1. Thanks for this interview! I’m very excited to feature the extremely important work you’re doing. Before we get into that, though, would you please introduce yourself and say where you’re from?

Absolutely. My name is Ivan Belcic, and I am a writer, tattooer, musician and harm reductionist. I grew up in Bergen County, New Jersey. I left the country after college and spent the next 15 years abroad — my 20s in Shanghai, and then most of my 30s in Prague. I moved back here in 2024 to be closer to my family, and have been here in Jersey City since then.

2. What was your introduction to heavy music/hardcore and what were your formative experiences/who were the main bands that had an impact on you?

Like many of us, I had a cool uncle growing up (shoutout Uncle Frank!). He brought me to a couple Ozzfests and played a big role in my early introduction to metal with the staples like Metallica and Slayer. I was a tween/teen in the late 90s and early 2000s and listened to a lot of 92.3 K-Rock back then, so they’d be playing all the nu-metal stuff from that time — System, Slipknot, KoRn, all that.

At the same time, I was a drummer and got huge into prog with Dream Theater and Symphony X, so that’s all kicking around in my brain as well. I got huge into black metal in my 20s with bands like Ulver, Krallice and Deafheaven.

My come-to-Jesus moment with hardcore was on a much more local level. I was heavily involved in the local music scene in Shanghai, and we had a bunch of hardcore bands doing amazing work. Spill Your Guts and Loudspeaker were two pillars of Chinese hardcore back then, both out of Shanghai.

I’ve been really loving the process of exploring and embedding into the local hardcore scene here. Bands like Tough Luck, Majunche, No Weapon, Jawdust, Dimming, Good Teal, Young and Doomed, Thorns in the Mouth of God, Riva Mae, Iron Grip…the hardcore scene across Jersey and NYC is thriving.

I just saw a fucking killer show [the other] night — Damage Control, Chains of Misery, Cycle of Abuse and Vow of Hatred all came through from PA to throw down in the tiniest room. I caught an elbow to the face and loved it. Shoutout Ghost Boy Entertainment and Alden Booking for throwing that together.

3. How would you describe Burden of Being’s mission? What kind of work do you do?

In short, we support the local heavy music scene in NJ and NYC with free harm reduction supplies, resources and education. In practice, that mostly looks like us tabling at as many shows as we can to meet the people in the scene where they’re at and give them the tools and knowledge to stay a bit safer while they do whatever they’re doing out there.

Harm reduction is the practice of radical empathy and compassion. You meet people where they’re at, without judgment, with only love and care, and you show them: I see you, I care about you, there’s nothing wrong with you, and you deserve to be alive and safe.

Our show kit includes things like naloxone, substance test kits, Plan B, condoms, lube, mini first-aid kits, earplugs…the earplugs are always popular at shows. If you don’t know how to use naloxone, we’ll train you! If you’ve never tested your drugs before, we’ll explain how! Just come up to our table, say what’s up, take some stickers, and chill with us.

4. When was Burden of Being founded and why did the arena of heavy music/hardcore suggest itself to you?

I started Burden of Being just recently in September 2026. I’d been volunteering for the past year with another group doing similar work in NJ in the DIY punk and hardcore scene there, but I had to take a break during the summer.

At the same time, I’d started going to more metal shows up in northern NJ and over in Brooklyn and Queens since my band had finished our record and was gearing up to start playing. I’d been tabling loads of punk shows, but I wanted to explore the metal scene, meet people, and get ready for us to start booking shows.

I realized that there wasn’t as much of a harm redux presence at the shows I was going to, so I thought…I’ll just be that guy and do it myself. Everyone can’t be everywhere all the same time, and the more people on the ground there are covering more shows, hopefully the safer everyone will be.

As soon as I got into this work last year, I fell in love with it right away, and I knew there was no way I’d be able to stop. People in the scene tell me all the time how badly the scene needs harm reduction, and that’s all the reason I need to keep pushing.

Heavy music has a such a potent cathartic effect, especially in a live setting. A lot of people go to heavy shows so they can blow off all the steam from their day-to-day lives: shitty jobs, toxic relationships, money troubles, whatever’s stressing you out. It helps people cope. I believe substance use is the same exact thing. It’s a way that people learn to cope with the trauma, suffering, stress and pain of life.

That’s where the name comes from, that’s our collective burden of being. It’s about empathy and understanding and a refusal to pathologize people. I was struggling to find the right name and decided to plumb the lyrics of NJ death metal band Hath for inspiration. Frank Albanese is a close friend and an amazing lyricist, and I had a hunch that I’d find the perfect nugget in one of their songs. And there, in the song “Name Them Yet Build No Monument,” there it was:

This filling of the lungs

The urge to let slip the burden of being

To ravage the mind's weir

And numb the pain of knowing

Boreholes in the flesh

Cease the pain of the burden of being

Oblation to a Bacchic lord

In blessed poison, devour me

5. Tell us about some of the recent events you’ve tabled at and been involved with.

My favorite show I’ve done to date was an outdoor DIY death metal and black metal show in Brooklyn, put on by Isiko. This was way before I’d gotten properly set up with my table and show rig. I’d ride my motorcycle to shows with a backpack full of Narcan and test strips and borrow a corner of somebody’s merch table.

Death Island headlined this show and very graciously shared their table with me, and I’ll always love them for it. Absolute angels playing such merciless music and I can’t wait to support another one of their shows.

There had to be a couple hundred people at this show, mostly 18-25, and I couldn’t hand out my supplies fast enough. It hit me then — this is the scene I need to be serving.

Another standout was NY Scene It Local’s sold-out Trans Pecos show on October 2. I had a table then, but was still putting out my stuff in plastic Chinese food takeaway containers. All-metalcore lineup with Thorns in the Mouth of God headlining on their way back from tour. Two people got thrown out — one for being a dipshit Nazi, one for crowdkilling women. The scene protects itself real good around here.

6. What are some upcoming events and/or projects folks should be looking out for?

One show I’ve been excited about for a good minute is Phthalo Fest on 11/7 at The Meadows in Brooklyn. The homies Rust Eater are playing and suggested that I apply to table it — I did so way earlier in the year, and just forgot about it over the ensuing months.

When the confirmation email came in September, it completely caught me off-guard. I’d just started Burden and hadn’t even made the IG page yet. I scrambled to get a logo and IG together (big thanks Unknown Relic for the logo) and set Phthalo as my “hard-launch” deadline to be up and running with my full table setup and first clothing drop. Primal Resistance Prints is working on the shirts as we speak, the beanies are already embroidered, and I can’t fucking wait.

Our show calendar is pretty stacked for the next month or so, and people should look out for all those shows. Interested parties can check out our full event calendar on our website!

Two that I’ll also mention though are the second annual NYHC coat drive on 10/29 at TV Eye, and then Gutter’s Toys for Tots show with Mortician on 12/13 at Dingbatz. Come through, donate a coat or some toys, take some naloxone and Plan B from me, test your drugs, and have a good time doing good things.

7. How can people who want to help or get involved do so?

There are three big ways you can help out and join in, depending on your availability and ability, and all are equally valid.

1. Spread the word! Follow us on IG, share our posts and stories, put our stickers up in the world, and if you can, buy some apparel when it drops.

2. Donate! We accept tax-deductible donations right here. You can also donate when you see us at a show. Any amount that people can give is such a big help.

3. Volunteer! If you want to hop over to my side of the table, fill out our volunteer intake form and let me know how you can help.

8. Thanks so much for your time and for doing this crucial work. Any shout-outs or last words for the readers?

Thank you for wanting to talk to me about it! It’s such a privilege to do this work and to also know that people care about it.

I’d just want to shout out all the bands, bookers, promoters and venues who recognize the importance of this work and who are down to collaborate with me and have me support their events. There’s too many for me to list them all here, but I love every single one of them.

At the same time, I’ve been fortunate to connect and partner with other organizations locally and nationwide — Points of Distribution, the Pulse Initiative in Arkansas, and St. Ann’s Corner of Harm Reduction in the Bronx have all played a big role in helping me get situated.

And then you’ve got the other local folks on the ground: SafeSceneNJ and the NY and NJ chapters of Punk Rock Saves Lives. SafeScene recently opened a drop-in community center down in Hazlet, NJ, and it’s such a dope, supportive space. Check it out if you’re in the area!

Most importantly, though, are the people who make up the scene itself, the kids and folks coming out to shows week after week and keeping the thing alive and breathing. We’re all out here doing this for you.

For the readers: if any of this sounds inspiring to you, and if your scene needs harm reduction, you can be the person who does it. I’m just some guy who saw a need and decided to fill it. You can do that, too. Network in your scene, hit up the larger harm reduction orgs in your state for supplies and support, find some friends to volunteer with you, and just hit the ground running.

Hit me up if you want to make this happen in your scene, and I’ll do everything I can to point you in the right direction.

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