to his most important connection: himself.
“The community does matter, but right now what matters is me,” Pierre proclaims. “Even if the community is there, you’re going to die alone.”
That brings us here: Tyler Pierre is competing in a pseudo-beauty pageant. The main difference is that your contestants aren’t supermodels, but minimum-wage Shannondell employees.
Pierre has been a fan of Mr. Norristown ever since he first watched the show freshman year, going to every show thereafter. He especially found himself admiring the confidence of the contestants, one day hoping to see himself on the stage, able to be unabashedly himself.
On the Wingspan front, he even wrote a feature like this one for the past two years. It’s no surprise that, as someone with so much faith in himself, Pierre is playing for the crown. He kind of has to: he can’t stay the “uncrowned prince,” and he doesn’t qualify for Miss America.
So his winning strategy is a rather simple one.
“The whole idea is to be myself. I’m going to do the things I enjoy.”
He’s found many hobbies during his tenure here. Writing has been an exceptional one, being a fellow Wingspan member for all four years. Arguably, he’s more known for dropping music on BandLab and his Instagram story.
It has come with mixed results.
“They call me a one-hit wonder” he lamented. “I dropped one fire song and couldn’t top it.”
Writing seems to be his universally tolerated hobby though, he may be enjoying writing too much, campaigning against this article at every turn.
He told us, “You ‘bout to make my paper horrible, that’s why I asked Eisen if I could write [this article] myself.”
