Christina: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Taking the Lead podcast where we empower people to be unstoppable. I'm Christina Hepner with my co-host Leslie Hoskins and Timothy Kino. We are already in the second month of the year and I can't believe it,
Timothy: and Christmas is fast approaching .
Leslie: I had to pause for a second. Like what?
Christina: It's so funny.
At the beginning of the year. I think it was like the first week of the year, my fiance Johnny was like, oh yeah, like it's already almost 20, 26. I was like, let's not make things go by so fast. And now Tim's like, it's Christmas .
Leslie: I know we still have some of our Christmas decorations out outside and we were trying to.
Sweating to our kids, we're like, we're just really early for this Christmas, and they can't like wrap their heads around that concept.
Christina: I know. Well the weather here in Michigan has been like super weird, so we haven't taken ours down outside either. That's
Leslie: too cold out there. I can't possibly, it's also
Timothy: [00:01:00] down in the south.
We keep 'em up all year long, so, uh, that, nothing wrong with that.
Leslie: Well, and you guys have had snow too, which is crazy.
Timothy: Yeah, it was a winter wonderland. Yeah. Yeah. So Glacier got out it, we got out in it and I had enough bathroom about five minutes. I said, all right, let's go in .
Leslie: Well, and it still always cracks me up that Glacier is a black lab, you know?
Yeah. You would just think Glacier is a beautiful yellow or, you know, white kind of lab color out there in the snow, but not the case. No. Well,
Timothy: not her. I imagine my surprise when they said her name's Glacier and she came running in the room at Leader Dog. Yeah. Wait a minute that, that's a black dog. Yeah.
Christina: is, um, does she like the snow?
Timothy: Oh yeah, she grew up in Wisconsin, so yeah, she's used to it. Okay. And so she got out there and ran around, spit doing her spinning and all that stuff, but she's, you know, she's seven now. So, uh, the uh, old nature driver started saying, okay, let's go inside where it's warm.
Leslie: Yeah.
Yeah. That's too funny. Well, we recently, uh, just last week completed our dinner in the dark, one of our biggest [00:02:00] fundraisers of the year, and it was a new location at the Royal, uh, park Hotel in Rochester. It was super fun and we're gonna just highlight Christina and her amazing job as the mc. She did a fantastic job.
She did this last year. Um. Kind of on a whim. And then this year she stepped into the role and she did. Lovely. So congrats Christina, on a wonderful night. Thank you. Yes, you did fantastic. And we highlighted some really great client stories, raised some money. Yeah, it was a really, really nice, classy, fun event.
So thank you to anybody who participated or donated towards the evening. It was wonderful. Yes,
Christina: absolutely. And thank you. It was nice to be closer to the Leader Dog campus as well. I think it really brought a lot of people together and they were able to, you know, after the event or before the event drive by the campus or like actually feel like they were close to it, whereas we used to do it in downtown Detroit.
So just really nice to be close. Yeah,
Leslie: bring it back home. It was lovely. And I remember Timothy, [00:03:00] when you were the client, highlight. It had just snowed in Georgia then too, which was kind of funny. Yeah. So you were out and making your video, I think, with Glacier in the snow, is that correct?
Timothy: Oh, yes. The film crew couldn't believe that the whole town was shut down for like an inch of snow
They laughed about it, but uh, it was a serious blizzard here, so I lost a tree. Oh my God. So it was, it was wild. So that was about four years ago.
Christina: Yeah, we had a virtual event that year. I remember. Yes. Oh my gosh.
Leslie: Yeah. It was Covid times.
Christina: Yeah. Yeah. I remember watching it from my house and having to monitor it like it was like working the event, but working it from your house, which is, yeah.
Very interesting.
Leslie: Oh my gosh. Seems like a lifetime ago. I know, but, ah, good. Well, 2025, here we are. We're off to a fantastic start and we're really excited about today's guest. He is a well-known person in the blind community, and we are honored that he is joining us and sharing his story today.
Christina: Yes, Sam Sebe, the Visionary [00:04:00] Behind the Blind Life YouTube channel has established himself as a trailblazer in the world of assisted technology.
Recognized by the Foundation Fighting Blindness as one of the best resources on the internet. The Blind Life boasted an impressive following of over 70,000 subscribers and more than 900 information packed videos. Within this digital space, Sam offers in valuable insights on navigating daily tasks, daily reviewing, cutting edge assistive devices, and engaging in enlightening interviews with key influencers in the visually impaired community.
Timothy: Sam, welcome to the podcast. I've been watching your podcast for over a year now. Uh, you've really helped me out with my Ray Band sunglasses. I just got recently received, but let's go back to the beginning of all this. How did your journey with blindness start?
Sam (2): I. Well, first of all, thank you guys for having me on.
It's, it's, it's a pleasure to be here chatting with you guys. Um, so my vision story, as they say, uh, I was diagnosed with [00:05:00] Stargardt's Disease at age 11, um, way back in, in the mid eighties. That's how old I am, . And, uh, it's, if anybody listening isn't aware of what Stargardt's disease is, it's a juvenile or an early onset form of macular degeneration.
So it's an inherited retinal disease. Uh, we lose our central vision. We lose our ability to see detail. Uh, our colors aren't, aren't fantastic. No death perception, but we do retain a little bit of our peripheral, um, which is, you know, more for just basic functions rather than anything else. Um, but it is hereditary, so my sister has it as well.
We are, we are the only two kids in the family and we both . We both drew the genetic short straw and, and won the low vision lottery. Um, but that's, that's kind of how it all started. And, and you know, kind of same old story about growing up, . Low vision and going through school, um, went through public schools, private schools.
I actually graduated from a school for the blind in North Carolina where I'm originally from. [00:06:00] And, um, fantastic. That was my first experience with other blind kids like me. And that's kind of when I, I realized that I had finally found my people and and decided that these are the, the kind of people that I wanted to hang out with.
For the rest of my life. .
Leslie: That's awesome. So did you know at a young age that you wanted to kinda get into this space and, and help people similar to yourself?
Sam (2): No, not, not really at a young age. Um, really it started, well, my, my channel's kind of known as the assistive technology channel. Mm-hmm . Um, and that's what my kinda, my background is in.
I'm an at, uh, I run an AT program and a nonprofit, but . Really it was. So I've been using assistive technology since I was a kid, really with, you know, video magnification and, and all of that. But it wasn't until I actually got a job. Um, it's very funny. A lot of people think this is hilarious, but I was a cake decorating instructor for a Wilton.
Oh my god. . [00:07:00] I know, I know, right?
Leslie: Never would guessed that was what you're gonna say. That's fantastic.
Sam (2): I know. Um. I, so whenever you go to like Hobby Lobby or, or Michael's and you see that they offer those cake decorating classes, I taught those classes for a couple of years. Oh my gosh. Wow. And it was just, it was just something I wanted, I wanted to, I've always been an artistic person, um, and I wanted a way to, to express myself.
So I, I thought, oh, one of these classes will be fun to, to take. And so I took one of the classes and I, you know, I graduated just like most people do and. Whenever you graduate though, you, you fill out a, this paper and there's a little box on there that says, are you interested in becoming an instructor?
And I, I thought, yeah, what, what the heck? I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll check it . And um, sure enough, they called me a couple of months later and asked if I wanted to, and so I had to get some more training and, and became certified and taught the class for several years. But, but that was really the first experience I had with actually
Teaching somebody something, you know, and sitting down and working [00:08:00] one-on-one with a, with a quote unquote student. Um, who most of my students at that time were older than me, but . Um, but I, I loved it. I really enjoyed it. I guess I ended up having a knack for it. And, um, so when that just naturally transitioned over to assistive technology and teaching people about that.
Christina: It is so crazy how one thing that has totally is totally different atmosphere can help you find where you're meant to be and what you're meant to do. So I love that story because you never know what can be that thing that helps you get to that place you wanna be. Yeah. And. I have watched quite a few of your YouTube videos, and absolutely love the way that you are teaching because you're really making it digestible and that is so important for people.
And so what are some of the things that you do to make sure that you content is accessible for everybody?
Sam (2): Well, it's [00:09:00] tricky and that's, that's one of the things, the questions I get quite often is people are like, you know, you're, you're on YouTube, which is a visual medium mm-hmm . And you're making content for the blind community that, that doesn't quite add up.
Um, so you, you develop the skills of, of being very descriptive, um, you know, audio describing everything you're doing. You know, I talk about people and I, I, I do presentations on creating content in the visually impaired community. And I talk to people about starting a YouTube or, or starting a TikTok and all this.
And, and I talk about how, especially if you are doing some kind of tutorial, you can't just say, okay, and then you're gonna click over here and then we're gonna click this and then, and then now we're gonna go here. You know, you can't do that 'cause. Here does is, is irrelevant to us. Um, so you get very good about describing everything.
You know, I'm going to, there's a blue box up here in the upper left corner. We're gonna click on that. Now we're gonna go down to the bottom right, and we're going to, or you know, the, the, the charging port is in the bottom left corner of the [00:10:00] display. You know, you get, get really good at describing these things.
Leslie: And it's fantastic. And so when you started in this space, right, you've been doing this for quite some time. What has been some of the biggest changes or how have you grown and developed since you started?
Sam (2): Well, technology is, is ever changing? ? Yes. Just so quickly, which is great for me. That's like job security.
I've always got something across .
Leslie: That's a really good point. Yeah.
Sam (2): But, uh, for me personally and, and changing my, you know, at my channel and, and growing my channel over the years, I'm never satisfied. Mm. I'm never satisfied with the content I'm putting out. Uh, even though, you know, people will always say, oh, it looks amazing.
The, the, the image quality, the, you know, your, your setup is great. Uh, your presentation, you know, the B roll shots, all of that. And I, I said, yeah, but it's, it's just, it's from years of . Not being happy with my own content and saying, how can I fix it? How can I make it better? And I think that's, that, uh, maybe [00:11:00] separates me a little bit from the pack and has helped me grow.
Timothy: Wow. So Sam, let's say, uh, there's a product out there that you want to try. How's the process? Do they reach out to you or you reach out to them? And how long do you use that technology before you do a review
Sam (2): of it? It's a little bit of both. Honestly. I, I, I have gotten to the point where companies reach out to me and ask if I want to.
Check out the new product. Uh, sometimes I get things before they're even released to the market. You know, uh, I'm, I'm, it's kind of crazy when I think that I'm the first person in this country that has this, this device right now. And it blows me away sometimes, but, uh, that's so cool. But then sometimes I reach out to companies.
I actually recently just had a, so I do a members only Zoom call for, for members of my channel. We do a monthly zoom call and one of my members in the call was just telling everybody about these new sunglasses, uh, from a company called Sun Ski. And they make like really high quality outdoorsy, you know, sunglasses for people [00:12:00] skiing down mountains and snowmobiling and all this crazy stuff.
And he loved them because they have . Light blocking things on the sides, uh, shades on the sides and they're super refl reflective to block out all the sun. 'cause he is very light sensitive. And so he is like, I think these would be great for your channel. You should reach out to him. And so I'm like, ah, sure, why not?
So I sent him an email to the marketing team and I said, this is who I am, this is what I do. I'd love to work with you guys. And they were super cool. They wrote me back right away and said, yes, this is awesome. You know, we'll send you a couple pair. We think this is a great fit. So I tell people all the time, it's
You know, just ask, what's the worst thing that can happen? They say, no. Okay, no problem. At least you, at least you tried.
Leslie: That's so cool. And like, what a great space to be in to do that. And so once you get the product, then how long do you kind of play with it or test it out and before you kind of like, I'm ready to teach this, or really show it off to your, your followers.
Or do you choose not to show it off? I guess that's another question.
Sam (2): Oh, yeah, yeah. Okay. That, that'll be the follow up [00:13:00] question. Okay.
Sam: Sorry, I got excited there. .
Sam (2): No, no, no. That's a good question. Um, no, so I, it, it depends, honestly, a lot of these devices, especially, you know, like video magnifiers, things like that, I've used every single one on the market.
I've tried them all. I, I train them in in my office. I've got rows of CCTVs in my office. Mm-hmm . And they, they don't . They're not much different, one from another. So it's pretty within just an hour or two. I've got a pretty good handle on how this device works and what it's bringing to the table as far as, you know, functionality for our community.
And I, I can, I can relay that to the audience. Um, some things though, you know, especially like, like I'm gonna be receiving the new, we walk smart version two in a couple of weeks and I will definitely . Use that for several weeks, try it in a bunch of different situations. 'cause that's, that's a little bit more complicated of a device.
Yeah. And, and you know, there's a little bit [00:14:00] more, um, at stake with a review for that kind of device. Um, so it, it, it just depends on, on how long I have it. And in the follow up question. Yeah. , the juicy details. . So I, my rule is that I only make content for the blind community. Mm-hmm . Yeah. And so I get, I get emails all the time from companies and that these are just kind of mass blanket emails that they're sending out to tech reviewers.
And it just, it's a product that has nothing to do with, with the blind community. And so I don't even respond to those. I just kind of delete 'em. Mm-hmm . But if one comes along, um, and it makes sense, I will make a video about it. But I also . I even have this media kit that I'll send out to comm, uh, companies, and it outlines information about my channel, but prominently displayed in the media kit.
It says that I only do honest reviews. Mm-hmm .
Sam: Yeah.
Sam (2): My, my loyalty is to the audience. It's not to a. Company is not to a distributor, it's not to a manufacturer. Even if [00:15:00] you're paying me for this video, I'm gonna be honest. Mm-hmm . And you have to be okay with that, or we're just not gonna work together. And luckily everybody's super cool about that.
You know, it's in their best interest to get an honest review about their product. Uh, but I have received some things that in the past where . I got a device once and I had it for a couple of days and I was just like, this is terrible, . And it was the, a device made for the, the, the blind community. I was like, this is just horrible.
And so it was a distributor that wanted me to make a video. Um, I won't name any names, but uh, it wasn't even a manufacturer of the product or anything. It was this distributor and . Their goal, obviously is for me to make a video, people to get eyes on it and then buy the product. I mean, that's their end goal.
And I, so I wrote 'em back and I said, look, I can make a video for you. And he was gonna pay me for this. I said, I can make a video for this, but it is not gonna be good for you. 'cause this is terrible and I'm just gonna rip it apart for 20 minutes and it's not gonna [00:16:00] be good. Yeah. And I said, so I'll let you, you know, I'll give you an opportunity to back out of this deal right now,
And he said, thank you very much, it was a pleasure. Have a nice day, .
Leslie: Yeah. But that's really kind of you to do that. Yeah. Yeah.
Sam (2): That's not my goal. I, I want to, you know, nobody wants to watch a video where I'm just tearing something apart for 20 minutes and I don't wanna make that video, so. Yeah. Yeah.
Christina: And I love that you stick to your mission of.
Being informative, whether it is positive or negative to help your community. That is so important, and I think that is good for people to know too. Mm-hmm . And it also helps them build their product better as well. So if there's something that you review that isn't working for you in your community, they can make that better and better for everyone who's gonna be that consumer.
Sam: Yeah, absolutely.
Leslie: Yeah. Do you feel this is how it kind of, you've built your community by building that trust and being super honest about the reviews that you're doing and the teaching that you're doing? I.
Sam (2): Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, it's, it's, at the end of the day, it's my reputation. Mm-hmm . [00:17:00] Um, you know, this is YouTube and content creation.
I, I teach, like I said, I, I, I run an at program at a nonprofit, but I do that two days a week. The other seven days a week is all content creation. And so this is my job and I don't wanna do anything to jeopardize that. Uh, I just had this conversation with a company the other day. They, they . Said, um, you know, well, we just wanna make sure you're gonna do, you know, we, they wanted to send out a product before we had any kind of contract signed or anything like that.
And they're like, they were hesitant. And I said, look, you know, your product's great, but it's not something, it's not so wonderful that I'm gonna jeopardize my, my reputation on, and, and, you know, and, and do something dishonest to you and your company. Mm-hmm . Um. I said, you can trust that it, I'm, I'm up and up and, uh, you know, I'm, I'm above reproach and all this, and I'm not going to , you know, it's, it's my reputation at the end of the day and I, I'm not gonna do anything to, uh, jeopardize that.
Leslie: Yeah. You are your brand. I mean, you are everywhere too. Like, I have been at conferences and I hear about The Blind Life all the time, and [00:18:00] I think we got connected because one of our. Team members was at a conference and met you, um mm-hmm. Yep. And was really excited and asked you to join the podcast. So thank you to Barry.
He loves a good shout out. Yes. So thank you Barry . Um, which is amazing. And it's so good that you're at those conferences and talking to people and I'm sure getting more ideas. That's where I love to go for conferences, um, and get all the new technology. We do different webinars and things like that, and it's great to connect and, and make those, um, interactions happen.
So now . What is going to be? Do you have anything new and exciting on the way? Are you continuing to just put more content out there, explore new accessibility, um, options or assistive technology? What are, what are you doing next?
Sam (2): Yes. Really all of the above, uh, . I am, uh, I travel a ton. Last, last year in 2024, I, I flew on 54 airplanes.
Oh,
Sam: man.
Sam (2): Yeah. Um, and so I do a lot of speaking engagements, uh, presentations. I. Uh, I, I did 15 keynote presentations last year. Yeah. Oh my
Leslie: [00:19:00] gosh, that's huge. .
Sam (2): So, and it's all conferences, like you said. Yeah. Um, so I love getting out there and meeting people. I am going to the A TIA conference at the end of this month.
Nice. Um, I'm gonna be at the Stargardt Summit in Boston next month. Okay. Uh. I'm gonna be at csun also in, in, well, in March. Mm-hmm . Out in Anaheim. So, uh, I'm even going to a camp for blind kids in Colorado next month to be a, uh, to help like as a chaperone. Um, nice shout out to the Xmo ex MO Mo Extreme Mobilities Camps.
Leslie: I love that.
Sam (2): Yes. Fantastic. It's a great organization getting kids out there, skiing and snowmobiling stuff, so, um, anything I can do to help support them is, is fantastic, but . And then as you said, just constantly putting out content. Mm-hmm . Um, you know, trying to showcase the, the newest, the latest, the greatest assistive technology on the market.
Um, but also keeping it simple too. [00:20:00] And I, I get a lot of people talking about, you know, oh, you making these, these videos about products that are way too expensive. I can never afford these things, but I also do like DIY. Videos. Mm-hmm . I've got my one coming out next Saturday. Um, or I'm, um, actually it's, uh, already out is a
Lemme do that again. The video that I released, a video at the end of January that was about using your phone and, uh, an app, the Seeing AI app. Yeah. To read subtitles in movies. You know, if, if you don't want full-blown audio description, talking everything, saying everything out loud, you can set up your phone and it will just read the subtitles in like a foreign film.
And, um, simple, simple, easy. DIY solution to a problem that a lot of us experience. Uh, so I try to put out content for everybody.
Timothy: So Sam, what's it like to be in collaboration with Apple and Sony and Google?
Sam (2): It's, it's kind of crazy, uh, . [00:21:00] I think I, every now and then I, I take a step back and I'm like, this is, this is a crazy life that I'm living.
Um. And over the last 10 years. And one thing though, I've learned you, we hear these names, Google, Amazon, Sony, uh, I've been working with Johnson and Johnson and, and you think . That's incredible and these amazing, huge companies. But then you gotta, you gotta realize that I'm working with a tiny little team
Sam: Yeah. That is part of this
Sam (2): big company. You know, , I'm not working with Apple. I'm working with a tiny little Apple accessibility team. Yeah. Uh, which is still fantastic. But it's, it's, it's amazing. It's, it's so cool. Um. Some of the nicest and and easiest people to work with. Uh, I've worked with tiny companies that were nightmares to work with, and then you work with these giant companies and they're like, just do whatever you wanna do.
It's fantastic. And I'm like, dude, you guys are awesome. .
Leslie: Yeah. That's incredible. And that they know you like, I mean, that's huge. I feel like that's like you've made it right? Like they're reaching out to, to you and wanting to collaborate. That's fantastic. [00:22:00]
Sam (2): Yes. Yeah, it's awesome.
Christina: And I'm sure like the impact that you're making on those platforms for others, you know, you're really making a difference because they're taking your knowledge and making tweaks to their own products, which is great.
Sam (2): Well, that's, that's, like I said, that's what it's about. That's what the whole, the whole, uh, motto of the channel is about is, is helping people live their best blind life.
Christina: Yeah. Yeah. And I have to ask, you know. You got into this space and you know, you told us your journey and how you got into it, but if somebody else is kind of looking to do sort of the same thing or looking to have their voice heard in this way, what advice might you give someone who's looking to start doing content?
Sam (2): Well, the first thing I tell people is that. You, you, you just have to start. Uh, that's the biggest hurdle that a lot of people run into is they, they kind of, it kind of goes back to imposter syndrome, you know, well, I'm not good enough who, who's gonna listen to me? Mm-hmm . But on YouTube, on Instagram, on TikTok, uh, for the next week [00:23:00] or so.
Right. , uh, . You. Everybody has a voice. Everybody has a voice, and everybody's story can be heard and everybody's journey can be heard, but you have to get started and don't get hung up on. Well, I don't have the right camera, I don't have the nice lighting, uh, all of that. I. I've got videos on how to start creating content with low vision and how to set up, uh, your phone in front of a window, and that could be, you know, get a really great shot that way.
It's just you, so don't, don't fixate on that kind of stuff. I. You have to start. Um, I, I once heard a quote where they said, you don't have to be great to start, but you do have to start in order to be great. And it's so true. It's so true. Start putting stuff out there. It's going to be terrible at first.
Nobody's gonna listen to it. Nobody's gonna watch it. That's the way it is for everybody. Uh, I've been on, on YouTube for 11 years now and I tell people, you can skip the first two years of my YouTube. [00:24:00] Journey because it was terrible. . That was all terrible. It's not, it's not good information, , that's just the way it is.
But you gotta, you gotta get the ball rolling and start putting stuff out there, and eventually it will grow into something amazing.
Leslie: I love that. I think that's a fantastic quote. And just an overall for everything in your life. You just have to start. Yes. And that is the hardest thing to do. I think about that all the time.
Trying to write an article or something and it's a blink document. It's like, oh my gosh, it's, but once you start, like you can do it, you know? That's fantastic. Thank you so much. See, for hearing here, please let everybody know where can they find you.
Sam (2): Well, I am very easy to find, uh, . If you just Google the Blind Life, you'll find all of my stuff.
But you can check out my website, the Blind life.net n et and of course on YouTube, the Blind Life, um, on Instagram, the Blind Life on TikTok, the Blind Life, the Blind Life Podcast available on all your major podcast platforms. So yeah, I'm pretty much everywhere. ,
Leslie: thank you so much for joining us today and we know you are very, very [00:25:00] busy and so we certainly appreciate your time.
Sam (2): Oh my pleasure. Thank you guys. Yes,
Leslie: thank you. And thank you so much for listening to the Taking the Lead podcast. I'm Leslie Hoskins with host Timothy Kyo and Christina Hepner. We hope you enjoyed learning about Sam and the Blind Life. Please join us next time as we continue to dive into the world of blindness.
Christina: Yes, and if you'd like to learn more about applying to our free services at Leader Dog, you can head to leader dog.org or again, if you wanna learn more about Sam, you can head to the Blind life.net and find all of his channels and information there. Or for us. If you wanna learn more about our services, you can also call us at (888) 777-5332.
Don't forget, you can reach us at taking the lead@leaderdog.org with any questions or ideas. If you like today's podcast, make sure to hit subscribe and check us out wherever podcast Stream.