For nearly half my life, I’ve had this irrational fear of taking my shirt off. As someone with large, puffy nipples and a rampant case of body dysmorphia, simple childhood activities like pool parties and shirts vs. skins games were waking nightmares. These horrors followed me into adulthood, causing my personal life to suffer, especially my romantic relationships. PEPPERONI, in all its absurdity, is about finally gaining the courage to tear that shirt off and face the world as you are; a message I wish I’d heard when I was younger.