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World Champion Lex Gillette: No Need for Sight When You Have a Vision ™
Lex Gillette – World Record holder, 4 time World Champion, 4 time medalists, Ted XTalk Speaker, Mentor , and much more.
Lex Gillette is an American track and field athlete who has proved to the world that there are absolutely no excuses. Retina detachments in both eyes have left him with the challenge of living life with no sight. Fortunately for Lex, once he lost his sight, he gained a vision.
CONGRATULATIONS to Lex Gillette for winning gold in the long jump at the 2017 Para Athletics World Championships. This marks the third consecutive world champion title in
the event for Gillette and it is a phenomenal way to start the four-year journey that leads to Tokyo 2020.
Join the Blind Abilities team, Pete Lane and Jeff Thompson, as they talk to Lex Gillette and discover what drives him to achieve such a high level of success.
You can find out more about Lex Gillette on his web site www.LexGillette.com
You can find his TEDx Talk on the web.
See complete Transcription below.
Thank you for listening!
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Transcription:
World Champion Lex Gillette: No Need for Sight When You Have a Vision. (Transcription Provided)
Lex:
Doctor said that there was nothing else they could do to help my sight and they said that I would eventually become blind.
[Music]
Jeff:
AT&T and AIRA present the hashtag experience more campaign showcasing Paralympian world record-holder Lex Gillette.
Lex:
You know, I just think of what is possible when I go out into the world and take that same energy and mindset really focusing on a specific area, taking aim and knocking it down.
[Music]
Jeff:
AT&T experience more, is an innovative social project that celebrates how blind individuals experience more through their actions, passions, use of technology, and more.
Lex:
You continue to do what you need to do and go towards that vision of what you see, then eventually it will come into their visual field as well, you’ll just really go out there and turn that vision into reality.
Jeff:
AIRA, the virtual navigator for the blind, instant access to information, and you can learn more and subscribe to Aira on the web at A I R A.io, you can find out more about hashtag experience more on the web at experiencemore.att.com.
Lex:
When I broke the world record, I overslept, I showed up to the track late, I only had maybe like 30-40 minutes…..
[Music]
Jeff:
Welcome to Blind Abilities, I’m Jeff Thompson.
Pete:
And I’m Pete Lane, our guest today is Lex Gillette.
Jeff:
The name Lex Gillette, that has world champion written all over it.
Pete:
Lex is a multi-talented individual, let’s see if we can get all of his accomplishments right, Lex is a four-time Paralympian.
Jeff:
Four-time world champion.
Pete:
A world record holder.
Jeff:
He’s also been showcased on TED talks with a very inspirational speech.
Pete:
A singer and so much more, Lex, Welcome to Blind Abilities, it’s great to have you aboard.
Lex:
Thank you so much, thanks for having me.
Pete:
Lex let’s kick it off back in your childhood, talk a little bit about your background, your blindness, how it affected you in school, and what you did to overcome it.
Lex:
Yes, so I am, I’m originally from Raleigh North Carolina, I was born with sight, so I’ve been able to see the world and I can remember one particular day I come home from school I was seven years old and went through my regular routine had played outside with friends, had eaten dinner with my Mom, and that night as I was in the bathroom getting cleaned up for bed I started noticing that the lights in the bathroom they were, they were kind of blurred, so I rubbed my eyes thinking that maybe this is gonna clear up but it didn’t, didn’t clear any so I got out of the tub and I knew something was wrong immediately once I had looked into the mirror and the reflection that, that I thought I would see was it’s kind of like a distorted figure like very faint, and that was pretty alarming to me, so I told my Mom and she thought maybe I had gotten something in my eyes so we got some water, clean my eyes out, made it feel better, but it didn’t clear my sight any so I went to bed thinking that in the morning everything would be okay.
When I woke up nothing had, had really changed.
I went to school, halfway through the school day teachers called my Mom and said that, you know, we need you to come get Lex because we don’t know what’s going on, he’s acting out of character, and I had went to school thinking that maybe this was something that was gonna you know, blow over, but I was unsuccessful in getting through that day so my Mom had taken me to the doctor and after an examination they said I needed to have an emergency operation because I was stuffing from retina detachments.
I had one operation and it was successful, I could see well for about three or four weeks, after that time the same problem happened again, my retinas detached.
So that was the pattern for the entire time that I was eight years old.
I’ve had a total of thirteen operations on my eyes of which ten of them occurred the year when I was eight, after the last one doctor said that there was nothing else they could do to help my sight and they said that I would eventually become blind.
Jeff:
Yeah those aren’t the words you really want to hear, especially at your age when that happened.
Lex:
I know that was, it was really a difficult time you know, at that age, I think the first thing that I really thought was hey, I’m not gonna be able to play my video games anymore, I’m not going to be able to play outside of my friends and when that day finally came when you know,, I woke up and I couldn’t really, I couldn’t really make out anything anymore it was, it was reality and that that started that, that journey for me you know, living life without being able to to see and of course I had to make that adjustment, and as a kid in school, I had to learn how to read Braille.
I had to learn how to use a cane so I can navigate on my own.
I had to learn how to use accessible technology so that I would be able to do my classwork and do my homework and my Mom kept me in mainstream school so you know, I’ve always interacted with my sighted peers in class you know,, it was, it was a great time once I actually got a hold of living life without, without sight.
Jeff:
So Lex, you started to accept your blindness but at what point was it that you started to accept the challenges that you put upon yourself that was probably what other people didn’t expect for you to do, or even yourself not to do, for example the basketball net that you bought.
Lex:
I would say probably around like those preteen years maybe 11-12 years old, about two years three years in of not being able to see, I was blind and you know, I was trying to just figure out life, you know, and my Mom always encouraged me to try many different things, she always pushed me to, to the max and you know, I’ve always had that mentality, I love challenges and I love trying to excel in the sense, and new heights.
For me what you’re referring to is, yeah I went to the store and I had bought a in one of the plastic basketball rims that are designed for the top of a closet door and so, I’ve always loved sports, my Mom’s side of the family, everyone you know,, they’re pretty athletic, they played everything from baseball, softball, to basketball, volleyball, everything, and that has you know, been something that was a big part of my life, and you know, I wanted to be athletic as well so I had bought this basketball rim and figured that I would be able to you know, shoot baskets and make it.
The only problem was I had to figure out a method that would inform me when the ball would actually go into the net because I could shoot all day but I would never know if it actually went in, so I took a safety pin and I tie the bottom of the net together so now when I would shoot the ball, if it was a successful basket the ball will stay inside of the net instead of falling through to the ground, so that was kind of the basis around my TED talk that I did last year, and that was taking shots in the dark, literally and figuratively, because once I figured out that if I envisioned where that rim was, you know, I found out that I could I could drain the shot all day long, I could stand anywhere in my room, shoot the ball, make it, you know,, it will go into the net.
You know, I just felt like, you know, if I have the ability to tap into this power within me inside the home, then you know, just think of what is possible when I go out into the world and take that same energy and mindset you know,, just really focusing on a specific area, taking aim, and knocking it down, making that shot count.
Jeff:
What types of accommodations did they make to enable you to get through that kind of ordeal?
Lex:
They had all of the schools that I went to, they had a teacher of the visually impaired that would, I think that, well the schools that I attended, there was an actual visually impaired program that was a part of you know,, it was a separate department within the school, so even though I was in mainstream, we had about, all of those schools I attended we had about maybe five to ten blind or visually impaired kids in, in the school so you know,, that, that department, the visual impaired department did wonders for us being able to get our assignments in Braille, put our assignments in large print so that we could still interact and be a part of, of our classroom environment and for me I would, I would go to you know, the VI room and get my assignments in Braille.
They had all of my textbooks in Braille, they had the braillists so all of the worksheets and physical sheets of paper that teachers would hand out, I could take those to the braillists and they would you know, type those up or scan them in and have those printed out in Braille as well, so all of my assignments were made available in a format that I could use, so that, I could participate in class alongside my peers.
Jeff:
Oh that’s great Lex, so is that when you met up with your coach/teacher that got you interested in track and field?
Lex:
Yes, so the head of our VI program he was an assistant basketball coach for the high school, he also would go with us to PE class, it was my freshman year, we had to go through this physical fitness test where you would do as many pushups as you could, as many pull-ups as you could, sit-ups, and one of the events was standing long jump.
I was really good at standing long jump, in fact I could stand in one location and I could jump nearly ten feet and being in mainstream school you know,, everyone else can see and that was exciting to them like, oh my gosh, like this he’s blind like he’s jumping like further than we are.
[Laughter]
At that point my teacher/eventual coach had taught me about the running long jump, he told me about the Paralympic Games and being able to potentially travel the world, and win medals and represent the United States of America and that vision was so glaring to me, and it became something that I wanted to pursue.
Jeff:
You use the words vision and sight quite differently, can you explain that?
Lex:
Yes, so I’ve done a lot of reading and I think that a lot of it revolves around sight showing us what is, you know, that’s, that’s what you see is a function of the eyes, you know, vision reveals what can be, that’s your mind, that’s your heart.
They are two totally different things and you know, sight, it can only carry you but so far, vision can carry you to the end of time, you know, myself when I roll out of the bed each morning, that’s that vision that really keeps me going you know,, thinking about winning gold in 2020, or thinking about what I want my life to look like 15-20 years down the road and how I want to impact the world, that’s what really keeps that fire lit internally.
Pete:
Excellent.
So Lex you excelled at the standing broad jump and you saw a potential, how did you transition into sports in high school, did you participate in mainstream sports?
Yes, so the first step was my coach.
His name is Brian Whitmer, and so coach Whitmer had taken me to a sports education camp in Kalamazoo Michigan and that camp was under the umbrella of the United States Association of Blind athletes, USABA, and during this camp you would learn about all of the Paralympic sports and they would encourage you to try them all and at the end of the week you would participate against other athletes, other individuals who attended the camp, in like you know, friendly competition, and up there that’s where I found out about running long jump, and that’s where Coach Whitmer had taught me about the process by which we would even compete in long jump.
And what that is, is the athlete who is blind stands on the track and they run to the sound of someone who’s standing at the take-off point or to take off board, and the sighted guide or your long jump caller they’re clapping and yelling so that gives you that audible reference as to where you need to run and jump from.
[Sound effect of clapping and long jump caller “And he yelled fly fly fly fly fly fly fly fly” increasing in speed]
Lex:
And your responsibility as the athlete is to remember how many strides you take running as straight as possible towards that sound and once you get to the appropriate step then you jump and I always tell people, when I jump I just pray to God I’m gonna land in the sandpit.
Pete:
Yeah.
Lex:
It was there where I found out that I did have a love for the sport and we returned back to Raleigh North Carolina and I joined my high school track team my junior year and my senior year, so as you can imagine, I’m on the team, I’m the only blind kid on the team, and probably the only one in our conference.
There were definitely some interesting moments with going to rival schools, and you know, kids asking “Oh like what are you doing here?”
What do you mean, like I’m, I came here to compete, I came here to beat you.
[Laughter]
But it was a lot of fun, you know, it definitely helped build that grit and you know, in a lot of ways to help thicken my skin as well.
Pete;
Did you beat him?
Lex:
You know, what I, I did, I had my fair share of wins.
I remember one in particular, I went to, we went somewhere, one of our competitions and before we get out there and compete, you know,, the kids are like, “Oh man, you jumping? You Jumping, you jumping? you jumping?”
Kids, hey’re asking also “How far do you jump?”
They’re trying, they’re trying to size you up, I would intentionally tell them something super short like oh I only jump like 13 or 14 feet, so, so they, you, you don’t have to worry about me, I’m just I’m just a blind kid, and once we actually would get on the track and start competing then I would jump and I’m going like 17 or 18 feet and now that’s….
Jeff:
You’re flying.
Lex:
Yeah, exactly, so as you can imagine some of their voices turn from you know, excitement, to just total defeat so I have to admit in a lot of ways it was it was very satisfying to be able to go out there and get those wins.
Jeff:
Do you remember what your high school best was?
Lex:
My best in high school was 19 feet 9 inches I believe.
That was good it helped boost my confidence a lot.
Pete:
I am curious Lex, did they give you any leeway or concession if you missed the board, if you step, you know, an inch or two over the board?
Lex:
No so, that’s the, the rule is once you step over the board it is considered a foul, they wouldn’t give me any leeway on that, which I mean, that also helped out as well to, you know, you got to follow the rules and you have to put yourself in the, in the best position and that means you have to train hard.
Pete:
And that served you much later didn’t it?
Lex:
Yes yes.
Jeff:
So at what point did you bridge from high school into college, and how did you end up headed towards the Paralympics?
Lex:
My senior year I had gotten pretty good in track and field and that, that very next year was the Athens Games, that was something that is on my radar, there was a World Championships in 2002, I just missed out on the standard for that so I didn’t go to that competition, so then I had turned my attention to Athens in 2004.
Coach Whitmar and I we continued to work and train and you know, he got me to the point where I was able to make the games team in 2004.
I was going in to my sophomore year at East Carolina University so as you can imagine that was, I just finished my freshman year in that summer, I was going to Athens, and now I felt good, you know, I had my first year of college under my belt, but at the same time the games were in September so that meant I was gonna miss the first, that month and a half of school.
That was a really tough time for me trying to balance the athletic piece and the academic piece but it was really important to me, you know, from an academic standpoint I had to go to my professors and make sure that I will be able to get those assignments and and be able to follow along so that once I returned I wouldn’t be too far behind.
Going to that first games was, that was crazy you know,, in a lot of ways you know, I had just gone from high school to college and in a lot of ways it was the same way athletically, I had just gone from you know, competing in conference meets in high school to, to the games, and it was a huge jump and a huge transition and I’ll never forget standing on the track in Athens in front of thousands and thousands of spectators and everybody’s cheering,
There’s so much chaos, so much, so many noises and it’s crazy inside of there, and at that time you know, you come to the realization it’s like, man you’re going back to that basketball room and taking that shot in the dark, it’s like you take that shot and you realize that man, you know, I nailed it.
Jeff:
Now you said your Mom was a big advocate for you.
What was it like for her that you were in it in Greece there?
Lex:
It was amazing, my Mom was actually in the crowd, my grandmother was in the crowd, Coach Whitmar and his wife were in the crowd, the very people who engineered that success, I was so glad that they were there because you know,, they invested so much time into me and they, they helped me out so much.
Those days where I felt like that you know, I couldn’t do it or you know, I was hard on myself, where I needed that little push, they were there and for them to see that vision unravel in front of their own eyes you know,, I think that absolutely meant the world to them.
Jeff:
Lex going back to after your 2004 experience, from then on it was World games, World competition, the game was on.
Lex:
Yes from there I was fully engulfed in college and I was definitely trying to make sure I satisfied that peace, not only because you know,, academics definitely important I knew that, the athletic life at some point, that’s gonna have to come to an end, you know, you can’t be an athlete forever, or at least an elite level athlete forever, and I also knew that you know, my Mom, you know, if I didn’t get good grades my Mom would of had my head.
College was going great, and Pan-American games and and you know,, all these competitions started coming one after another and it became something that you know,, I will look to these things and you know, mentally prepare and physically prepare on the basis of you know, going out there and getting on the podium, and you know, being able to travel to all of these places and win medals and wear that red white and blue, have had the flag on my chest.
That was amazing and it still it is amazing at this particular time, but again it just all goes back to that seed that Coach Whitmar planted into my mind at an early age and and he talked about all of those things and I began to to live out that vision.
Jeff:
So Lex, with all the experience you had with the sports and you’re still going to the 2020, looking forward to that, what was the one moment that you remember the best?
Lex:
One of my most memorable moments was, we were in London, I was on the track and London just to give you an idea, they you know,, they’re huge into track and field, they hear about a track and field competition and they’re gonna pack out the stadium.
Mind you it was a game so of course it would be packed anyway, they make you feel at home, the facilities were great, the culture is great, food was pretty good, the weather was good, and we were in a country where they speak English, so I was gonna be able to understand everything, it’s not like going to Beijing or Brazil or you know, Spain, but I remember standing on the track and I was getting ready for one of my final jumps.
I was trying to get myself pumped up so I’m you know,, I started clapping my hands in this, in a rhythm, and the next thing I know, all 80-85,000 people in the stands started clapping their hands the exact rhythm as I was clapping mine and I mean it just gives you chills in your body, and just that, that unity, and they just, it was awesome, that’s all I can say, it was something I’ll never ever forget.
Pete:
You talked about the TED talk earlier, how did that come about it?
Lex:
The TED talk came about I want to say a few years ago, I started speaking more and I told myself that I wanted, I want to have some more opportunities to speak and not being in front of people and necessarily telling my story as like an autobiographical type of speech, but more so using the story to ignite something within others and, so I said I need to find out how can I do this and, you know, someone was telling me that, oh, you should try to do a you know, a TED talk, okay all right, but I didn’t know how I was going to pull that all.
Fortunately one of my friends had a, like a connection to TEDx San Diego, which was you know, of course here in San Diego where I trained.
I went and talked to the gentleman and just to find out about the the organization and when they were having the next event and it just so happened that the TED speech was going to be in October and they had one more spot for the event and so they’re asking me, oh so if we gave you the theme, the age of magic I believe, how would you, you formulate a speech around that theme for the event and so that’s when I you know, really just started spilling out like hey, it’s such a magical experience when, A, when you had that vision and when you really can tap into that ability to take that shot in the dark, and when you gain the type of confidence where like when you throw up, you’re gonna make the mark.
I mean it’s such a magical experience when when that happens and everything starts to unravel the way you sort of envision it.
In a lot of ways I felt like that was a, like an interview for me and so they told me that, hey, we want you to take the last spot for for the show, and down from there you know, it’s a long process of trying to get everything the way I wanted it and you know, get my thoughts down, make an outline, and at the same time I was training for Brazil so I, it was a lot going on and I had to really buckle down and get it all together.
Pete:
You did a fantastic job and we’ll have a link to that TED talk in our show notes, it’s very inspiring and really great presentation Lex.
So your your notoriety and achievements in sports has offered you a unique platform from which you can provide help to other people and other individuals.
Talk a little bit about your advocacy efforts, for starters maybe start off with classroom champions?
Lex:
Yes so Classroom Champions is an organization that pairs Olympians and Paralympians to students who are in underserved schools across the United States and Canada.
I’m a mentor and this year I have five classrooms and this is all done virtually so we send video lessons each month to our classrooms by the Google community and that lesson may range from goal-setting to diversity teamwork, community perseverance, so each month is dedicated to a specific skill.
We teach the kids in that video what that skill is, how we incorporate it into our lives as athletes, or just individually, and then at the end of each video we give the kids a challenge so they can implement that skill into their own lives.
The kids will then send a video back or maybe they’ll make a PowerPoint or write essays, they’ll let you know, this is what I did to implement goal-setting, these are the long-term and short-term goals that I have and this is how I’m going to achieve them, so you really get an opportunity to you know, see the kids working, see their minds working, and see them you’re going out and trying to incorporate these things into their lives.
It lasts for the entire year so you work with them from the beginning of school until the end of that school year, so you really start to develop a bond with these kids and although we do exchange videos each month, we do have a live session, a live video call with them during the fall and during the spring and for me, I’ve told the the team from Classroom Champions, like hey if at all possible you know, I have to visit my kids in person you know, it’s something that you can’t help but to want to go be with them in person after building such a strong bond and strong relationship with them.
So for the past, I’ve been in the program for four years now, and I want to say I visited the majority of my classrooms, I will say they do have a contest, Classroom Champions does have a contest at the end of the year where they they pull names and there’s a there’s a sponsor who will sponsor athletes visits to go see their classrooms but of course you have to be one of the lucky ones that wins that drawing but, since I travel a lot for either competition or speeches, if I am in the vicinity of my classrooms within that year that we’re working together, I’ll try to to hit Classroom Champions up and say hey I’m gonna be in the area, let’s see if we can make this happen so you can go hang out with the kids for a little bit, and again have that in person interaction instead of it just being videos and live chats.
Jeff:
That’s really cool.
Lex:
Yeah it’s amazing, I also want to talk about so, then you also have a as a company called AIRA and AIRA is a company who gives the blind and visually impaired the ability to you know, explore the world and experience life in a different way.
AIRA uses the the smart glass technology to give access to information for those who are blind and visually impaired and then you have an agent which is a human being in a remote area and they have a dashboard on their computer, and when you link up the smart glass to the app on your phone that gives the agent the ability to you know, see where you are in real time.
I got to talk to an agent and say hey you know, I ran out of groceries I need to go to a grocery store and pick up a few things so you would log in, they would track your route from your home to this store, and they will give you audible directions as to where you need you know walk, so if you’re on Jones Street for example and they’re saying, hey continue walking straight, you’re coming up to 31st, I need you to make a left-hand turn, okay there’s a fire hydrant to your right hand side so make sure that you step to the left a little bit, you continue to walk, okay I see someone that’s coming up on your left-hand side maybe should stay a little bit to your right, and so they’re giving you all these directions and as soon as you walk into the store there, they’re with you as well and they’re telling you, okay you want fruit loops, okay all right let’s go to aisle 4, okay I see the cereal, okay keep walking straight and the cool thing about AIRA is they can take screenshots, which you would be seeing if you can see, if you are in a grocery store and there’s so many different options on the shelf, they’ll ask you to step back, they’ll take a screenshot so they can sit there and sift through all options and then they’re able to say okay, I see the Froot Loops there on the fourth shelf from the from the floor, all right reach to the right, reach to the right okay, boom, that box right there, you grab that one, those are the Froot Loops.
And it’s really crazy I actually learned about AIRA through TEDx San Diego because they have this thing called Innovation Alley, and Innovation Alley goes on for the duration of the Ted program in Southside, so as people are going in and out they’re able to go down Innovation Alley and see some of the really cool startups that are going on.
And AIRA is located in La Jolla, California, which is just to the north of San Diego, and that’s where I was introduced to them and its really awesome, they’re very just forward-thinking and I think it’s really you know, helping the blind to to gain that much more independence.
Jeff:
Instant access to information.
Pete:
It is a wonderful technology in fact this podcast is brought to you by AT&T.
The AT&T Experience More campaign and AIRA.
Jeff:
So Froot Loops is a new breakfast of champions huh?
Lex:
You know what, I can’t even lie, I am, I love cereal.
I don’t eat, I wouldn’t say I eat all the sugary ones as as much as I used to but, every once in a while you have to you, you gotta splurge a little bit just to make yourself feel good.
[Laughter]
Pete:
Even when you’re in training, come on man you’re in training?
Lex:
You know what, but the thing is when you’re satisfying yourself then it enables you to go out there and train that much harder.
Jeff:
Oh yeah.
Lex:
I will tell you this, we were in Rio you know, a lot of athletes realize that the food that we were getting served in in the athletes village, it you know, it could have, it could have been better, so it’s just like when your not getting satisfied and your appetite just isn’t like a hundred percent satisfied, it just puts you in a bad mood, that’s that term “hangry”.
You find it’s like man I gotta get some good food because this just isn’t, I just don’t feel right, and so as soon as you you know, you get that good piece of chicken or that good bowl of Froot Loops or you know, whatever it is.
Pete:
Comfort food right?
Lex:
Yeah.
Pete:
You got it.
Jeff:
Lex you made a comment on one of your films that I was watching and it really stuck with me, you said that while you’re in the games and you’re participating at the Olympics and stuff that your blindness, that’s not part of it.
Lex:
I like to think of it as you know, when my, so growing up in the environment that I did you know, my Mom my teacher / coach you know, they gave me access to so many resources, so much information that it got to the point where they made me forget that I was blind, and I say that
because I had so many other things to worry about, I had no time to think about not being able to see I, I needed to get through school, I needed to to train, I needed to lift weights, I needed to do all of these things that would help me become an independent individual in the world and I also focus on those things that, the blindness it just didn’t even matter anymore, like this has nothing to do with whether or not I will succeed.
It’s all about you know, having access to these opportunities and again just circling back to having that vision and seeing something that isn’t quite in existence yet knowing that you have the ability to set those goals and work hard to bring whatever that vision is into fruition.
Jeff:
So Lex what advice would you give to someone who’s in high school today transitioning to college to the workplace or into sports, what advice would you have for them?
Lex:
I would say at that age I was just trying to learn as much as possible you know, the reading as much as possible, talking to people, just learning as much as you can because I feel like what that does is, the more that you learn and the more that you’re exposed to, that allows you to expand your reach, and when you, when you’re able to have all of that knowledge and to have all of those resources available to you, it increases your opportunities and I think it points to a phrase I like to say that the further that you can see the more you can be.
I can’t express how important it is to you know, really just go out there and just to try different things and you know, sometimes it’s gonna be, you’re gonna feel a little uncomfortable but, the one thing that I do know is that when you have those moments where you feel a little discomfort or you know, things are out of your comfort zone you know, you’re on the cusp of something amazing when you have those moments because you’re really expanding your your reach.
Pete:
Well said.
Lex, you’re a singer, I’ve heard a couple of instances on your videos where you have done a little bit of singing.
How’s that going for you, are you considering that maybe as an alternate profession?
Lex:
Yes the singing so, I wouldn’t say I wanted to be a singer as a profession solely, but what I do want to do is, I want to record some albums.
I want to kind of fuse the singing piece into some of my speeches.
Of course you know I song a little bit in the TED talk and I’m singing in other speeches but really just trying to utilize that that musical aspect to kind of reinforce some of the, some of the points that I talk about in my speeches.
If it does spiral off into something that’s a little bigger than, you know, I wouldn’t steer away from that but…
Jeff:
You’ll knock them out at the Olympic Village karaoke.
Lex:
Exactly, have like a, put on a little concert for the whole athletes village.
Jeff:
There you go.
Pete:
Well Lex, we have an audience that’s dying to hear some music, you got a little ditty for us here to close us out?
Lex:
Uh, you know what, I mean of course being an athlete, I’m always um, let me see…
{Lex sings the Star spangled banner]
Oh say can you see, by the dawn’s early light, what so proudly we hailed, at the twilight’s last gleaming, whose broad stripes and bright stars, thru the pair last fight or the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming, and the Rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night, that our flag was still there, oh say does that star-spangled banner yet wave, o’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
[Whistling and crowd sound effect]
Lex Gillette with our National Anthem!
Pete:
Outstanding good job.
Jeff:
That’s a first on Blind Abilities.
Lex:
I appreciate it.
Jeff:
Lex I have a question for you.
What was the feeling when you achieved the world record?
Lex:
When I broke the world record, I overslept, I showed up to the track late, I only had, I’m not even sure maybe like 30-40 minutes to get ready for the competition and usually I arrive to the track probably like an hour and a half before.
I was already in a bad spot, I had to rush you know, go to a quicker warm-up routine than normal and, I just remember being on the track and I felt really just like I was relaxed, I was more relaxed than normal so when I ran and I jumped and I landed the mark and they said what it was, I was like what do you mean, like that really just happened right now, but I think one of the things that my my current coach talks about now is you know, staying relaxed and having that physical exertion in trying hard, but at the same time you know, being relaxed and the one thing that I remember is that, I felt like I was moving pretty good, but it just felt like it was really seamless and it was very easy and I will tell you I’ve been trying to match that feeling for the longest.
I actually tied the world record again in 2015 and it was the same thing, it felt like everything has slowed down.
Mentally I was able to really feel every aspect of the run, every aspect of the jump, and when I landed I don’t know what it is but I’m still trying to tap into that, that realm so I can find it again because I know I have some more world records inside of me.
Pete:
And what was that mark?
Lex:
That mark is six point seventy three meters, that’s 22 feet 1 inch.
Jeff:
22 feet 1 inch.
Fly fly fly and hit the mark on your sixteenth step.
Lex:
Yeah that’s it.
[Music]
Pete:
Lex is there anything else you’d like to share with our listeners?
Lex:
You know what, I mean I think we’ve hit on it the entire time, you really do have something inside you, you have what it takes and I think that is seeing it within yourself and having the courage to step out there, put yourself out there, and try new things, learn as much as possible so that you can expand your reach and I always like to say as well, sometimes you’re going to have moments where you see things within yourself and maybe people looking from the outside in, they’re just like, are you sure you want to do this, you know, they may they may question what your dreams and aspirations are but, you stay confident and grounded in what you believe and what you see, you set those goals, you work hard to bring that into fruition, and they may not see at this particular time, but if you continue to do what you need to do and go towards that vision of what you’ve seen, of (Inaudible) then eventually it’ll come into their visual field as well.
You’ll just really go out there and turn that vision into reality.
Jeff:
And that’s very well put.
It was really nice talking to you Lex and hearing your story and you know, you’re true to yourself, you’re true to what you’re you believe, in your vision, and you set your sights on it and you go for it, good for you and good luck in 2020 in Tokyo.
Pete:
Right on.
Lex:
Thanks guys.
Pete:
We’ve been speaking with Lex Gillette, Paralympian world champion, world record holder, Ted talker, outstanding singer, and inspirational and motivational speaker, and thanks so much Lex for inspiring us today.
Lex:
Thank you.
[Singing]
Thanks so much and goodbye from Blind Abilities.
One Take Jake, that’s what they call me around here, One Take Jake.
Jeff:
One Take Jake.
Pete:
One Take Jake.
Lex:
One Take Jake.
Jeff:
Pete and I really enjoyed talking to Lex Gillette.
He’s bringing so much awareness to blindness and doing so much for the Paralympic sports, helping those in less fortunate situations with his community service.
Lex Gillette, thank you for coming on the Blind Abilities, and thank you much for what you’re doing to make this place a better world, thank you.
And thank you very much AT&T for your hashtag Experience More campaign, and helping bring awareness to the possibilities.
And AIRA the Virtual Navigator for the Blind.
Instant access to information.
You can find more information about the Experience More campaign at experiencemore.att.com and you can sign up and subscribe to AIRA on the web at aira.io, AIRA
And as always, thank you Chi Chow for your beautiful music.
That’s LChiChow on Twitter, thanks Chi Chow.
Lex:
When I think of having courage, this quote comes to mind,
“For those determined to fly, having no wings is just a little detail”
“I’m asking you to take a shot in the dark to fly, and this song by the Beatles illustrates my side, my flight.”
[Lex Singing]
Blackbird singing in the dead of night, take these broken wings and learn to fly, all this time, you were only waiting for this moment to arise, blackbird singing in the dead of night, take these sunken eyes and learn to see, all this time, you only waiting for this moment to be free, blackbird fly, blackbird fly, into the light, of the dark black night.
[Applause]
Jeff:
This has been a Blind Abilities production, we hope you enjoyed and until next time bye bye
[Music]
[Multiple voices]
When we share what we see through each other’s eyes, We can then begin to bridge the Gap between the limited expectations and the realities of Blind Abilities.
Jeff:
For more podcast with the blindness perspective, check us out on the web at www.blindabilities.com, on twitter at BlindAbilities, download our app from the app store, Blind Abilities, that’s two words, or send us an email at info@blindabilities.com, thanks for listening.