Brooke meets Matt, a wheelchair user who shares his experiences of living with a spinal cord injury since the age of 15. The episode delves into Matt's journey of self-discovery and resilience, highlighting the challenges and triumphs he faced during his formative years.

Matt candidly discusses the impact of his disability on his career choices and the founding of his disability tech company, Sociability, an app that allows wheelchair users /disabled people to find out and rate whether a place is accessible.

The conversation touches on the misconceptions and barriers faced by disabled entrepreneurs, emphasising the importance of pushing boundaries and expectations within the disability space. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Matt stresses the fact that it's important to challenge stereotypes and misconceptions surrounding disability, emphasising the need for more positive and diverse narratives.

The discussion sheds light on the barriers faced by disabled entrepreneurs, particularly in the disability space, where there is a prevalent assumption that disability-related work is charity-based rather than profit-driven.

The growth of the business, Sociability, has not only provided a valuable service for disabled individuals but has also instilled confidence and opened up opportunities for users, showcasing the positive impact of accessibility solutions.

Matt's journey as an entrepreneur reflects the resilience and persistence required to navigate the ups and downs of running a business, especially during challenging times like the onset of the pandemic.

BEST MOMENTS

"I think having a spinal cord injury, you know, becoming disabled and then having to learn and live with that through that period has very much shaped like who I am today and how I think about things." 

"I think the disability space particularly is one that has a lot of barriers around it." 

"I love hearing other people talk about what they're really passionate about." - Host

VALUABLE RESOURCES

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/disabled-and-proud/id1621152878

HOST BIO

Disabled and Proud is the show that brings listeners a different perspective on disability. Each week this podcast highlights an awesome disabled guest speaking about their own disability; why they are proud to be disabled and why they are proud to be themselves. 

The conversations in this show will look at what challenges these amazing people face socially, mentally, physically and life in general. This show is raw, open, honest, funny, welcoming and educational. 

Disabled & Proud does exactly what it says on the tin! And whilst we are creating this space for disabled people to be unashamedly themselves, without the need to conform to society, this is also not about toxic positivity. This show will be shining a big, bright light on disability without it being “Paralympic or pity”. 

As you will hear disability is WHOLE, COMPLETE & PERFECT and whilst the topic of disability can be quite heavy - and we definitely don't shy away from the bad days - this podcast is also about having fun too! Our aim is to play a part in reclaiming the word disability - turning it from inadequacy to perfection!