This post was updated Feb. 14 at 2:08 a.m.

When Frida Esparza is not in the gym, she spends her time exploring a different form of artistry – the electric guitar.

Esparza has been known to express herself in personal ways. She rocked bright blue hair during her sophomore year, the same year she started playing the electric guitar.

But the graduate student never thought her interest would lead her to perform something other than her bar routine in Pauley Pavilion. But she’ll take the stage Friday during UCLA gymnastics’ meet to shred the national anthem.

“It’s going to be a really special moment for her to be able to do that to share that piece of herself,” said coach Janelle McDonald. “It really leans into the individuality we celebrate on our team.”

UCLA’s culture gave her the confidence to delve into her passion for music after her sophomore season, Esparza said.

“Freshman-year me was someone who was very reserved and didn’t really want to put myself out there,” Esparza said. “But being surrounded by people that genuinely cared about me and made me feel safe to be who I was made it so much easier for me to explore different parts of myself.”

Esparza’s love for heavy metal is no secret. She debuted a Metallica-inspired floor routine last season at UCLA’s senior night.

She was browsing through a list of songs while learning to play the instrument when she found the national anthem. It only took her 30 minutes to learn.

She first proposed the idea of performing the national anthem to graduate student Chae Campbell, who is Esparza’s roommate and the only other returning fifth-year on the team. Campbell was a fan, motivating Esparza to put aside her nerves and highlight individuality.

“One of the things I was most excited about for Frida to come back for her fifth year is I felt like she still had more of herself to share and to lean into and to celebrate,” McDonald said. “To do something like this shows that she’s in such a cool place in her life, that she really is being so true and authentic to herself.”

Esparza specifically proposed performing the national anthem before UCLA’s Pride Meet – a celebration of individuality.

She initially questioned if the performance aligned with her beliefs about the national anthem. However, Esparza decided to use the moment to make her voice heard.

“With everything that’s been going on recently, I almost didn’t play it,” Esparza said. “But then I thought, ‘You know what, I’m going to play it for the same reasons I usually kneel while it’s playing.’ So it’s like my own little form of resistance.”

Esparza added that she is more nervous to perform the national anthem than she is to compete. Ranked No. 9 in the nation on bars, Esparza tied her 9.950 career-high on the event against Washington on Friday. She contributed to UCLA’s season-high 49.425 total, which ended a four-week decline on the event.

Friday’s meet presents Esparza with not only an opportunity to begin an upward trend in UCLA’s bar scores but also to celebrate individuality in Westwood.