S1 (Speaker 1)
This is Studio One on Vision Australia Radio.
S2
Hello, I'm Matthew...
S3
And I'm Sam, and this is Studio One, your weekly look at life from a low vision and blind point of view here on Vision Australia Radio. On this week's show, we're very excited to be welcoming a man of many talents to Studio One. You may know him as the blind skateboarder, but he's also a star of YouTube, a judo player, a motivational speaker, a gigging musician, and a loving husband. His name is Anthony Ferraro and he's a whirling dervish of positive energy.
00:58
S3
As we always say at this point, please do get in touch with the show. Whether you have experience of the issues covered in this episode of Studio One, or if you think there's something we should be talking about, you never know. Your story and your insight may help someone else who is dealing with something similar.
S2
Yes, please do. Our phone number, good for both calls and text is zero, four, 507 834. That's zero for 500 studio.
S3
You can also email studio one at Vision Australia-dot-org. That's studio1@visionaustralia.org
S2
We also accept complaints and heckling through the medium of Twitter. Vision Australia Radio can be found at at VA Radio Network and can be found at twitter.com.WhingingPom
S1
This is studio one on Vision Australia Radio.
S2
Hello there Sam.
S3
Hello, this is a recording. I'm already on holiday.
S2
Yes. Dang right. Well, having to record a day early, Anthony Ferraro. You haven't come across him, have you?
S3
No. Not really. The name does seem familiar though. Yeah.
S2
Okay. So. So he's somebody I came across on YouTube. Not because I was just it just popped up in my feed. So he's mainstream enough and getting enough views on his videos that he is consumed generally, shall we say. And he was initially known for his skateboarding antics, and it's most amusing watching him riding a skateboard with a long cane. It's quite, a quite a thing to watch, to be honest. Sam. I don't know if you've ever tried it.
S3
I'm. Yeah, flat out trying to ride a skateboard. I got to admit, unless you're one of those nice big, long things, I tend to just fall off them.
S2
Yeah, well, I've fallen off them as well, so I guess it isn't that uncommon. But he also. He has many more strings to his bow. He's just got this amazing positive energy and I just. And I don't say that about people. I don't like people who have positive energy. I like grumpy people better, but it was an absolute pleasure to to speak to him. And I think you will enjoy this interview. Our guest on this week's Studio One is a true renaissance man. He's a short film maker, he's a skateboarder, he's a podcaster, he's a gigging musician, he's a travel journalist, and he's a judo player. That's the right term, isn't it, Anthony?
S4
That's it. Yeah.
S2
His name is Anthony Ferraro, and I've been waiting to meet him for a long time. Anthony, how the devil are you?
S4
I'm doing wonderful. There's one thing you forgot to mention, Matthew. That's that I drive for Uber. Yeah. Yeah.
S2
Well, I didn't also, I didn't want to bring the night shift. You do doing the keyhole surgery. I didn't want to bring that in. I thought, yeah, too much.
S4
Leave that. Yeah.
S2
Second question on this show is always where are you? And can you describe it for us?
S4
Yeah, I'm currently sitting in my recording studio and it is a mess right now. It's full of skateboards, guitars, microphones, mic stands and there's and shoes, skate shoes. And then there's, there's soundproofing along the walls and some skateboards hanging up and some pictures that I have no idea what they are.
S2
Geographically. Where are you?
S4
Oh, sorry. I'm in New Jersey. New Jersey, in America. It's a small beach town called Spring Lake.
S2
It sounds wonderful.
S4
It is.
S2
Have you... [indistinct] always lived there?
S4
I grew up here, but I moved away when I was 18. I want to say 20 years old. I moved to California for about a year, and then, um, I moved back here, and I lived in New York City for a while in Brooklyn, Harlem and Brooklyn, and then moved back here during the pandemic. Scored on an apartment a couple of blocks away from the beach and couldn't say no.
S2
Yeah, because you surf, of course, as well, don't you?
S4
Yeah, I do surf. Not when it's cold. I like to surf in the summer. But yeah, I do love to surf as well.
05:07
S2
I came across you so genuinely in a mainstream kind of way. Although I do this show every week, your videos of you skateboarding popped up on my telephone, and I've played a couple of them to our gentle listener already. They normally start with you screaming, I'm blind! And this is how I juggle chainsaws. How did all that start? What inspired you to start? I love them, by the way. I'm genuinely always happy. I'm normally on the toilet when I [indistinct] you. How did it all get going? How did you. How did you think to do that?
S4
Yes. So it all happened during actually, during the pandemic. My wife and I... I was training judo nonstop, and it was time, like, the world paused, you know, it was like I had no idea what was going to happen. And I decided, you know, one way I can make people smile in this dark time was through music and through playing guitar and singing. We decided to go on a 10,000 miles, seven week cross-country road trip and live stream me playing music in these beautiful backdrop locations to the world and by the world. When I say the world, I mean three people on Facebook and we we got home from this trip and I wanted to reach more people.
And I started scrolling on Facebook and it was it was just making me so sad and mad and and sick to see all the the negativity. It was during the time of the election as well. So there's all this like fighting and divide, you know, division. And everyone was just no one was being nice to anyone. And it really hurt me. And I wanted to create a positive thing on social feeds where like people when they're scrolling, maybe, maybe 1 or 2 people might come across like my videos and feel some sort of inspired or motivated or just like, laugh for a minute and, you know, kind of get out of their out of their negativity or whatever it might be.
And it started with my wife said, you should do a video on TikTok of you dancing with your cane. It might go viral. And I'm like, absolutely not, not not doing that. And I decided to do a video of me talking about, you know, who I am and what I do. And I said, you know, hi, I'm Anthony, I, I'm training for there's one thing different about me. I'm blind. And I was like, I'm training for the Paralympics and Judo. I'm on team USA. I skateboard, surf, you know, do all these other things. And, I said follow along for my journey for more.
And that video, I went to sleep. It had like 100 views and about 30 followers. And I woke up and it went viral with all these questions of people asking me like, you know, how do you do this? How do you do that? You're so inspiring. You know, you really helping me get out of my situation and not make excuses and things like that. And it kind of just kept going on from there. I was like, well, I'll show you how I do these things. And it started with, you know, the blind started because most people didn't know I was blind when I was doing stuff. And it was kind of like, you know, the algorithm, you know, that stuff works.
So it's like you got to put in front of people's faces because you got to dumb it down as little as possible and tell them I'm blind. And that kind of started my whole tagline of I'm blind and this is how I or I'm blind, let's go do this. And different things like that.
S2
I can't wait till the end of this because I'm going to get, I hope I'm going to get to do the magic way in which each video ends. And that's scream one love in unison with you. But I'm not. I don't want to go early. I don't want to go early.
S4
No.
S2
So the judo thing. Is quite serious. You, as you say you are, are you? You're training with the US team, is that right?
S4
Yes. So we all live in different places in the country, but we train on our own and then we meet up in these like world championships and different competitions around the world. And yes, I'm on Team USA trying to compete to make it to the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.
S2
That's amazing. What an incredible opportunity that is.
S4
It really is.
S2
Are you any good?
S4
I don't know. It depends.
S2
Sorry. No.
S4
It depends who you ask. But I train hard. And you know when it's time to kick my butt into gear. I really do about like a month or two out from a competition. I'll really turn it up. And I'm, you know, I'm constantly exercising. I really when I'm not exercising, I feel depressed. So I try to stay in shape and, you know, just keep things going. Because aside from the judo, there's, as you said, there's so many other things I'm doing. So I can't just focus on that. And if I did it, it starts. You start to lose, you start to get a little burnt out. So it's good to stay like diversified.
10:04
S2
OK. Yeah. It strikes me that your your attention, you're probably easily bored by the sound of you.
S4
It depends what I'm doing.
S2
The videos and stuff. They've they've been quite successful and it seems to me now it's got a bit more exotic in the last little while I've seen. I'm blind and this is how I go to Disney World and I'm blind. And here I am at the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Is that is that partly financial success, or would you have been doing that anyway?
S4
No, I would be doing that anyway. Don't make much money. Believe it or not, it's more just a passion. I love showing the world and my whole goal ever since I was a little kid. They always ask, what do you want to do when you grow up? All I could say was, and this is real, all I could say is I just want to help people. And that's all I wanted to do and show people that no matter your situation, you can you can do things. There's, you know, there might be obstacles or barriers, but there's way to get around them or through them, and there's ways to figure things out and, and really achieve the goals that you want.
S2
I guess, from what I can see as well. More recently, you've started getting gigs as a motivational speaker, doing that kind of thing. How's all that going?
S4
Yes, right. I've been doing that for about ten years. That's been my main thing, actually. That's like my main source of income for my family and things like that. So that's been, um, that's been a big one for me. I love speaking to different, you know, anywhere from I've spoken to kindergarten up to, you know, corporate businesses and things like that, any type of event or anything I'm able to, you know, really mold my speech towards that and, and help people. I at least I hope.
S2
I don't know how you do that. I freak out when I have to stand up in front of a group of people again, partly because I can't see them very well. Uh. Do you? Strikes me. You. You attack everything you do with courage. Do you get nervous before speaking?
S4
Oh, I get it. Just as nervous as if I'm about to fight a judo match. I get extremely nervous. And I think it's the nerves that kind of you need to use to drive you forward to do these things.
S2
Yeah. No. Fair enough. Um, the interesting thing, again, going back to the travel idea is obviously you tour around doing this. I've got a lovely question for you, and please take it in the spirit in which it's meant. So, Anthony, you're blind. What's the point of traveling everywhere? You can't see anything.
S4
Oh boy.
S2
You had that one before. Have you had have you had that one?
S4
Yeah. There's, you know, you you see the world through your other senses. You touch things, you smell things, you taste the food, you freaking, you know, you hear all these amazing sounds. And my wife is incredible. I always say the day I met my wife was the day I was able to start to see, because she really takes the time to slow down and really describe things to me visually on what I'm missing and and really be like, come feel this, come feel this, or, you know, come listen to this. And she's really incredible. And putting herself in my position and helping me navigate the world in that way.
S2
Can we give her a name, please?
S4
Kelly. She's she's my the love of my life.
S2
Oh. How did you meet?
S4
We met on the Jersey shore. My best, one of my best friends growing up. He is married to her sister now. At the time they were dating and I met her when I just got home from Tokyo from training, and she had just gotten around home from traveling in Thailand because she's also she works remote in tech in the tech industry, and she likes to travel as well. And we both talked about our love for traveling. And we actually the first night our friend made fried chicken, and this is when she knew I was different because the only three people left eating fried chicken going up for maybe like the seventh round was me, her and her sister. And she's like, oh, this guy can hang.
And then we asked her to be my date to my first ever film premiere for my film, A Shot in the Dark, that this guy, Chris Dorsey and my brother Oliver filmed about my life as a blind wrestler and dealing with adversity and things like that. So it was she got a big intro into my life real quick.
S2
Yeah, no, the affection you have for each other clearly comes across when she. Because she's normally one holding the camera for you isn't she.
S4
Oh yes.
S2
Yes. And you live together and you work together and. Yeah, it's quite charming, I think.
S4
Thank you. Yes. It's really. She's the business minded, you know, brains behind things. And I'm just the talent at this point. He does it all.
S2
You're the dancing monkey.
14:58
S4
Yeah, yeah. I come up with ideas and she'll help me work them out, and she'll just be like, do whatever you want. I'm just holding the camera. And she'll count down between scenes. She'll say 3 to 1, so I know where she is. So I know which way to look because everyone always asks, how do you look at the camera? I'm not. I just know which direction it's in. But so things like that, and she does all the editing. She does the editing for my podcast with my buddy Dame and Sheena.
She does the Four Bad Eyes podcast with two blind guys, you know, running a podcast. She does the editing, the filming for those videos, and she produces the whole thing. So she's she really works many jobs. I don't know how she does it.
S2
Yeah. Um, how's the podcast thing going? I've listened to a couple of episodes. It's much more high energy than this one. Lots of shouting. Very American.
S4
Yeah. No, it's it's pretty good. It's we've been going for just about over a year. And, you know, we're starting to really think it's taking a year to figure things out, figure out our flow and, you know, the sound and just everything. So we've really kind of dialed it in now. And I think we got a really good rhythm going.
S2
And okay so the strings to your bow, there are so many of them. The music thing that's a relatively recent you've started gigging live haven't you?
S4
I've been gigging actually for a long for maybe five years now. I used to do it a lot more before, a couple of years ago, and lately my schedule has been so crazy that it's hard to really lock in like dates for gigs, but I do. I play acoustic guitar and sing at a lot of restaurants and bars and events and things like that. I've even played at like music festivals, and then I also have a band that I play, like electric gigs with, you know, more like Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan style, things like that.
S2
Nice, nice. Yeah. And let me, let me take you back to your childhood. You brought us there briefly. Were you actually born blind?
S4
I was, I was born with a degenerative eye condition called Libra's congenital amorosa. And I had a little bit of site, about 20 over 400 growing up. When I was younger, I lost a lot of chunks of it throughout my life. I think one was in seventh grade, the next was junior year of high school. And, you know, just maybe about a year ago, I lost a lot as well. So it's basically just light perception. And in perfect natural lighting, when there's no movement, I can sometimes focus in to say, oh, there's like a shape there, but I have no idea what it is.
S2
Yeah. So losing sight at that age must have been very tough for you.
S4
Brutal, because you're just trying to fit in as a kid and like, be, you know, just like everyone else. And I used to be embarrassed of using my cane. I used to I used to just hate the fact that I was blind and really feel uncomfortable in my own skin.
S2
What changed that?
S4
You know. I think something that really helped was I was scared because, you know, one of my. To get kind of sentimental, not to get sentimental, but like when I was in high school, I had a girlfriend who I, you know, loved and all this stuff, and, uh, she recited, and her parents didn't like me because I was blind. They thought, oh, he can never take care of you. He can't drive you anywhere. And that really messed with my self-esteem. Like, it really screwed me up emotionally. And my worth for, like, is anyone ever going to be able to love me because I'm blind and things like that? And I was so embarrassed.
And when I found Kelly, you know, it was when I stopped looking for anyone, I was like, you know what? Screw it. I'm going to be single my whole life. But it's okay. It doesn't matter. I'm just going to be me. And I kind of said that to myself. And that's when I met Kelly. And then one day we're walking in New York City because we were living there at the time. And she it's one of these cities where you got to really do the shoulder shrug to, like, dodge people because there's so many people, you know, you do the whole like, bob and weave thing. And I kept hitting people and they would get pissed off.
And because I wasn't using my cane and one day she's like, you know, if you used your cane, it would be a lot easier. And that was like the okay for me to use my cane. And I felt so free once I started using it. And I started realizing really how powerful, you know, it was just to to be confident in yourself. And more things started to open up for me. And I just felt, you know, I started going out on my own in the city and really attacking like my fears, and it really helped me a lot.
19:58
S2
And if you had, and I think you probably do, if you had a chance to speak to 13 year old you, and I guess in your job you kind of do that, what would you say? What would you say?
S4
I'd say, dude, chill out. It's not that bad. You know, like it's really not you. Just everyone else is so worried about themselves. No one cares that you're blind. Like, you know, some people might fear it because Linus is one of the most feared disabilities. But like, people are so wrapped up in their own world that they're wearing about, you know, themselves and their insecurities that no one's focusing on yours.
S2
I love that there's a lovely expression, which is if you're worried about what other people think of you, they don't.
S4
It's so true.
S2
Yeah, it's absolutely lovely. Um, listen, I'm really sorry to do this to you, but. But I am a proper, genuine fanboy. And one of the things you talk about. Occasionally is the passing of your brother. He was quite a special person to you, wasn't he?
S4
He's my hero. Oliver was. He was larger than life to me. Any time I said, you know, I don't know if I could do this or what am I suppose? He's like, of course you can. Let's figure out a way. And like, you could do anything like type things like that. And he was so inspired by me and, and, you know, just getting up every day and not making excuses and things like that. And he, he had this, you know, vision of telling my story. He was going to make a short film about my life. And he posted that saying, that's my little brother, I want to make a film about him.
And he ended up meeting up with this guy, Chris Sikorsky, amazing guy who, you know, took that vision and made it into a full feature length documentary. And they filmed Chris did a lot of the filming all he did a lot of the producing from, you know, he lived in California at the time. And then two years after I graduated high school, the film was kind of on the shelf, and Chris took it off the shelf and put the other first 15 minutes and the day or two before they were supposed to meet. He called my brother all excited. You know, I got the first 15 minutes I got to show you the day or two before they're supposed to meet my brother at the age of 27, unexpectedly never woke up from his sleep.
And it was like the world stopped for me. Like it was like the a cliffhanger. Like the floor was taken out from under me, and I was just dangling and outer space and everything was so dark and scary. And, you know, you kind of you have two options there is to do I just give up or do I keep living life not only for myself but for him? And that's exactly what I chose to do. And I really embodied his, you know, he was the most motivated person I ever knew. So I really embodied that from him and just kind of really try and live my life as like a, a love to him and just to honor his legacy.
And, you know, I have this amazing film that Chris finished and really did so much of, and it's like a love story from my brother also. It's just it's incredible. So it was hard. Some days it feels like it happened today and some days, you know, it feels distant, but it never goes away. But it does get easier. And I always tell people in your darkest times, when things seem the darkest in life and you feel like you're in this hole that you can't climb out of, it does pass and things do get better. So understanding that it's like a huge, um, a huge tool in life.
S2
Thank you Anthony, thank you for being so generous and candid with us.
S4
Well of course. I really appreciate that. And thank you.
S2
So let's let's turn to the future. So you've got 2024 Olympics coming up. Where are they going to be this time? I can't remember.
S4
They're in Paris.
S2
Paris? Yeah. So that's obviously you're going to have to train hard for those. What else have you got on what this new media empire you're building. Where's that going? What are you going to do?
S4
Oh, I just want to keep growing, keep helping as many people as I can. Keep speaking. Um. Give me one. Kelly. And a big a big thing coming up is starting a family. I have my first kid expected August 5th.
24:23S2
Oh, congratulations. Congratulations, Kelly. If she can hear me, it sounds like she's in the background.
S4
She's in the other room now. I had to confirm with her that I could disclose or because we haven't announced it yet. Publicly.
S2
Well, funnily enough, that's that's that's my brother's birthday, so congratulations. Okay, I did I did want to did want to ask that. And that's amazing. I'm so happy for the both of you. Congratulations. That's going to be brilliant.
S4
So much. Yeah. So it'll be a lot of also showing, you know, doing things I continue to do but then showing the world how I be a dad blind and things like that.
S2
Well funnily enough we're talking to Casey Harris of X ambassadors. Last week we were both we're both dads and we're saying the things that you have to let other people do are quite interesting, you know, interacting with them. We're great. But in terms of cutting fingernail is not really one of our things. And identifying rashes, that's the other thing we can't you do realise you're just about to become your your job title will be the hand of the wipes. That's going to be your main role.
25:31
S6
Yes. We'll need a lot of wipes.
S2
Also. You know what? It is somewhat emasculating, but there is a great bit, which is if you if you hurry, you get to make the purchase decision on the buggy. And there are some good ones out there.
S4
Oh yeah.
S2
So it's like buying, we don't get to buy a car. It's the closest I got to to buying a car.
S4
Oh, buying the kid the car. Yeah yeah yeah.
S2
Buying the buggy is the right American word, isn't it?
S4
Yeah. Got a buggy. Absolutely. I got a wagon. I got a wagon. Okay. Cool. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. You know.
S2
Gets to the back of the skateboard.
S4
Yeah yeah. Yeah.
S2
Oh congratulations, man. You know, that has genuinely brought joy to my day. And listen, love to you. To you and to Kelly and to the as yet unknown peanut. And thank you so much for your time today.
S4
Oh, absolutely. My pleasure. Thanks for reaching out. I really appreciate what you guys do here. So thank you.
S2
Can we do the thing now?
S5
Yeah. I'll count it down. Okay. Together.
S2
I've been waiting for this for six months.
S6
All right. He got to do it. You got to say it loud and proud.
S2
All right.
S4
So on I'm going to say 321. And we'll do it, okay? All right. 3211 love.
S2
Right. That's your lot for this week. Thank you very much. To our very special guest, Anthony Ferraro. Links to his website and his YouTube output will be found in the podcast description or on the website at npr.org.
S3
And of course, thank you for listening.
S2
We'll be back next week with a show about comedy.
S3
Between now and then, please do get in touch with the show. Whether you have experience of any of the issues covered in this episode of Studio One, or if you think there's something we should be talking about, you never know. Your story and your insight may help someone else who is dealing with something similar.
S2
You can text or call on zero four 507 8834. That's zero for 500 studio.
S3
You can also email studio one at Vision australia.org. That's studio one at Vision Australia Talk.
S2
And you can find us on Twitter. The radio station can be found at at Radio Network and I can be found at twitter.com.WhingingPom.
27:55
S1
Vision Australia Radio gratefully acknowledges the support of the Community Broadcasting Foundation for Studio One.
