A Shot in the Dark

Originally presented January 18, 2021

By Anthony Ferraro

Transcript

Sheila 

All right. Welcome to the Lighthouse Guild presentations. The monthly presentations tonight, we are so excited that we have Anthony Ferraro here to speak with us who is a Paralympic wrestler and a judo master, who is blind. Anthony began wrestling in middle school and after a successful high school wrestling career, he was on his way to wrestle competitively in college.

In January 2017 he started Judo training to fulfill his dream of representing the United States in 2020, Tokyo Paralympic Games.  In 2018, Anthony was the subject of a documentary a shot in the dark, which highlighted his wrestling journey and life story. In addition to wrestling and Judo, he’s an accomplished guitar player and a motivational speaker around the world. Thank you, Anthony, for joining us tonight. And I’ll turn it over to you. And I’m interested in learning so much more about you.

Anthony Ferraro 

Thank you so much, Sheila. And thank you, everyone. Thank you for having me tonight. It’s a real honor. I really love the Lighthouse Guild and what you guys do for everybody. First off, we’ll just start off introducing myself. My name is Anthony Ferraro, and I’m 25 years old. I’m from a small beach town in New Jersey called Spring Lake. I was the youngest of five. And I was born with a degenerative eye condition called Leber’s congenital amaurosis. It’s an eye condition attacking the retina. So, when I was born, I was able to see, you know, a little better. I was able to see color very well, I was able to, you know, read large print, get around pretty well, and stuff like that.

I grew up in a very big family. And the first thing to do for my parents, you know, they wanted to find out what was the best thing to do for their son. This is their first kid with a visual impairment and, you know, like anyone else were a little scared, but determined to find out what was best for this kid. And they did a lot of research going to all different doctors trying to find a cure. That was the first thing was they tried to find a cure. After finding out, you know, countless times that there was going to be no cure for this and nothing they could do, the doctor told them, you know, treat your son like every other one of your kids. And they did just.

I was raised in, like I said, in a beach town. So, I grew up, I was very fortunate – my mom was the second oldest of 13 kids. So, I grew up with 60 cousins all in the same area radius, like a town basically. And they never treated me any different as well. And I grew up skateboarding, surfing. I remember I would ride bikes until I started hitting parked cars in the street. And once I started hitting parked cars my mom was like, you know, you’ve got to figure something out. So, we picked up the tandem bike and started riding on the back instead. And, you know, just all these little things growing up, like not even really noticing that I was any different or blind. Really what that was.

And the next thing for my parents was education. That was the most important thing they wanted to find for me.  It was the right education. And they did a lot of research again. I was very fortunate to have these parents that, you know, they would do anything for me to help me get the right education, the resources just to be able to survive in the real world, so to speak, and to integrate into the sighted world as a blind individual, and to be able to thrive. And they, after going to the school district in my town Spring Lake and realizing that I was not going to get any of the right services, like I was gonna get braille, you know, maybe once or twice a week for about an hour. And, you know, my parents talked to a lot of professionals and people that were really well-studied in this field and said, that’s not enough. Your kid needs to learn braille, that’s one of the most important things is to be able to read and write and to be able to just adapt into this into the sighted world and to be able to, like I said, thrive.

And they found after realizing that the public school system wasn’t going to be enough, at least in my town with what they were offering, they found the best school in the tri-state – really the East Coast – that they could find, and it was St. Lucy Day School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Philadelphia. And now that was an hour and a half, two hours away from where my house was growing up. So, my parents had to figure out transportation for me to be able to go from Spring Lake to Philly every day. And the town was completely against it. They would not provide any services. They wouldn’t let me go. They wouldn’t provide any transportation or helping out with the tuition to the school, you know, for my services from the town, to go towards that. And my parents ended up fighting a court case for a long time. It was about two years.

And for those two years, I went to Philadelphia with my mom and lived during the week while the rest of my siblings lived at home. And, you know, I was in Philly with my mom in an apartment during the week. So, I could go to St. Lucy’s, and, essentially, just, you know, learn to be able to go into the real world into school, and learn these things – to read, to write, just like everyone else does in sighted schools, but just the way, you know, visually impaired, blind people are supposed to do it. And that’s exactly what I did, you know, kindergarten through second grade, did that. And then finally, the court case was settled, all these people came to fight for me from the National Federation of the Blind.

From all these different organizations – this guy, Joe Ruffalo, I remember came and spoke on my behalf. And he was such an influence in my life. He taught me how to use the cane when I was younger, and this guy was so independent – blind guy, and I just remember looking up to him so much, and he went in the courtroom, and he just told them straight up that this kid needs this education. And, you know, he won’t thrive without it. And it’s essential.

And after all this fighting and fighting, and finally it was settled, and after, you know, all the court things were settled, my mom was – it was all over the newspapers in Philly, and my mom was actually contacted by the Pennsylvania College of Optometry. And they offered her a scholarship to go there for orientation and mobility. And she ended up going back to school and getting her master’s degree in orientation and mobility, to learn, you know, how to help blind people be independent and have it, navigate this world and just get around and confidently.

And so, right off the bat, like my mom, she was determined.  It was drilled into me. I remember as a kid, I would want something, we were in a store. And you know, she never treated me any differently. Like I said, so we’d be in a store, I was probably six years old. And I’d want a toy. And I’d be like, Mom, I really want this toy, you know, and she’d be like, alright, here’s $5, go find the counter and pay for it. And I remember being so scared. What do you mean? Help me find it. I don’t know where that is. And she’s like, Anthony, I’m not always gonna be here, you have to learn how to advocate for yourself, and you know, ask for help and learn to be independent. And that’s part of being independent is one of the number one things is being able to identify when you need help and how to ask for it. And, you know, at a young age, she was already drilling these things into my mind without me even knowing. And it really helps me in the world today. My mom is, she’s the number one, you know, reason that I am independent and able to do the things I do. I strongly believe that, her and my dad.

And so finally, you know, I go to the school, and I start getting the transportation. So, I go from Spring Lake to Philly every day. And it’d be, you know, I’d wake up at six, go to school, come back and it would be like 4-4:30. And I got on this routine up until sixth grade. Finally, I transferred over into the public school in my town, because it was time for me. I was at that point where I had learned enough and, you know, absorbed enough information there where everyone believed that it was time for me to go into the mainstream school. And that’s what I did. And I remember being so scared in seventh grade going into the public school for the first time.  You know, going from a school where I was the only blind person to being – sorry, where I was among all blind people and visually impaired to where I was the only blind person.

I remember like trying to fake not being blind, like stumbling over stuff because I was too stubborn to use my cane. Putting my books like under my desk to try to like, you know, reading my Braille on my lap to try to not have these braille books on my desk. There was just so much anxiety that I was creating on myself, you know, just not comfortable with who I was at the time. It’s seventh grade, you’re trying to fit in and all this stuff and I wanted to find something that gave me some drive and motivation.

So, I was really into sports. And I finally got to a point where I realized, you know, I can’t be playing basketball or football or soccer and things like that, where it involves like passing with a team and real eye coordination. So, my older brother Oliver was a really good wrestler. And so was my dad. And I figured, you know, why don’t I try wrestling. So, in seventh grade I tried wrestling in the public school and I went to my first match. I ended up going two and 12, winning two matches, and one of those wins was a forfeit, where I go out and just get my hand raised. And now in wrestling, because I’m blind, I was wrestling against all sighted people that I had to stay in constant contact with.

So, if we were wrestling and then we broke apart and weren’t touching anymore, the referee would blow the whistle and bring us back to the center, and, restart it, so no one got hurt. So, I knew where he was at all times, just so it could be a fair playing field. After seventh grade, I remember, you know, losing my last match, and the season’s over. And I just had this feeling, I said dad, I really want to get good at this. I’ve got to find a club or something to put more hours in. I really want to become good wrestler. And he said, alright, and he found me a club. And I started going there four nights a week and started going to wrestling tournaments every weekend.

And I started realizing, you know, it was it was extremely hard. At my first wrestling tournament on the weekend that I went to, I remember I went there, and I didn’t score a single point. And I was like, it’s demoralizing, you know, but I was like, I have this whole mountain to climb. And it’s right ahead of me, I just got to keep working hard. And that’s exactly what I did. But you know, every tournament I kept going to, I didn’t score a single point for probably the first 10 tournaments. And then I started changing my goals, instead of winning a match, let me let me score some points now. So I started making little goals to get to my bigger goal.

And then finally, you know, I started scoring points and then I started winning matches, and all this hard work started to pay off, and I feel like going on and you know, oh wow, this isn’t for nothing. I’m working so hard and stuff is actually starting to turn around. And it really worked for me. So, you know, I keep going, keep going.

And finally, eighth grade comes around and I ended up going 23 and one with only one loss. And I won the whole championship in eighth grade. And in that championship match, I was losing 13 to one with about 45 seconds left. And you know, my dad always taught me, never give up. My mom and dad – never give up till the end, till it’s over. And that’s exactly what I did. I kept wrestling, kept wrestling. And finally, I throw the kid to his back and pin him. And the match is over and I won. And after the match is over, you know, the crowd went crazy. I’m feeling like so overjoyed that this just happened and I won this championship. And the kid shakes my hand and we walk off the mat. And his dad comes over to my dad and says, your son has an unfair advantage. It’s not fair to my kid that he has to stay in contact with him. He doesn’t belong in the sport. He should pick up a different sport or you know, go into the Special Olympics.  All these like hurtful things after I just worked so hard.

And it really hurt me and it bothered me and my dad for a while. But one of the biggest things, too, that my dad taught me is that we have to learn to forgive people. And if you carry this chip on your shoulder, if my parents carried that chip on their shoulder about the school system, if I did too, and his parents were just trying to take away my joy and hard work. It just weighs on you. And it comes out in bad ways in the future. And it’s important to, you know, learn to move on from things if they hurt, you know, and to just move past and forget it.

And finally, it’s time for me, I’m in eighth grade, and it’s time for me to go to high school next year. And both my brothers who I really looked up to went to this school Christian Brothers Academy. And this was a high school in an area where I grew up. And I had a handwritten letter of acceptance from the school and I had it in seventh grade. And they said, you know, Anthony, you’re accepted to the school. We’re working on getting your books brailled, making the accommodations for you, all those types of things. So, I was thrilled, you know. I’m going to the school that both my brothers went to. I can’t wait. I have the sweatshirt, you know, the wrestling sweatshirt. I’m friends with the wrestling coach, I’m so excited.

And eighth grade, over Christmas time, the president who wrote that letter to us, he passed away. And my family received a letter in the mail and a phone call saying, Anthony’s no longer accepted to Christian Brothers Academy. He won’t fit into the culture academically or environmentally. We don’t want to make any accommodations for him. And that was it. And I just remember being 14 years old, and how can this happen? The world’s unfair. I can’t go somewhere because of something I can’t control. I’m not being accepted. And I was just, I was so hurt by it. And I remember just coming home when I got the news, and just being raised – I literally, I remember I punched a hole in my wall I was so upset. And it was just this dose of reality where, okay, life’s not always fair. And I have to learn to accept these things, and how can I move past it and become better because of it. So, I put all my frustration, and I just kept wrestling and I just kept working hard. That’s how I reacted to it. It just kept working hard.

And I finally ended up going to a school where, you know, the school called St. John Vianney, where I was reached out to by the wrestling coach, and, you know, I go from going to a school where no one wanted me to a school where all these people want me with open arms, and it was a way better feeling. So, I ended up going there. And they get all my books brailled. There was a lot of loopholes that they had to pull.  They were a private school so they don’t necessarily have to provide all the accommodations, like for braille books, and the equipment that I would need and technology. But we were able to work together and find how we can get that stuff together. And that’s what we did through having a TBI come into the school and provide that equipment and technology that I needed through the state. So, utilizing those types of things, and just, you know, doing research and talking to as many people as you can to find out, because it’s all been done before, and it’s like, how did you do it. So really finding out from the people that have done it and been through it.

And I ended up going to a school where, I grew up in a town where I knew it was my family, I knew everybody and they all went to the public school in my town, Manasquan High School. And I didn’t go there. So, I ended up going to high school where I know nobody – so it’s a brand new feeling for me, where I’m the only blind person again, and I know nobody in the high school. But I just start making it work. I start wrestling really hard. I put it all into wrestling in school. And I started making a name for myself kind of as this blind wrestler, which kind of bothered me a lot, because I’m like, why can’t I just be the wrestler that so happens to be blind, you know, and it really bothered me to the point where I kept getting so frustrated.

Until, because newspaper articles would come around and you know, always want to interview me, and it was always like the same questions kind of. And it really was frustrating and why are they’re doing this? There’s so many other kids that are way better than me. And, you know, they’re asking me all these questions all the time about being blind and wrestling and being the blind wrestler. And it bothered me so much until, you know, one day I got a message from a parent who said, you know, my son is visually impaired and he is so inspired by you at every newspaper article you do. He took up wrestling because of you, things like that. It really just blew me away and I kind of said, Anthony, you’re really selfish if you’re not going to do these newspaper articles, because, you know, you really say how you want to help people and you’re helping people just by doing this, even if it’s one person.

So, it sort of was this humbling experience where I was, you know, I’m not doing it for me, I’m doing it for me and other people as well to try and help motivate someone to just do anything they love. It doesn’t have to be wrestling. It can be playing the guitar. It can be sewing. It can be anything that you put your mind to that as long as it’s positive, and you put hours into it, that it doesn’t matter if you have to do it a little bit differently. It can still be done. And that’s what I was learning to do through all these experiences.

And, you know, as high school was going on, I started doing very well in wrestling. I became the captain of the varsity team my sophomore year. I was winning all these varsity matches. I ended up winning a district championship my first year, or sophomore year of high school when I was predicted not even to do well at all. I proved all the newspapers wrong and stuff. And it was just this really good feeling. I was going on this roll. And my older brother Oliver was seeing me do all this good stuff with wrestling and dealing with adversity. Because people would say things like, I had an unfair advantage because of the two-hand contact. And they would say things like, you know, one time someone was saying something to my dad, like, your son’s not really blind. You guys are just faking it to get an unfair advantage in wrestling. And while you’re saying this to my dad, I was like tripping over the stands. And my dad, like, literally pointed at me, he’s like, really, like, you’re really gonna say that. And we just started to laugh at these people. And, you know, just laugh at the ignorance and try to break through it by just the actions, like how we act and how we present ourselves and just live and be yourself and not let those things break you down.

Because, I’ll be honest, they really do. And it’s hard. But you have to learn and it takes practice But you have to learn to become above it, those negative comments, or people trying to make fun of you. At the end of the day hurt people are trying to hurt people. And so, my brother was seeing all this adversity and me doing well in wrestling. And at the time, he was in film school. So he took a short clip of me in my junior year after I’d won a big championship. It was about a two-minute video of me talking about what it was like to be a blind wrestler, and just like a blind teenager, and growing up and dealing with certain adversities, and, you know, not going to a school you really wanted to go to, and things like that. And he posted it saying, you know, this is my little brother.  I want to make a film about him. If you’re a camera operator, producer, whatever, anything, please contact me because I don’t have all the resources.

And my wrestling coach of my high school, his teammate from college ended up seeing this video. And he was an independent film producer. And he saw the video and contacted my brother saying, you know, what are you doing with this? It’s a great story. And my brother told him I’m not doing anything.  I want to. And they sat down, had a meeting and decided to make a full feature length documentary of my senior year of high school about being a blind wrestler and trying to become the first blind state champion of New Jersey, and breaking all these records in my high school. And they did just that.

My senior year, they followed me around with cameras, and, you know, all out of pocket, fully self-funded filming, and all these things. My brother Oliver with this guy, Chris Sikorsky.  They had a vision and just went with it so hard and really believed in it. And, you know, it was amazing how they gathered all this footage. And after my senior year, you know, I had all these goals, and I wanted to be the first blind state champion. I wanted to break my high school record of 123 wins. I wanted to become the first three-time district champion at my high school. And in the end of the day, you know, it’s like, you don’t always hit your goals. And that’s why we need to set them high. Because if we set our goals high, you’re falling short of them, but you’re falling right where you need to be.

And that’s what I learned, too, because I started wrestling in seventh grade. And I set all these goals, you know, that were really, if you heard me say these in seventh grade, you’d say you’re crazy because kids start wrestling in second grade, first grade, and, you know, wrestle their whole lives to get to that level. And I remember just putting in countless hours and all my goals. I wanted to be the first bind state champion. Well, I was one point short of going to the state tournament. And I wanted to break my high school record of 123 wins. I literally ended my season at 123 wins. I wanted to be the first three-time district champion in my school. I lost in the district finals in my senior year in triple overtime.

And it’s just like all these things that’s like, life’s not a fairy tale. All these things don’t just happen because you say it’s gonna but I had fallen short, just short, of all these goals. And I remember being so upset, thinking I failed, you know, and was like, this movie’s not gonna be worth it.  This film is stupid now. I didn’t do anything. I’m worthless. Having all these self-doubts and all these things. And I remember looking back at it about a year later and being like, wow, I won 123 matches in high school. I was one match short of going to the state tournament. like, all these things, you know, being grateful for that I was able to get to that point. And after high school, the film kind of got put on the shelf because my brother bought a house and Chris Sikorsky had a kid, so life kind of happened for both of them. And I went to college in New Jersey.

So, you know, all these things happen. And two years go by. And then in 2015, Chris Sikorsky is sitting at home, and he’s like, you know I got to take this off the shelf.  There’s a great story here. And I really want to get working on it. So, he puts together the first 15 minutes of this film. And he absolutely loves what he has. He’s very excited, telling me and my brother, and having my brother schedule a meeting for my brother to see the first 15 minutes. And the night before they were supposed to meet, my brother ended up passing away at the age of 27. And he never got seen any of his film that he created.

And I’ll never forget it being such a crazy point in my life. In my whole family, it was like the shock, you know?  Demoralizing. We felt like the floor was just ripped, shattered underneath you. And it was like you’re, you know, someone you see who’s like, larger than life and is your role model? This guy’s like – nothing can stop him, you know? And it was like he was just gone. And I remember being so, like how am I going to get past this? How do you get through this? And it was really hard for everybody in my family. Everybody grieves in different ways.

And a couple months later – this happened in August – and then in January I come home, I was out at my friend’s house, and no one’s home in my house, except my mom. And I come home and find her at the bottom of the stairs where she had fallen and ended up you know, suffering a traumatic brain injury, hitting her head, and I had to bring her upstairs and call the ambulance. And she ended up going to the hospital and being in a coma for about two months.

And, you know, doctors not knowing what was going to happen and saying, it could be years before she is able to do anything and all these things. And I just remember, you don’t know my mom, – thinking that like my whole family. Months later, six months later, my mom was out of the hospital and it’s been a couple of years since then. And she’s incredible. It’s five years since then. It’s just amazing how she’s recovered and healed. And, you know, it’s still different, but my mom continues to show me you can always fight through. You’re a fighter. We were raised to, you know, not give up. It’s like another example of just not giving up. And she’s the strongest woman I know in my life.

And when my brother passed away, Chris Sikorsky, he, you know, vowed to my family at my brother’s funeral saying, you know, whatever it takes for you, finishing this film for you, for your brother, for your family, for me, for everybody. And that’s exactly what he did in the next year and a half he finished the film and he finished a film that’s an hour and 30 minutes long. And it’s a full feature-length documentary that it really just tells like a movie and it’s beautiful how it was created. And you know, it’s left us a love story from my brother of  him just seeing this vision of you know, me and seeing so much and creating it. Just taking that vision and making it real and he left us with that.

If nothing ever comes out of the film, I get saved for the rest of my life. My brother made a film about me. And I get to show my kids that. I get to show people that in the future. And if it helps anyone in my life, that’s a win. And after getting to see the film, I’ve seen it probably 200 times and I cry every time just because of how beautiful it is to me for, you know, like I say, it’s like a love story told by my brother, and about life, and just perseverance and not giving up and just dealing with adversity. And when this film finished, Chris had to raise all this money to finish, like the sound correction, the color editing – all these things. And we had to raise $40,000. So, we put our goal on Kickstarter.  It’s a website where you can raise money in a month. You put your goal, and people have a month to donate. And if you don’t raise that much, then all the money gets sent back.

So, we put our goal as $36,000, not even thinking we would raise it. We’re like, well, let’s see if this works. And we told the story about the film. And, you know, he made a little trailer, like a two-minute trailer, and, or something like a minute trailer, and he talked about, you know, what happened as well. And people started donating like crazy. And in four days we raised that money. And at the end of the month, we raised about $87,000, and ended up finishing the film and taking it all around the country to different film festivals. And, you know, I think it won about 14 awards around the country and, and just doing so well.

And while the trailer was on Kickstarter, it was being circulated on social media platforms and stuff. And it raised, you know, over a million views. And one of those views, I’m sitting at home, you know, kind of feeling sorry for myself seeing all this stuff happening with the film, you know, old wrestling stuff and like feeling oh, you know, I really want to get after it, like after something like again. I want to set my goals high. I want to be motivated to do something. And I’m sitting at home and I get a phone call. I was like ‘Hello, this is Anthony Ferraro, who’s calling? This is the United States Olympic Committee. And I’m sorry, I think you have the wrong number. And they’re like, no, actually, we saw the film and we were wondering, you know, we think if you have any of that talent left from wrestling, wrestling is no longer in the Paralympics, but Judo which is the closest thing to it, which is basically wrestling with the, jacket on like the karate uniform, and it has arm bars and chokes as well. Would you consider trying to learn, you know, transition over into judo, and coming around the world competing and trying to make it to the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo?

And, you know, they told me that the only disability in Paralympic Judo was that it was a visual impairment. And I felt like wow, you know, I get the chance to fight other blind people and visually impaired people around the world and try to, instead of becoming the best in the state, trying to become the best in the world. I was like, this is really a blessing from God right now that this is happening. It’s more than I was asking for.  And I remember saying, absolutely. One hundred percent.

And then I started training judo. And this was about 2017. And I started training judo, ended up going to all these camps. My coach jokes that I crammed 10 years of judo in about two years. And I go into countless tournaments just like wrestling all over again. Countless hours of working and putting time in and going to all these extra things. And then seeing it pay off.  I ended up winning first in the country, and then being top 20 in the world, almost going to the Olympics.

And what happens is, the pandemic hits and everything gets put on pause. And, you know, my life is judo right now, basically. And that’s all I was doing.  That, music on the side just to, you know, make money and along with speaking as much as possible. But judo was my main focus, you know, that was putting all my marbles in that bucket, I guess you’d say. And when this pandemic hit, it was almost like dealing with a loss because I was training, training, training and then even when the pandemic hit, and gyms closed, all this stuff, I was still training, training, training, in my backyard, doing whatever I could to stay in shape every single day.

And then finally having this reality check where it’s – you need to have other things in your life. Start working on other aspects of your life right now because this is so unknown. And I started, I was like, okay, well, let me put it into music because I love it. And I’m getting this itch where I just want to – people are so scared and angry right now and don’t know what’s going on in the world. And, you know, what can I do to share in the world to make a better, more positive influence and just get people at least happier for a minute? So, I started focusing a lot on music and playing outside at local restaurants and bars and things like that constantly.  And it ended up becoming a full-time job. And then I was just sitting at home and kind of wanted more.

I ended up moving from Brooklyn – at the time I was living in Brooklyn, New York, with at the time, my girlfriend, and we left Brooklyn as soon as the pandemic hit. And we wanted to find a new location. So, we go and stay in New York upstate in Eldred in her parents cabin where they have a place, trying to figure out life now. And then we ended up, I find a place an apartment in Spring Lake where I grew up, and I ended up getting engaged on the beach in Spring Lake. And then, you know, we are sitting at home after that.

Months go by in the summer and have an amazing summer. And then, you know, the pandemic’s been going on for a long time now. And the whole stuff with the elections coming up, and sitting at home just watching on social media, just like people arguing and bashing each other, just about everything. It just really bothered me, you know, and it really was hitting home for some reason.  I was getting emotional about it. People need to stop hating each other and just work together and all this stuff. And I was like, what can I do in this world right now, what can I give to make it a better place, at least for a second, for anybody? Like I always say, if it helps one person, it’s a job well done. It’s worth it.

And, you know, my fiancée, and I, she works in tech so she’s able to work from wherever. She’s always done remote work. And we’re brainstorming at home and we say, you know, we’re getting such positive feedback from my music that we said, you know, and we’re addicted to traveling. I was traveling for judo and I would have tournaments in other countries, and I would have the tournament, she would come with me, and then we would go travel around the country for a week or two after. And we really just missed traveling. We’re sitting at home and said, Why don’t we go on a trip? Why don’t we take our car and go drive around the country? Take the guitar, and you know, we bought a GoPro and did the camera. And we did.

We said why don’t we plan a tour where we go around the country and back, and live stream music from each spot in the country, where it’s like not in crazy cities or anything, but right outside of the cities where you get a view of the city or a very cool background for people sitting at home. And that’s exactly what we did. We just got back three days before Christmas and we went 9800 miles around the country. Twenty-two stops. Thirty-four live streams. And Kelly drove 9800 miles in the car. And it was an incredible thing where, you know, the pandemic hit, trying to figure out new things and just finding ways to adapt in situations where we’re confronted with change and unknowns and it’s like, okay, what do I do now? And just being innovative and trying to come up with ways.

And we just had such good feedback. You know, there was a newspaper article written about it. Kelly started a blog documenting each stop on the tour. We had a podcast from when we were in the car going from each city to city. And we were doing premieres on YouTube now, unrolling each video from each stop, because we did it on Facebook, like live streams, and now we’re it for people that missed the tour live that now that we’re doing the premieres out on YouTube, slowly from each stop. So, it’s really an ongoing project that has just been an amazing thing, you know, for both of us, and just seeing the feedback from people just smiling and laughing and just trying to forget about what’s going on in the world for a minute.

At the end of the day people asked me, Anthony, how do you do this stuff? You know, quick sidenote, at the end of high school, I did an article for ESPN. And I ended up going, getting contacted by this guy, Erik Weihenmayer, who is a blind guy, the first blind guy to climb Mount Everest, and actually all the seven largest summits in each continent. And he contacted me asking me if I would consider going on a trip to Peru and hiking up 16,000 feet. And, you know, I was like, Whoa, I’ve never done hiking before, you know, and it sounds really awesome, a four day hike in the mountains in Peru. And I did it. And it was a very scary experience. And I learned so much about myself. It was half blind and half sighted people working together.

And after that I got sent to – there was this organization called No Barriers, and I really recommend looking them up. They do tons of summits around the country where all people with all disabilities, all abilities go. And I’ve seen people in wheelchairs climbing mountains, like rock climbing. There’s people with no limbs, the most wild things. People want to do something, and they find a way. Their motto is, “what’s within you is stronger than what’s in front of you.” And, you know, I learned so much going there. And people ask me, Anthony, how do you do all these things with a disability? And I tell them, you know you might see blind being as a disability, you know, but at the end of the day, it really comes down to your attitude. The only disability is going to be a bad attitude.

Because I know people sitting at home, feeling sorry for themselves with absolutely nothing wrong with them making excuses like, oh, I need to get a better job. Then go get a better job.  Do something to work towards getting a better job. I need this, or I want this for myself. And then I know people that don’t have certain things and, you know, have so called disabilities, and they’re out climbing mountains and just working and being a part of society and being productive. And at the end of the day, you know we’re not here to conform to the stigma of being blind.  When you give into disability is a disability, that’s what cripples you. Because it’s not about doing crazy things. You don’t have to climb mountains You don’t have to wrestle. You don’t have to skateboard. You don’t have to do any of that. It’s about just what makes you a better person each day, and what’s going to drive you and motivate you to keep going, to get up every day and just keep going.

Like my brother always said, you just keep living. And we don’t really have a choice. Do you want to sit home and just feel sorry for yourself? Like, oh, I can’t see or be so scared that like, Oh, my kid is blind, you know, what do I do? And just be too overwhelmed and cripple yourself with that overwhelming feeling.

And for parents, I could say the biggest thing for your kids would be to let your kids mess up. Let them go run into a couple of things and then teach them how to ask for help to give them the tools for that not to happen in the future, or to limit that from happening. You know, don’t treat your kid any differently from anyone else. Because in the real world no one’s gonna do that. You are who you are. And everybody’s different. We all have stuff going on. And for kids, it’s like, you guys can do anything you want. All you have to do is just set your mind to it. And, you know, people will tell you all the time, you can’t do that because you’re blind. And it’s like, What do you mean? Watch. I just do it a little differently, or I don’t want to do that or whatever it may be.

If you get anything from this, it’s don’t give up and please ask for help and please know I’m always here and you can always reach out to me on my website ASFvision.com. It has all my social media and things like that. It has the film and links to all my stuff and you can always contact me. My emails a@ASFvision.com. Feel free anytime to reach out to me and parents or kids.  Kids, if you’re ever struggling with just feeling like life’s kind of hard right now. Or like, I hate being blind. It sucks because you get those feelings sometimes. Those are normal.

I remember, there’s a part in the film where I’m even like, I lose a match. Why am I blind? I hate it. Why? You’re never gonna get that answer. Because something happened with your retina when you were born and, you know, you have a degenerative eye condition. I remember losing a lot of sight my high school year, like junior/senior year, I lost most of my sight, and it was down basically to just light perception and shadows, which it is now. And it was just being so mad. And then learning okay, it’s not that bad. Because there’s tools for this. There’s people that have done it before. I’m not the first blind person. There’s a road that was paved for me to be able to go and become successful. And, you know, whatever success in my mind may be, whatever it is I want to accomplish in my life, there’s tools to do that. And just because you’re blind or visually impaired, or whatever it may be. That’s okay. I really hope you guys get something from this. And I really appreciate you having me on here. And, you know, taking your time out to listen to me. And I really hope you have some questions. So, thank you so much.

Sheila 

Wow, Anthony. That was amazing. Thank you so much. I do have a few questions. I’ll read first and then I’ll open it up and to see if others – I’m sure some people have some reactions they want to share with you because that was wonderful and very moving. And thank you for being so candid and honest with us. I know watching your video and you know, that was your life. But the part that you just spoke of when you were crying and you said that after the loss, that touched my heart so much and in a good way. And I think just your genuineness and your ability to be honest with others about what you’re going through helps everybody because not everybody has that gift. That’s a gift to share. Thank you for sharing that with us. I have a question from a teen. You’ve kind of alluded to this, but when you’re going through all this discrimination, did you ever feel like you just wanted to quit and what made you not quit?

Anthony Ferraro 

Yeah, there’s definitely times where you just want to give up and you almost say, I have probably even said like the words I quit, but it’s more just a feeling. And I think the biggest way to get through that is just identifying it and being able to talk through it. And you know, realizing that quitting is just not an option. I’m sorry, that’s hard to hear. but it’s not.

Sheila 

Great. What are your hopes at this point for the future? What are you hoping? What are you planning?

Anthony Ferraro 

Well, I’m planning my wedding for this year. And then also doing a lot with music as well, on the side. It’s kind of my main source of income, full time income, doing music, pretty much weekly. And speaking. My goal is I really want to – the Olympics kind of look like they’re not going to happen at least anytime soon. So, I want to set my goals to 2024 and Paris, and the Paris Paralympics. And, you know, just kind of live accordingly.  Train for it like it’s gonna happen and if it doesn’t, it’s okay. And still work on other parts of my life. I plan on having a family and traveling and just continuing to live. And I’m just trying to help as many people as possible.

Sheila 

Well, that’s fantastic. I have one more and then I can open it up. Someone wanted to learn a little bit more. Are you opening up a not for profit and developing teens and what’s going on with that?

Anthony Ferraro 

So that was actually one of my goals in the beginning of developing my brand of ASF Vision. But it’s kind of taken a turn to where, you know, the nonprofit kind of – it’s definitely a future goal of mine down the road. Right now ASF Vision is more of a brand to motivate and inspire and developing teens and their parents, but not so much on the nonprofit side at the current moment.

Sheila 

All right. I know that opens up a whole different struggle, so, I think you’re doing a good job motivating everybody else and keeping all your passions in room for all of the things that you’re really wonderful at. Okay, I’m going to turn off the recording and then I’m just going to let other people ask you questions. That’s great.