Live on the inside with Tim Schwartz of Life After Blindness

Hello again;

I’ve been staying busy recording new interviews, and this one is one I’m especially pleased to be sharing with you.

It is with Life After Blindness

Hosted by my new friend Tim Schwartz.

First off, Tim is a talented interviewer who invests a lot of time in getting to know his guests.

Our fifteen minute get to know each other call lasted over an hour.

And both of us wished someone had pressed record as it was a masters level course in story telling for creating and growing a brand.

Another thing that made this interview special is that Tim is blind himself and he understands a lot of what I and many of his other guests have been through. So, he knows what questions need to be asked, and he doesn’t have the usual reluctance of sighted show hosts.

We talked more about my vision loss and the adaptations me, my family, and school teachers made to help me be successful.

And the best part was remembering the good days of being in the woods or on the lake with my fellow boy scouts who all happened to be blind or have some level of vision loss.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

I have no doubt that many of you will be seeing me in a way you haven’t before now even for loyal followers of my journey and my many interviews.

You can listen to our conversation here.

About Tim

My name is Tim Schwartz and I am a husband, father, musician, gamer, a baseball fanatic, computer geek and so much more!

I am also blind.

For several years, I have been involved with the Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, having worked there in the early 2000’s. In the past, i have played beeper ball as well as ridden tandem bikes in the beautiful parks of Cincinnati, Ohio. I am an avid reader and love playing games on my home PC and iPhone. I also enjoy attending plays, movies and musicals especially whenever described for the blind. In the summer you can usually find me catching a Cincinnati Reds game at Great American Ballpark.

Above all, I value spending time with my family as well as giving back to the blind community.

I was not always blind however

At the age of 13, a routine sports physical led to the first visit to an Ophthalmologist. There appeared to be a growth found behind both of my eyes. This growth was more prevalent in the right eye than the left.

Like most teenagers, this was a very active time in my life. I played basketball and ran track as well as performed in the school band and choir. Vision impairment did not stop me from dating or participating in other social activities however.

Yet.

It was a couple of years before I really started to notice a difference in my eyesight. There were black areas or blind spots emerging inward from my peripheral field of vision. It eventually affected schoolwork and extra-curricular activities like sports and music. I was still able to find ways to perform the music I loved. This was done by memorization and working closely with others. Thankfully, my family and friends were there working hard to help me succeed.

To this point, vision loss was more of a slight annoyance than a hindrance.

I graduated high school in 1996 and went on to study Music Education at Northern Kentucky University. Unfortunately this was short lived as I only attended for one year. Before moving on however, I was able to study music for a summer in Salzburg, Austria.

This is when the vision started getting worse causing somewhat of a downward spiral.

I decided to stop driving at age 21 after a severe car accident. Then, through my mid to late 20’s, my vision got dramatically worse and I became very depressed. This was a very isolating time in my life. I held multiple jobs and I allowed my social life to suffer dramatically.

Now, in my late 30’s, I have no usable vision at all. It turns out that there were extra blood vessels growing around my optic nerves. These blood vessels squeezed my optic nerves causing my vision loss.

The wonderful thing is that through the help of a great support system and years of hard work, I’ve been able to put most of that behind me.

In 2010, I married my amazing and beautiful wife Jennifer. And in 2012, we were blessed when our daughter Alyssa was born..

I started Life After Blindness because I enjoy sharing my passions and experiences with others.

About Life After Blindness

The Life After Blindness Blog and Podcast (LAB Cast) is dedicated to the exploration of an enabled life with blindness. We strive to be a great resource for the blind and visually impaired as well as their sighted friends and family.

We do this through the sharing of news, walkthroughs reviews and personal stories. This may include news concerning assistive technology like braille devices and screen readers, accessible mainstream tech like smart phones and Voice assistants, accessible apps, games and other helpful websites.

We also cover special events and talk about places that are found to be accessible for the blind.

We are most proud to share the stories of our friends around the blind community. We feature interviews highlighting a personal journey or a roundtable discussion that delves into all facets of what it means to be blind today.

Our goal is to show the world that there can truly be a life after blindness.

Connect With Tim

Website: https://lifeafterblindness.com

Face Book: https://www.facebook.com/lifeafterblindness

Twitter: https://twitter.com/labcast

Linked IN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-schwartz-011033139

WHY DO I Promote Hosts?

People have asked me Max why do you put so much effort into including the bio, website, and social media links for the hosts of the shows you appear on?

I can see how some people think I shouldn’t be working so hard to draw attention to the host.

After all, isn’t the reason for being interviewed to drive traffic to your work?

Well, you could look at it that way. But to me this is all about showing the proper gratitude for the opportunity to share my story.

As a podcasters myself I know just how much work goes into putting on a regular show. And most people that interview me aren’t doing this for the money.

They feel an obligation to help others by sharing inspiring, uplifting, or educational content.

Or they enjoy the challenges and the experiences that go along with putting on a regular show.

So, to me sharing an interview without telling you about the host and how to find him or her would be unthinkable.

I hope you will help me thank Tim by visiting his website and podcast and sharing them with your friends, family, and social media contacts.

And I hope you know I appreciate you. I couldn’t keep doing this without you.

More importantly I wouldn’t want to. It wouldn’t be any fun without having you along on this journey.

I look forward to hearing some of your stories. And if you need help getting started, don’t hesitate to reach out to me.

Until next time thanks and take care out there, Max