[00:00:06] Speaker A: Welcome to Disability empowerment. Now, season four. I'm il Hobby Dinsini. Today I'm talking to Andrew Goetzer, who is a disability awareness consultant and podcast of Disability after Dark. Andrew, welcome to the show.
[00:00:39] Speaker B: Hi. Thank you for having me.
[00:00:42] Speaker A: So we just met eventually a few weeks ago.
Tell me, how did you find my podcast?
[00:00:59] Speaker B: I saw it on a bunch of social media, and I was looking to do other guest spots because I love doing guest spots on top of hosting my own show. And I like being a guest a little more than being the host because you get to relax a little bit and not have to do as much work. So I was looking for other disability podcasts that I could be a part of, and your name kept popping up. So I was like, oh, I better say hello.
[00:01:23] Speaker A: I'm very humbled by that. How long have you done disability after dark?
[00:01:32] Speaker B: Oh, wow. We started. I started. When I say we, I mean I, because I do it by myself. So I started, um, the fall of 2016, September 2016. So im just coming up on my 8th year of podcasting, which feels like a really long time. We have about 361 main episodes right now and about 150 bonus episodes that ive thrown out there. So in total, almost 500, which feels like a lot.
But Im so, so proud of it. And Im so. I really like that we, you know, we've been going for so long. We started out as a sexuality podcast, sexuality and disability, because I realized at the time nobody was talking about sexuality and disability every week.
[00:02:25] Speaker A: Hold on. Are you saying that people with disabilities have sex drugs like their able bodied counterparts?
[00:02:37] Speaker B: I know. Shocking.
My mind was lone, too. Oh, my God. I like sex. Wow. So I realized that nobody was really talking about it in a podcast format, and I was like, well, why don't I try that? And I had been doing some writing for big outlets before I did the podcast. I've been doing writing for Huffpo and the Advocate and a lot of queer outlets, talking about my sex life. And I kind of got to a point where typing was not getting hard but not as comfortable anymore. And I was like, what if I just talked these articles into a podcast? And that's how it started, with just me having ideas for a show and wanting to kind of turn it into a podcast, having no idea how to do a podcast. I'm still eight years on, and I have no idea how to make my own show that I do it, but I have no idea how to do it. So I'm really proud of it that, and I'm watching you record from what looks like your bedroom also.
[00:03:42] Speaker A: And I love that my, actually, I'm currently in my dad's closet because they're doing construction outside building. And if you hear a jackhammer, that's why I'm in a isolated, the most isolated sound room in the apartment.
[00:04:12] Speaker B: That's amazing. That's really awesome. But what, you know, I record from my shelf from my bedroom like I had, I don't have a studio, I don't have like a team behind me. I literally, it's a diy do it yourself, like by yourself podcast. And I think for a lot of disabled folks who want to make content, a lot of the work that we do is really do it by yourself, do it with limited support and limited assistance. And so that's why I love coming on disability pods, like disability empowerment now because I'm really glad that we're putting stuff out there. I'm really glad that it's, you know, that our voices are being given a platform and that we're creating platforms for ourselves.
[00:04:56] Speaker A: Very true. So tell me about the name of the pod Taz, which by the subject matter seems obvious, but judging cage, it's nothing. Not, uh, that you had to work chop several names like I did before you came to the name. Did sibling after dark. Tell me the creative part, the creative process of creating the name and brainstorming the idea.
[00:05:40] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, I had done a show called deliciously disabled first, so I already was in love with alliteration. And I like the idea of putting disability or disabled and all the stuff we do around disability because a lot of, a lot of titles around disability will use accessibility, like, they'll use enabled and empowered, like empowerment, which is, which are, is important. But I thought it was important to use, to use the word disability or disabled in the name because we never see that anywhere. And I couldn't figure out a way to, I didn't want to be like, this is just the disability in sex podcast because I was like, that feels really like really direct. I wanted something cheeky. And I was reading an article at the time that was like, you know, somebody had been talking about people don't think that disabled people do stuff after dark. And so I was like, well, what if I just played with the after dark idea? Like, what do we do? What? Like when you think about sexuality, we usually think about sexuality happens after night, after the dark. So I was like, well, I can just play with that and do stuff after dark. So for the first 150 episodes, it was very, very sexuality focused. But then after about that I was like, I wanna. I got bored. And I was like, I wanna do more with this podcast than just sexuality. And then after Dark was like, a good way to shift it into shining a light on the stories that we talk about that nobody else talks about. So after dark takes on a whole bunch of different meanings for me about bringing about sexuality, but also about bringing this stuff to light around disability that we don't often talk about.
[00:07:29] Speaker A: Oops, I'm sorry. I just did that to illuminate the abduct.
[00:07:39] Speaker B: It was perfect. I was like, wow, that's great.
[00:07:42] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. Totally intentional ads.
[00:07:48] Speaker B: Fuck, yeah, totally, totally perfect.
[00:07:52] Speaker A: Yeah, totally. So this podcast started a few years ago.
I have a team of wonderful people behind me who I can't rave enough about.
In our first year, we did two seasons. Season one was ten episodes. Season two was 20.
[00:08:26] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:08:27] Speaker A: Finished season three. It's 30. We're now to season four, which will also be 40.
Sorry. Which will also be 30. We just completed a mini season called a bridge to season four. Looking back at the creation of the podcast, it feels like I've been doing this podcast for as long as you have. Belittling. We're not even three years old yet in terms of the content.
So that's a bit of background on disability empowerment now.
So tell me more about doing regular season episodes and what constitutes, in your mind, a bonus episode, because I just did that with my first mini season. But I. Since season two, I've always had an arc topics to explore. Tell me about your broad sense.
[00:10:03] Speaker B: Yeah, that's a great question. My process, I wish I knew what it was. It was like, it's usually, oh, fuck, I gotta get an episode out there. I better produce something. Oh, no, the episode comes out in two days. Have I done an episode yet? Oh, no. I better, like, you know, I better go through the recordings of guests that I've talked to, find an episode, or I better create one really fast. Like, there really. There really is no process. There's stuff that I find interesting that I want to talk about, or guests that I know that I've talked to that I can be like, oh, I haven't done this. I haven't posted this interview yet. I better post it. Like, there's really. I like that you have arcs because mine is kind of like, oh, shit, I better do an episode. Oh, no. So, like, I like that you have a little bit more structure than I do. I certainly don't have a lot of structure, but. But in terms of bonus episodes, I've done episodes around.
I did. I did a whole bunch of mini series called Quarantine and Chill. When the pandemic first hit, I did.
I did about one or two episodes a week that were just quarantine focused, talking to disabled folks about, what does the pandemic mean to you? What are you afraid of around the pandemic? What are the things you want people to know about your experience in the pandemic to really hit home? That disabled voices were not being really talked about enough in this pandemic. And I was like, I can use my platform to talk about that. So I did a whole bunch of episodes around that.
I've done episodes around. I live with IB's and so I did a whole bunch of episodes called the shit is real where I talk to people with disabilities who live with irritable bowel syndrome, and just different little shows within the show that I find interesting that I like to talk about.
[00:11:59] Speaker A: Thank you for that. Yeah, I had no idea if this podcast would continue after the Fed's ten episodes. I approached it as a one and done type thing. It was only when I got to season two and started creating those narrative arcs that the podcast became a lot more engaging. And that's not to say that any cats on season one wasn't engaging. They were, and they were very engaging. Yeah, I didn't craft that season because I didn't know if it would continue or not. But from season two on Blood and to be real, I have like 50 in my head. I'll probably reach 20 before I retiree. It became a lot more engaging to me, having that structure of creating stories and matching certain episodes together. And of course, we don't have to stick exclusively to those.
It gives people, listeners, and now viewers more of more information and hopefully more to look forward to each season, to know in advance that these topics will be explored. They may not be explored in every episode, but they will be explored throughout the season. So I find that very thrilling to be able to do. And if I had to go back and restructure should season one, even at ten episodes, I would like. At the tail end of season three of the season regions wrapped a few months ago, my team started naming episodes beyond just the episode number, and I don't have any direct involvement with that. I leave that up to their creativity, and I'm always encouraged to see what they come up with in that creative process. And I think and believe that it brings more people to the table than drugs hearing. Okay, then season three, episode whatever. Vinci the gaps.
[00:15:49] Speaker B: Yeah, no, I think that's really cool that I wish they had, I wish that I had the funding and the time and the energy to have like a team behind me. It would be so great. Like I've been, I've been low key looking for years for a big studio to pick it up. But I noticed when it, when I approach big studios and I say what I want to do, they always come to me and say like, oh, cool, can we change the whole format? And I'm very protective of what I do. So I'm always like, well, no, but this is what I want, this is what I'm gonna do. Like, no, you can't take my thing and destroy it. No.
[00:16:24] Speaker A: Yeah, as you should be very protected of your format, of your broad sets. And look, you have a long track record and a loan back catalog of quality episodes ranging across countless topics that I, that I don't understand why anyone would want to mat with the format. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I mean, the title of the podcast is engaging, but generic enough to where it can mean anything. Under the sun, moon or stars.
[00:17:29] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly.
[00:17:29] Speaker A: So you never really know what you're going to get every episode unless you're doing a series, a mini series, ads you've done and you've done it remarkably, my friend. And so, yeah, you should be virtually protective of not only your format, but of your blood sets and the people you interview and the language you use. It's like I'm doing so many episodes because I want to approach people either regularly or later on and be like, even though we're only a few years into this project, we have a backlog of very diverse and very creative episodes. If you're looking to support a project through any means, and the judgen have to judge being financial.
Vince, why you should support us?
[00:18:58] Speaker B: Because.
[00:19:00] Speaker A: While we do have structure, there's a lot more freedom, particularly behind the scenes. Like every one of my team members is ads passionate about creating this project and promoting it each week.
Adds iron, adds the hoads and lead researcher and interviewer. That is incredibly reassuring that my team did sit. They may not all be disabled themselves.
[00:19:53] Speaker B: Which I think is great that not everybody is disabled. I think that. I think the fact that there's a mix of abilities in the room is very important. And I think that, you know, a lot of, and some of the guests that I have on my show are not disabled. And I will talk to them directly about their experience with disability and I'll let them ask questions and I'll let them you know, sit in their discomfort around disability a little bit. Not to, like, you know, make fun of them or anything, but to say, like, okay, I know disability is scary. I want to give you a platform to talk about why you may be afraid. What are you afraid of? What does that feel like without shaming them so that somebody without a disability who's listening can go, oh, cool, I was afraid of that, too. Now I'm not so much.
[00:20:41] Speaker A: Yeah, that's very, very important, and I commend you for doing that. And so before the podcast creation, what.
And you mentioned it bit earlier on, that you were typing up articles and talking about your sex life. But in terms, which is very bold, and I appreciate that as a fellow disabled male and member of the community. But how did you birds discover podcasts and really wanting to explore that? Was it the articles only, or was it something more than just the article?
[00:21:48] Speaker B: I. That's a great question. I've done a little radio show called.
Yeah, I'd done a little radio show also called deliciously disabled for a canadian, a little canadian show, a little canadian company just north of Toronto for a couple years. And so they would produce it for me, and I got to be the host. And so that's how I started kind of doing the audio medium was like, through them, and they would. They would produce it for me, and then I would host it, and then. But they were very structured, so they had a very strict structure of what I could say, how I could talk about it, what I should talk about, which I respected. But I was also like, I want to do something of my own. So I did that for a couple years, from 2015 probably until about 2017. And then I was like, oh, I've been doing this for this radio station for two years. And I don't think they.
I don't know. I think it was all volunteer. I don't remember if they paid me or not. And if they did, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I don't remember, but I don't think so. So I said, you know what? I want to do this on my own. And I want to basically say fuck on the Internet about disability. And so, like I said, ducking.
[00:23:06] Speaker A: Shocking.
[00:23:09] Speaker B: So I said that I want to talk about disability and fucking basically. And they were like, all right. And I said, you know, thank you so much for what you've taught me. Like, I really appreciate it, but I want to go out on my own. And there was something really cool about being an indie podcaster because, you know, you can see on both of our setups here. Like, we now have proper mics. When I started, I had no mic. It was me and my little MacBook pro from about ten years ago, and I had the little headphone jack, and I plugged that into the computer, and I pressed record and I talked. And if you listen back to the first probably ten episodes of the show, they were horrible. They were really bad. They were. Me going, uh, cool. Like, what do we. What do we talk about? Uh, all right. Like, okay. But it was me learning in real time how to engage an audience, how to get a guest, how to grow a show. And my show is never going to be big. Like, I've resorted myself to the fact that it's never going to be a big show, but it's something that people who've listened to it have said, like, wow, your show is really important. I really appreciate what you put out there. It makes me feel less alone. It makes me feel supported. So that's where I take.
I take pride in the fact that I started completely independently, started by myself, and I probably will continue by myself until the show dies a sad death. Like, I would love it if. I would love it if, like, you know, Conan O'Brien's people or, like, some big company was like, let's take your show. Because then I could get paid for doing it properly. But I. There's something so cool about. I remember when the show first started, in the first couple years in iTunes, they would show you where your podcast was in the charts of. And for the first couple of years, I was in the top ten canadian sexuality, like, podcasters. And that was really cool for me because, again, I make the show for my bedroom. So I was very excited. And then, you know, it drops off, and now I don't look at that anymore. But, like, it's so nice to see that people will still write into me and say, you know what? I've listened to your show. Like, thank you. Like, that's really. It's really cool. So I'm really glad that I. That I keep it going even when I have days, and I'm sure you do, too. You have weeks for. You're like, oh, fuck, I don't want to do this today. Like, let's just wrap it up. We're done. We're done. But there's. I think about how important it is for us to have our voices out there.
[00:25:40] Speaker A: Yeah.
So I noticed a shift in the viewership when I started getting people writing in to me, wanting to be guest, either themselves or through their agents or public cents or what have you.
And that was very, very, I was very honored by that cause. Oh, yeah, of course, I really didn't think that would ever happen. And then big name gets started coming on and it's like, I love this job because I have this innate curiosity in me that is always curious about understanding others and their experiences. And I'm not shy, not on the podcast anyway. And I, well, definitely not be shy on yours. In fact, I'll probably be more open than I am.
[00:27:19] Speaker B: I'm so excited for that. I can't wait. I can't wait.
[00:27:22] Speaker A: It's good.
And I checked analytics sometimes, and I'm constantly humbled by the analytics and the fact that we are legislated by people in other countries.
Our main leg, Cenot and viewership is in this country. But I didn't expect it the podcast and legislatorship to pick up at the rate it's been act. And again, I owe that to not only my team who again, I can't rave about enough, but also the dads who come on and share their lives, their triumphs, their struggles with me, and that they acted actively promote it and that people find it through them. And some even recommend other guests for me to consider interviewing. And so it really does to use old clay shade. It really does take a village. And when it's over, I will be more touched that it helped other people feel, let alone or change others people reception of disability away from judge a medical condition.
[00:29:29] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:29:31] Speaker A: Then I will by any other success, any other measure, because that's all well and good, but the bulma is so much greater. I want that to very much be my legacy and what people remember about me as hopefully judge the third post in a long line of posts that take this pageant project and give it a new wings and make it soar even greater than I first imagined. And so I agree with you. It's very heartening to hear that our work is making people feel less alone and that it is helping move the conversation surrounding disability for.
[00:30:54] Speaker B: Yeah, I completely agree. I agree with you so much on that. And I, you know, you talked about how you would look at the analytics and see that, you know, your, your shows in other countries, which is amazing. I try not to look at my analytics because it gives me, like, you know, it gives me personal anxiety, like, oh my God, I have to be producing more blah blah. But when I get emails from people or tweets that are like, your show is so important to me, like, thank you so much, or I'll put a call out and say, I want guests. And people will say, like, oh, I'd love to come on and like to know that people listen to it. I had, I was. I had somebody on a few weeks ago who's an actor in New York, and he's disabled. And we were talking, he goes, oh, my wife. My wife loves your show. Like, it's. And I, you know, to have that be, to have somebody who's. Who's, like, established and who's, like, you know, in New York doing their thing, tell me that their, their family member, like, listens to my silly show that I make in my bedroom. It's very cool that, like, people will let it go somewhere. And I. I know that the minute we're done recording this, I'm gonna go on my social media and shout you out. Because I think it's hard for disabled creators to get the same traction as non disabled creators. And so I think we have to really uplift each other and give each other the mantle. So I appreciate when you said you hope that you're one of a list of long hosts that will do the show that's so valuable. And I think your willingness to be like, I don't have to be the star is great.
[00:32:40] Speaker A: No. Even when eventually, when I get a co host, and I really wanted to be a female co host, because I can only approach my disability from a certain perspective, and there are multiple other perspectives out there. So Tim Rutz, the journalists and former hoax, meant the Pratts. Before he died many years ago, he was asked what it was like to be the host of Meet the Prats, and he said, I'm only.
I consider myself, and I'm probably quoting, uh, paraphrasing the quote, I only consider myself the temporary custodian of Meet the press because he didn't create the show. He wasn't the first host, and that show out lived him to this day. And so I always take that world and that mindset too hard that I want to set this up with a foundation that the final gift that I'm able to bestow upon it is it's continuation without me for hopefully many years to come, because I rely on my dads and my team more than I can say. This podcast was always set up as a interview podcast. Yes. I cannot do it any other way. I could try.
I don't think it would be as engaging for me or for the listener. Now, there are several podcasts where it's just talking about a certain subject or subjects, and that's wonderful. To me, I don't feel that I can do that no matter how much research I do in regards to a certain topic.
[00:35:55] Speaker B: I think you could. I think you could. I'm listening to your voice right now, and your voice is very. I like your voice. It's very calming. It's very.
[00:36:02] Speaker A: Thank you.
[00:36:03] Speaker B: Yeah. You have a podcaster's voice. Can I ask you what you have? CP? Yeah.
[00:36:10] Speaker A: Yet what gave me away?
[00:36:13] Speaker B: I thought you might. I heard. I heard a little bit of the CP accent in there, so I was like, oh, maybe that's what it is. So, you know, hearing. And that's why I like that you're the host, because we don't have a lot of folks with cerebral palsy doing stuff like this. And I think hearing your voice on. And you post weekly, right?
[00:36:36] Speaker A: Yes, yes.
[00:36:37] Speaker B: Yeah. Hearing your voice weekly on a show like this, it's so, so important because I, as somebody with CP, knew right away the minute you said hello, I was like, oh, yeah, that's CP for sure. And there's something. So as a fellow person with a disability who doesn't have the same kind of cool accent that you have, because I don't have that, but I wish. I wish that I did sometimes, but, you know, I don't have that, but so hearing that is so valuable because right away I can go, oh, he gets it.
[00:37:08] Speaker A: He understands a little, and that's very important. Thank you for that, all of that. That's very humbling.
I've always considered my speech impediment as nothing more than a different accent, having cerebral palsy, but 99.8% of the time does not bother me. My legs feeds in the winter and sometimes I can't. I move as well. I usually can. But what annoys me and what confounds me is how other people, regardless if they're able bodied, are disabled themselves, may react to my disability, and I want to articulate may react to it. People don't always react to it negatively, but I feel that the social model of disability, which focuses more on the barriers in place, enforced by society against people with disabilities, rather than the medical model which views disability, adds a problem to be very fix by the medical establishment. All the reliability model which focuses on it is a problem that the individual can and should fix through certain and different therapies. Long winded answer tldr tldr but I am.
I'm really shocked and did hardened on a daily basis how my disability is conceived by others.
I would rather people ask the question of why do I talk like that because I'm a disabled advocate. I'm on the air every week. If I can't talk about it, I'm gonna be shit at my job.
I would have rather people might stir up the courage and ask me the question, then assume I'm drunk and being irish, judge and help that all that I'm somehow always high, uh, that I have something else wrong.
[00:40:59] Speaker B: Wrong with you?
[00:40:59] Speaker A: Yeah, with me. And that's not mean trying to trivialize in stability.
Cerebral palsy is a developmental disability, meaning that you either get it in birth or by age three, or you don't get it. And here's a major news flash.
[00:41:31] Speaker B: Ready?
[00:41:31] Speaker A: I can't give it to you. I can't patch it down to my.
[00:41:40] Speaker B: I could toss it on to somebody. Oh, no.
[00:41:43] Speaker A: Yeah. I can't. It can't be transmitted via bodily fluids. It can't be transmitted or passed down to the next generation.
And it's just that confounds me the most, that people still think that disabilities can be passed down. And it's like. And I can only speak for cerebral palsy, which I view as a universe in and of itself.
[00:42:36] Speaker B: I like that. I never considered a universe before diverge.
[00:42:41] Speaker A: Yeah, it's incredible, but it's like. And I'm teasing all episode on your podcast, which will be more sexual related, because it is the last great taboo regarding people with disabilities that we do have sex. We like sex. We do want to get married. We do want to have families. We do want lives like our non disabled counterparts are what is also known as temporarily abled bodied. And so, again, wrapping up a long tangent, it's not the CP that I struggle with. I'm. I'm actually very thankful for my cerebral palsy, and that's been a long ads journey. What I'm not thankful for, and what frustrates and angers me is how other people make assumptions and use those assumptions, which are often very misguided, to discriminate not only against myself, but fellow people with disabilities. And this is one of the reasons why I'm constantly doing this podcast.
[00:44:46] Speaker B: Well, I'm so glad and good to bring us back to my original point. I like hearing your voice on the. Done on the. To see him from talking to you, because as somebody with CP, I knew right away the minute you said hello, I was like, oh, yeah, that's CP, all right. Yeah. And it felt. It felt like, oh, there's somebody who gets it. Somebody who understands. So I can promise you, the other listeners of the show, wherever they are in the world are listening to you and going, yup. Somebody who gets it. Somebody who, when I hear his voice, I know there's CP in there, and that makes me feel good. And I think, you know, when you. So when you worry about, oh, no, I'm being dispranded against because people think I talk funny. I would think at least when I talk on the podcast, somebody listening goes, I feel at home now.
[00:45:34] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. And I do feel that, and it's very hardening.
And that's one of the reasons why I do the podcast, which with such regularity that I do. It's judge the people outside and around me on a daily basis that I'm.
I'm mixed by it.
We're in 2024. We're not in the 1950s. We're not.
[00:46:23] Speaker B: We're almost in. We're, like, almost halfway to 2025, basically. And like, what?
[00:46:29] Speaker A: Yeah, it should confound me that some of the same discrimination that has gone on for years and years, it's still being propagated.
[00:46:50] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:46:51] Speaker A: Gotten away with on a daily basis.
[00:46:57] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:46:59] Speaker A: Always have to happen to me. And I just yet angry about it righteously because it's not right at all.
[00:47:16] Speaker B: No, no, no. And that's why I think you having a platform and being able to share with guests and you said, you know, it was harder for you to do, like, a one, a one off show by yourself. I could see you sitting there and just telling, doing a show, like, you know what? I'm disabled. This is pissing me off. Let's talk about it. And, like, I like, I think that's really valuable, and I think that you sharing that stuff with people and being so open about that on the show is so valuable and so important. And I think.
I think that. Sorry, go ahead, go ahead.
[00:47:54] Speaker A: No, finish your thought.
[00:47:56] Speaker B: I just think that it's so.
It makes me really, really proud to know there are other people out there doing what I'm doing and doing similar stuff to what I'm doing and talking about disability in the way that they want. That's how we make change. And so whenever you're mad about shit, just remember that by doing this on the show, you're changing somebody's viewpoint. Even if you never meet them and you never see them and they never talk to you, you've changed their day. And I promise you that's true.
[00:48:28] Speaker A: Thank you, my friend.
Would you speak? It's the truth, or what I hope comes across in people's lives on a daily basis. So whenever they listen to both of our podcasts I normally don't much about myself. Oh, I'm so happy you did pod cats. I'm usually more the interviewer. And even before, a few years ago, that was never in my wheelhouse at all. I liked people. I liked getting to know them. But before 2019, had anyone told me I would be doing this for my job, I would have laughed in their fades and said, you've got the wrong Hudson.
And that's that. And once I started and really got into the groove and really the zone of getting to know others on a deep, personal level, that's when it became really fascinating and very enthralling to me to really be able to reach out to others and learn about them and their stories and help.
Help bring their stories to a broader audience. The original plan for this podcast was me doing recorded interviews, no one hearing the recordings, and instead me typing up the interviews and being a professional blog on nude's side.
[00:51:07] Speaker B: And they work for you, though. That's so much like.
[00:51:11] Speaker A: Yeah, but then I remembered that when people got wind of that, that no advocate would come on and let me kill their story, nor should they. And so I switched mediums. Mediums. And I'm so glad I did because this is so much more engaging.
[00:51:51] Speaker B: Of course it is.
[00:51:52] Speaker A: Video like we did early lads season, it's added so many more layers to every single interview that it's just amazing and thrilling to be able to share the spotlight and to help bring stories to stories and intubes to the forefront and help them reach a broader audience. I feel like I'm repeating myself a lot.
[00:52:42] Speaker B: Oh, that's okay. You're doing. You're saying important shit, man. That's great. Don't even worry about it.
[00:52:48] Speaker A: And so as we wrap up, I hope judge of thirds of many, many conversations together and co episodes, and I want you to know that you always have a plate on podcast.
[00:53:16] Speaker B: Oh, well, thank you so much. I would love to come back and do more.
[00:53:21] Speaker A: If there are any inspiring advocates, actors, fellow podcasts.
[00:53:31] Speaker B: I know some people that I've talked to on my show that I will. The minute we're done, I'm sending some emails that are going to link you up. I know some famous folks that should come on your show, and I'm going to name one right now because why not? My friend Zach Kornfeld from the try guys is disabled. And I would. I think that this show would be really fun for him to do. So I am going to just send a little email to him and be like, hey, come on. His show my friend Joseph Kibler from New York, the one that I spoke about, who's an actor, also amazing. I will send some emails out so that you get some more awesome guests because.
[00:54:13] Speaker A: Thank you, my friend.
I'm very humbled by that. Said, thank you in advance. I wanted to know if you had any advice for people judge beginning a podcast or a video.
[00:54:37] Speaker B: Um, no.
[00:54:40] Speaker A: That you're self advocating in general.
[00:54:43] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. Know that your first couple things you tell, whether it's a talk, whether it's a podcast, whether it's a tick tock, whatever it is, it's gonna suck. Okay? And I don't mean that to be. To mean, like, it's gonna be horrible. You're gonna try to make it suck. It may not get the same level of traction as somebody who's able bodied, and that can be hard to navigate at first when you don't see something you've created go viral. But what I want to remind you is, who the fuck cares about going viral? If you're doing something that makes you feel good, that makes you feel happy and puts your disability perspective in the world, that's enough. That's enough. Doesn't have to be a huge thing. And I struggle with this constantly with the work that I do, wanting to be, you know, quote unquote famous and kind of getting off of that want and getting off of that need for external validation. And as I get older, I'll be 40 next, like in two weeks. Holy shit.
[00:55:43] Speaker A: Happy birthday.
[00:55:45] Speaker B: Thank you. As I get older, you know, I think about, I don't want to be famous. I just want to be happy. I want to do something that feeds my soul and makes me happy and doing what I do and doing not only the podcast, but I also have a pretty lively Instagram and Twitter presence doing that kind of stuff and talking about the disability experience that I have and nourishing that part of myself brings me joy. And so that's all I do. And I never reach virality or they never reach, like, Internet fame. I don't care. So I would advise anybody who's doing this to do it for the enjoyment and the nourishment that it brings you and nothing else.
[00:56:36] Speaker A: Yeah, I very much agree with that. If I had a choice of being well known in the platform, the podcast and video cats did very little to move the conversation surrounding disability board. All the reverse of judge being able to move the conversation surrounding disability board judge even a little bit, I would choose the ladder hands down all the way. It's not even a question in my mind, my legs wedge in my face. I looked very forward to not only having you back on Vince podcast, but also going on your podcast, but as many times as you want me to. We've talked a lot about mini topics surrounding in this episode. What do you hope that fellow people with disabilities take away from everything we've talked about? And what do you hope that people who are not yet disabled take away from the podcast? A bird show?
[00:58:37] Speaker B: Great ending questions. I'm going to steal them from my show. No, I'm kidding.
Great ending questions.
I want disabled people to feel like they have a home, to feel like they've been seen and heard in this episode, and I want them to feel like they're supported. And I want non disabled people to go, wow, I've never heard two disabled people on a podcast talking before. Or, wow, I've never heard them talk so openly about this before and think about how rare that is, but also how beautiful that is, that two disabled people with two different experiences of disability can just sit and have a conversation that's powerful. And for many folks, that's something they never experienced before for. So I hope they take that away.
[00:59:30] Speaker A: Well, my friend, as I said, thank you so much for coming on the podcast. I hope this is only the thirds of many conversations we have across both of our ads. And I really appreciate you reaching out and wanting to be a part of my journey, and I hope that I can be a part of yours.
[01:00:11] Speaker B: Oh, it's such a pleasure of mine to do this. And so I'm, like I said, and I was not, I was not blowing smoke of your ass when I said, I'm so proud of what you're doing, and I'm so thankful there are other people out there doing what you do.
It's so necessary, the work that you do and the conversations you ignite and the sparks you have with people. And, I mean, we, we chatted a lot about podcasting today, and there's so much more we could have talked about, but just sitting down and holding that space together is such a value. And I'm so honored to be given the chance.
[01:00:46] Speaker A: Thank you. Before we wrap, if people want to find your podcast, I'll reach out to you directly. How would they do that?
[01:01:03] Speaker B: Yeah, they can follow my podcast. Disability after dark goes out every Sunday.
They can follow wherever they get their fine podcasts are made. So Apple, Spotify all those places. And if you want to follow me directly, you can go follow me on Instagram is where I'm pretty mostly the biggest right now I talk about disability stuff on there. If you want to follow me at Andrew Gurza Andrewgurza and the number six, you can follow me there. And if you want to reach out to talk about stuff or be a guest on my show, you can email me
[email protected]. and there's a sign up sheet, an email form there you can fill out.
[01:01:46] Speaker A: Thank you very much, my friend, for your time. Again. I look forward to being on your podcast in the very near future.
[01:01:57] Speaker B: Oh yeah, for sure. We're gonna, we should. The minute we're done hitting record, you and I look at our calendars, we'll buck it out for sure.
[01:02:03] Speaker A: Thank you. See you soon.
You have been listening to digibility empowerment. Now I would like to thank my guests, you, Oligener, and the digital empowerment team that made this episode possible.
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