Jose Mangin Celebrates Science + Metal With Public Charity

On Friday night's edition of Loudwire Nights (Dec. 8), Metal Ambassador and longtime SiriusXM personality Jose Mangin hung out with Chuck Armstrong to celebrate his public charity, Headbang For Science.

"In September of 2014, I was living in Bloomfield, N.J., and I had a dream one Saturday night," Mangin explained to Chuck about the start of his charity that brings together his love of science and heavy metal. "It might have been the edibles, but I had a dream and it was a very vivid dream and I woke up and went to LegalZoom and I signed up for a non-profit."

As Mangin quickly learned, the process to set up a 501(c)(3) is, in a word, overwhelming. On top of that, Mangin and his family moved from New Jersey to California and so his dream got put on hold.

But he never forgot about it because it was more than just a dream — it was deeply personal for him.

From Pharmacy to Rock and Roll

Thanks to the 1988 horror movie The Serpent and the Rainbow, Mangin fell in love with science. So much so that he did everything he could to graduate high school with honors, which he did. He received a full-ride academic scholarship to the University of Arizona to study chemistry.

"That's where I started, [I did] college radio in '98 just because it was fun," he recalled, admitting admitted he never thought radio would turn into a job. "I was just doing it because I did it already, I was making mixtapes, I was playing music for my friends. Now I was just doing it for college radio."

As his love of radio grew, so did his passion for science. He moved to Memphis to go to graduate school for pharmacy and also to work at the student radio station. With a few years left before he could have been a doctor, he made a change and left to help run a metal department for a record label.

"I decided to pursue a life of rock."

But he never lost sight of his roots in the science world — and that's where his dream came in.

The dream that started in 2014 and was put on hold eventually took shape and turned into the "only public charity dedicated to headbangers who excel in science."

"I'm looking for students that are bleeding metal," Mangin said. But, as he was very open about, they also have to have a desire to pursue studies dedicated to science. Recently, Headbang For Science awarded its first scholarships — three $11,000 awards.

"The winners are 4.0 students and they're just the biggest nerds and I love that ... I want the die-hard student that loves metal and molecular biology."

What Else Did Jose Mangin Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

How anyone and everyone can help support Headbang For Science, from individuals looking to donate to record labels wanting to get behind the cause
Why he thinks hard rock and heavy metal are stronger today than they have been in a long time
Some of the difficulties of running a 501(c)(3) by himself — and some of his dreams for Headbang For Science