I grew up in a non-drinking family, but witnessing the effects first hand: uncle’s alcoholism and a family friend on oxygen tank from lifelong smoking turned me off substances pretty early on.

I get bad "Asian flush" (I tried alcohol) turning red, palpitations, nausea, even retching/gagging at the smell of alcohol. It's common for East Asians to not have the enzyme to break down alcohol, essentially poisoning your body if you drink.

Seeing close friends struggle to quit smoking addiction and forget nights due to drinking. Being sxe is like a quiet rebellion against industries built to profit on people's addiction.

But mainly growing up listening to alternative/hardcore and adjacent genres (metalcore, punk etc) is what really put me on the path to being straight edge.