- [Narrator] The following program may contain strong language and brief nudity. But don't get your hopes up, after all, this is public access TV. - I'm Gene. - And I'm Dave. - And we're the Gene and Dave Show. - Gene and Dave Show. Gene, man, it is fall, October in Austin and I'll tell you what, I'm excited. - What are you excited about, Dave, the fall weather? The leaves changing colors? - No, no, no. No, I like the warm weather, so it's not really the weather. - Well it's Halloween coming up. You getting ready for Halloween? - Well, I'm a little too old for trick or treating, so that's not really my thing either. - Well, what about the holidays? Thanksgiving coming up? Christmas? - I mean, it's all exciting. I get to eat but I'll tell you what, Gene, I'm really excited because fall in Austin means that it's time for the Cinema Touching Disabilities Film Festival. - Oh yeah. - Which is fantastic. It's put on by CTD, Coalitions for Texans with Disabilities. And we've got Will here today, probably to tell us a little bit more about that and what's going on with the film festival and I couldn't be more excited. But what I'm really excited about this year is definitely meeting RJ Mitte. Very nice to meet you, man. - Pleasure, man. - Thanks for being on here - Such a pleasure. - And if you, you probably recognize him from Breaking Bad. - [RJ Mitte] Maybe. - Maybe. You were Junior - Yes, yes I did. - on Breaking Bad. I'll tell you what, when I saw that, I watched every episode probably at least two or three times. - That's what we like. - Netflix, all of that. But I saw it and I was really inspired or at least you know I was like, this is really great. This is somebody that's really got, who really has Cerebral Palsy and is in the role. We see that a lot in films where they hire actors to play people with disabilities. You're an actor with a disability and I think it was great. - Yeah, I was really lucky to get the opportunity to portray that role and to play a character that me and the character had so much in common, sharing very intimate experiences in my life and in so many people's lives, that experience just life. - Yeah. But I remember seeing you, also you're a big philanthropist. - I do my best. - You do a lot of stuff for non-profits and helping out the little guy. And I saw you give a speech, a keynote speech, and you came out on stage and you were walking and you didn't have your crutches. I'm like, what is the deal? I thought this guy really had a disability in this role but you really, you just strapped on the crutches for the role, for the character, right? - Correct. Well so, Walt Junior, Walt Junior was actually based on a real person, a friend of Vince's, Vince had in college, who sometime after passed away. But Walt Junior was kind of created in memory of this guy. And he had Cerebral Palsy and he used forearm crutches and I never really used crutches unless I broke a bone or something like that but I had AFOs, leg mobilizers. I was diagnosed at three. For me, I never really, I always did my therapies on time. So, I was a good little whipping boy of run and make sure you do that, so you can do something else. - Did you have to sit on that little ball and have your balance, - The ball, for me it wasn't so much the ball as it was just finding my spasticity. - Oh okay. - So I, having Cerebral Palsy, for people that don't know, Cerebral Palsy is caused from numerous things and usually people that have CP have multiple disabilities on top of Cerebral Palsy. But it is from lack of oxygen to the brain at childbirth, or within the first stages of child development in which portions of the brain just never received oxygen. So, that causes anything from hand-eye coordination to speech, dexterity, spasticity. For me it was my left side. I would contract on my left. I still normally contract on my left. And through years of just being like dough just pulled apart and put back together and just maintaining that. They gave me crutches when I was a kid but my family was like, you're not gonna use them. Because my Aunt Kitty had polio. My grandfather had strokes. We've always had stuff in the medical field with our family. So, we learned and we see at a very young age, the earlier you give someone aid, the less likely they're not gonna rely on it. - Right. - And they're like, nope, you're gonna walk. You're gonna walk without it and if not, you're gonna crawl until you walk. And that's what I did. - Kind of forced you into it then. - Forced me into it and very thankful for that. And through Shriner's Hospitals for Children I was able to really hone myself and really with Walt Junior was an eye-opener. It was one of those things that was like this really would have been me without tools. Without having the proper guidance, without having the people that really wanted me to make the best of who I am and why I am, I would probably actually use crutches right now. I'd probably still be in snafos and braces and not able to maintain my own level. It's really having a physical disability, and even mental disabilities as well, is maintain. Maintaining that line of like, - So, do you still do physical therapy? - I do everything. I have though incorporated it into my daily life. - So it's a habit? - So it's a habit. I don't even think about it. It becomes second nature to do it. I'll stretch throughout the whole day but you won't even know that I'm stretching. - That's amazing how Cerebral Palsy effects everybody different. I have Cerebral Palsy too. And I need to use a wheelchair to get around but I never let it stop me and Gene's never let his paralysis stop him either. - I think when people get stopped, and everyone has their own reasons what limits them, but I don't find it's from whatever is effecting them. I don't find, I don't really find that it's the disability, per se. I find it's the environment that puts people in boxes. And if you're willing to learn to fight that box tooth and nail, you can do it. You can get out. And you can live that. But people sometimes have a hard time seeing that. - Yeah. - If they learn to adapt to it, learning to adapt to different situations, they're less and less disabled, I think. - I agree. - So, you're a big supporter for people with disabilities that are actors. - Correct. - As I am. I've done a few films here in Austin and of course, this TV show that we're on right now. But you're in the SAG-AFTA - AFTRA, yeah. - You're on the board for the disability community, is that true? - Yes it is. I sit on the board for SAG-AFTRA. I am PWD committee. It's a I am a performer with disability. We focus on raising awareness in the arts community of putting performers with disabilities in the forefront of the screen and the importance of having disability in major network and mass media. And that goes everything from behind the camera to in front of the camera to legislation and lobbying to advocacy on many fronts. But really, it's building a community. And I think that's one of the things that we're all very lucky is that we have our communities and that we grow them further and that we continue to use those strengths and that's what we really are working on doing is just strengthening our community and working together and getting that forefront. And one of the reasons why I'm working with CTD is because they're doing that and they're bringing that disability highlight to the screen in advocacy and showing what people do and how they do it. And really awareness is key. - Yeah, and you're here hosting this weekend. - I am. I'm host. - The CTD, the Cinema Touching Disability Film Festival. William, how long have you guys been doing this? This is like a new thing, right? This is like your second year? - It was a very good beginning but it's gotten bigger and bigger as years went on. We started off showing good disability films. Then a few years later we included a short film competition. Now, we accept entries from all over the world. - And how many entries did you get this year? - About 131. - Wow. - 130 or so. - And they all have to be screened, yeah? - We show the winners. - But you had to watch it. - Yeah, he saw them. The team sees them. It's funny though because I noticed he said, the first year we showed to good ones. And then we opened the short ones. It's like, oh my god, it's true. But it's so amazing though, as you know, to see all the art that comes from it because people don't realize that people are making films everyday and they just never see the light of day. And so, it's really nice to work with groups that bring it to light. - And we are showing some really good, outstanding films. There are still films with bad and really negative disability messages being put out. And here you had one high school girl, you have someone who's older and a professional doing this and we just see it all over the place. - So, this year, correct me if I'm wrong, but this year you're really focused on fashion. A lot of the films and you've got a fashion panel and RJ is also a model, right? - Yeah, I model a little. - We've got a couple of things. Tonight we're showing, our feature is about blind photographers. And it was based on someone who said, oh, blind photographers, that's crazy. Someone who's blind can't take a picture. Then he started looking into it and said, I'm so wrong about this. - Wow, okay. - There's actually some really incredible photography by people who were visually impaired or totally blind. Then the really big thing we're doing tomorrow night is our fashion show. It's adaptive fashion. We're showing some shorts from Runway of Dreams, which creates adaptive fashion that can be bought off the rack. And you can buy Nike, Tommy Hilfiger and Target are some. - Yeah, there's a couple, so, Runways of Dreams is actually where everything with Zappos Adaptive. So, Zappos is one of the affiliates, it's an online shopping store and Runway of Dreams partnered with them in getting people that create adaptive clothing out into the mainstream markets. And I've done some work with Runway of Dreams and Zappos Adaptive and I just actually was doing some stuff in Vegas for them as well. And it's amazing to see because for the longest time, I think we're all kind of from the south. Everyone had a grandmother that was a seamstress. - Yep. - Everyone had that, aw, don't worry, I'll take it in. Or I'll make it fit or I'll do that. And for a lot of people that need adaptive clothing, that's kind of been that's the way. There's only one option is you find something you kind of like that's oversized and you get it to make it work. And what's amazing to see is these lines pulling together and saying, hey, we're here. And it goes back to awareness that there are these organizations that are creating adaptive clothing and that you don't have to go spend an arm and a leg or have your shoes ripped apart or your pants ripped apart to get, to dress yourself. - So, let me ask about adaptive clothing. I want to know more about that and what it is but I'm going to put the question to you. Can you explain a little bit more about what adaptive clothing is? - Yes. So, I have Polio and I've had it since I was three or four in Vietnam. And so, I grew up with my disability. I've never known anything else. So, when I was growing up I would have to struggle to dress myself. My mom would help me but I was independent. So, adaptive fashion is trying to adapt to, like I guess normal clothing, where it won't be so uncomfortable or won't look, I guess, ridiculous. And it just makes you feel more confident to be more comfortable in your own clothes. And I'm so glad. I never even heard of adapting clothes to a particular disability until William had suggested the idea. And I didn't know about Zappos Shoes. And when I was growing up I had orthotics that included a specialty shoe, so I couldn't wear anything fancy. I couldn't wear normal shoes. It had to be the uncomfortable orthotic shoes. And so, it's awesome that there's these companies coming up. - And there's no teenager that wants to wear shoes that look like their grandma wore them, right? - No. - And they're not comfortable. Yeah, they look as they feel. - Yeah, yeah. - Not comfortable at all. - When I was a kid I was small but I had a size 13 shoe. Not because my feet were big but my braces. My braces. So, like you look funny and people always would comment. They'd be like, man, you've got big feet. You're like, I know. But it's really amazing though, as she was saying, because a lot of people don't know. A lot of people aren't aware that these things exist and really it's so important to get this message out and to be out and to look for these things because they are there. - So, what are some things that make clothing adaptable? I mean, the first thing that comes to my mind is Velcro, right? - Yep. - Velcro instead of buttons is a lot easier to use. What else is it, Will? - I actually have some running shoes that are adaptive shoes and you don't tie them. You actually use a zipper to fasten them. - Oh, okay. - Nike put them out because a kid was going off to college and he said, I can't tie my own shoe laces because of manual dexterity. I don't want to have to ask my roommate to tie my shoes everyday. Nike what can you do for me? And they created these shoes. - Cool. - And now I've got a couple of pair of them and they're great. They work really well for me. And a lot of times it depends on the disability. - And you want to make sure your shoes are on tight when you're running, right? You don't want to leave your shoes in the middle of the street. - Well, I think though, everyone's unique. Everyone has a different challenge. Everyone. And just because you have the same thing doesn't mean that you face the same obstacles. So, one of the big things is independence. Being disabled or just that label of it means that you're not independent and the perception of, oh, I always will have to have this. Well, I'm a big believer in let's make people as independent as possible. How can we provide people the tools to not, to be able to provide for themselves? And working with these groups I've talked to them and some of them come to the realization is dressing yourself. How empowering is it to be able to put your own pants on, To tie your own shoes, To be able to go and be like I got myself dressed, I did this, instead of having a nurse or having your mom or having a friend or having your roommate? - And being able to have really cool or interesting looking clothing. - Exactly. - Not to have to wear boring clothing. - So, you have the zippers. A friend of mine, his company's called Billy Goat, it's on Zappos Adaptive. But the zippers go all around and up. So, just pretty much encases your foot and then you can zip it around. - Or even if you were wearing a big brace. - Even if you're wearing a big brace. And well then they have some where the inside of the shoe has been removed or en-hollowed to elongate for room for the braces. - But it doesn't look like you're wearing a clown shoe. - Doesn't look like you're wearing a clown shoe. And then you have pants that have magnets on the inside of the button. So, instead of, so instead of having the buttons you have magnets or Velcro or just elastic. Enough elastic though, where it's not going to break or look like you're wearing sweatpants. But actually I have these khakis, look just like those and they're elastic. - Cool. - And they're easy slip. They fit. They're made where they have channels for your legs so it functions. Shirts that have instead of this, would look just like this but on the inside would have a magnet strip. - Oh, that's cool. - And you wouldn't even be able to tell that there's a magnet strip there. So, it's little things. - It's little things like you mentioned. Velcro, that's one of the really cool things about the zippers on the shoe because shoes that tie with Velcro laces, they don't look that good. And when you've got the zippers, they don't look that different than regular shoes. And some they say look a little bit better. - I think so. I have a pair. Having CP, I'm really picky about my shoes because I'm always on my feet. My feet are always hurting. I hate, again, I hate tying my laces. I think it's kind of, it's with fatigue and, just it's one of those things that last thing I want to do is - It's difficult. - tie some stuff It's a lot easier to just slip on and off. And this isn't just for people that have CP or whatever but this is everyone. Because we all could be a bit lazy. - Certainly. - My clothes are all adapted but when I do it's mostly is for traveling. So, my mother sewed some big pockets on the front of my shins, so I could put my camera or wallet, passport, pills, in those pockets. So, when I get separated from my chair and go paragliding and skydiving or parasailing or whatever, I'll always have it on my person no matter where my chair is. And hats too. I had one tailored so the brim was nice and short because always I'm looking up at people all the time and if I have a long brim, I can't see them. - And that's something that's a testament to testing. Testing. You learn that these are what I need to make it functional. And for a long time, people that were making adaptive clothing, don't use them. And they're like, oh, we just slap a bunch of Velcro on it and throw some zippers and some magnets and call it a day. And it's like, no, what is actually functionable? For so long, you had so many just able bodied individuals pioneering this world. And now because of mass media and because of this element of empowering, you're actually getting people that know what works and knows, for sure knows what doesn't work. And then they're promoting it. And there's a community rallying behind it. And that's what's really amazing to see is that headway. - Mimi, did you have anything that you wanted to add? - Yeah, I'm so glad this is, - What works for you? - Oh. I'm glad this is happening. Like I said, I had no idea that this was out there and I wish I had known about it sooner. I guess it just started three or, - Three, it's very new. I'm thinking maybe three, maybe five years ago. - Why haven't they thought of this sooner? - Well, Dave and I have been fashionable all our lives. - Basically have the hats to prove it, right? - Well, it takes me forever to get, - Missed. That's not even what they're actually making. And we all know, it's not cheap having anything or dealing with anything in life. So, just imagine they're already, that's what they're missing. What are they making? And why can't we use that to put back into the community? - Yeah, awesome. - Well, there's a lot of things could be really useful that we don't know about because, some of us post pictures wearing adaptive clothing. We don't mention what we're wearing, even though it might be useful to a lot of other folks. We're more interested in the scenery or the culture and the place where we're at. - Yeah, I'm excited now to check out Zappos Adaptive myself. I haven't been there yet but I'm definitely going there. I'll probably find something that I didn't know existed that I need. Not just want but that I need, right? - Well, and that's a big facet of anything in life is everyone has wants and everyone has needs. And usually we fulfill our wants. We wanted to look cool. We wanted to have these things. We wanted to do this. But we need it to be functionable. We need it to have that functionality. And sometimes we're willing to sacrifice being functionable verses having that flare. And it's almost 2020. It's time to have both. - Yeah. Dave and I are nothing if not fashionable. - Oh, I can tell. I saw you when we walked in. I was like, man, that dudes got style. - So, what other project have you done since Breaking Bad? You've been in a few films, right? - Yeah, I shoot about three movies a year, more smaller independent stuff, kind of more avant guard esque. I was on a show called Switched at Birth. I did that for a little bit. I did another show called Now Apocalypse. And I just keep working. I think the biggest, the biggest thing in working in our field and in working in the community is working. Just keep moving forward? Keep pushing forward. Enjoy what we're doing. Enjoy what's happening. And be aware. And it's been a great week. It's been a busy week. I'm very excited to be hosting tonight and tomorrow. And if people can't make it this year, come to next year. This will not be going anywhere but the organization though, CTD is very active through the whole year in every aspect of our community. - So, a champion for disability rights. - Very much so and making a big difference and making headway. And anyone that's been to capital hill or spoke to some congressmen or senators know that it's very difficult to get headway. But they're changing policy and it's changing. - William, where can we get more information on the CTD, the Coalition for Texans with Disabilities? - Well, we settled with this TXDisabilities.org is our website and you can find the information about the film festivals there or you could use the shortcut of CTDFilmFest.org. That will tell you just about the film festival. - And your cell number they can all in case they have complaints. - No, you can't call my cell number if they have complaints. They can call your number if they've got complaints. - And all the links for this show will be available on our website at TheGeneAndDaveShow.com. So, I welcome you to go to that site. You're probably already there because you're watching this there. But if you're watching it from YouTube go to TheGeneAndDaveShow.com and we'll explain and put some links in so you can just click them and go on. So, thank you all so much for being here today. Really appreciate it. It's been a great conversation. And I've got to go check out Zappos Adaptive. - Do it. - All right, well, thanks everybody. - So long folks. - See y'all. - William, well, we've just enjoyed another CTD Film Fest that you put on. This was what, number 16 in your career? - 16th, yeah. - Wow, that's fantastic. And you had quite a variety for us as well this year. How do you feel it went? - I think it went very well. And the audience loved it. Was glad to see how much they enjoyed it. They enjoyed some things more than I thought they would. - Yeah. There were some things confusing to me. Like that one animation with the salt shaker? - Well, that one was made by people with autism. And it's all animated by people with disabilities and there were three of them that were sent our way. And I loved the one with the salt shaker because of all the jokes and the sort of silly, corny things that were said. - We had a discussion. We were trying to decide if that was put on by CTD or Alamo Drafthouse. - No, it was made by a group out of the state. - And you've got entries from all over the world. That's fantastic. - 30 or so nations. - 30 or so nations, that's incredible. So, you've been growing over the years, the past 16 years. - Definitely. - What have you learned over that time? - I learn something new about disability every year. - Really? And you've worked in the field for so many years. - Yes, but I frequently discover a new disability one way or another. Years ago, five, six years ago, I learned how serious stuttering is as a disability. - Oh, I never, yeah. - And there are people who literally have a very hard time speaking because of their stutter and they have to, there was someone who said that even when it's hot he orders hot coffee because he can say that but he can't say iced coffee. - Oh my goodness. I never. - And it pointed out that a lot of cartoons like, oh, Bugs Bunny with the hunter who's sort of stutters and that was funny way of speaking. - Yeah, yeah, Elmer Fudd. - Elmer Fudd. That is a really anti-disability character. And they talk about I think also, Daffy Duck with the way that he speaks being anti-stuttering. I had never considered that before. This year, disability fashion was a really big thing for me because I'd never seen how big that industry is and how much it's growing and how people are recognizing it. - So, this was really a change in format, wasn't it, William? - Yes, it was. This was, we'd never had a fashion show. And we thought why not introduce a catwalk. And ask people create adaptive fashion, talk about it, show what it looks like and show how it designed, one way or another. And the most innovative design, I thought, was by the person who's totally blind. And she wanted to put identifiers on her clothing, so she could tell what it was. And the person who designed it gave it a little bit of bling. So, she had one that was designed by a butterfly and it put the beads in there. So, she could not only tell what it looked like but it looked really cool for her. - I've been modifying clothes since I become disabled but that was to say shorted sleeves or put big old pockets on my pants, so when I go traveling I never get separate from my passport and camera and pills and such. - I use sort of a form, it's not really adaptive fashion but I make sure that all of my socks are the same color, so that I don't have one blue sock and one black sock. They're all the same color. Pretty easy to tell. - Yeah, yeah. - Nothing that huge but I make little adjustments one way or another but I never thought of clothing, adapting all of the clothing to meet needs. - William, have you got any spoiler alerts for us for next year? Will you let the Gene and Dave Show know first? Give us an exclusive? - Oh, I definitely, I definitely will. And sometimes you don't know until it pops up. One year, there were two movies about really powerful women with disabilities. Lizzy Valasquez, very underweight person, no fat on her body. And she had to deal with a lot of bullying, so she had a anti-bullying video. And then there was a movie about a pilot, a lady who was a pilot and she has no arms. So, she's the only armless pilot. So, there we had strong women with disabilities. And one year we had prosthetics including animals with prosthetic limbs. And that just came about totally by chance. Sometimes it's intentional and sometimes it pops up at unexpected times. - So, we'll see what kind of applicants you get for next year. - Definitely, and I might have some really good ideas after the South by Southwest Film Festival because that's where we found a lot of really cool films. - We're here today with Jennifer as part of the CTD Film Fest and Jennifer, I was talking with William. He was saying this year you did something different. You added a fashion segment to the CTD Film Fest. How did that come about? And what role do you play? - So, last year after our festival, every year we take a week off after our festival and then we kind of start thinking about the next year and what we might want to do. And William had been seeing all of these things online about adaptive fashion and disability styling. And he was like, you know what, I just really want to focus on this and make a statement about adaptive fashion. And so, I was like, well okay, how do you want to do that? I think that's a great idea. And he said, you know, I've really heard a lot about Mindy Scheier from Runway of Dreams and she has a son with a disability and she started creating clothing for him and she has this whole thing going in New Jersey. And so, we reached out to her, connected with her and started learning more and more about it and we were just like, this is it. This is what we need to do. And then RJ Mitte had been working with Mindy and I was like, it would be great if we could reach out to Mindy again, get RJ's contact information and have him come to the Festival this year and host it, given his advocacy work and his work in media and his fashion work. And so, it was a natural fit. They got back to us very quickly. And he was happy to come. And it was great this year. - And let me interrupt you here. RJ Mitte is co-star on Breaking Bad. - Yes. - So, he is not the easiest person to get a hold of. - Definitely not the easiest person to get a hold of. However, it felt like it was very easy this go around. I mean, she got back to us, his publicist got back to us within a few hours of us asking, hey can he come. And so, we really felt like it was a meant to be situation and we couldn't be happier to have him. So, it was so great having him. And then this whole fashion challenge idea came together, I really couldn't tell you how. It just started and we were like, you know, if we're going to talk about adaptive fashion, we should really reach out to our members and see what their clothing issues are and how we might be able to help them. And so, then it just turned into this whole conversation that was just incredible. And myself, being filmmaker first, I was like, we have to film this. I need to follow their stories. And so, we selected five people from our community to pair them with four designers, both in Austin and our maker Ichenhausen from the Houston, Galveston area. - Well, that's incredible. Well, I can't wait to see what happens next year. - Thank you. Yes, we'll see. I don't really know. We kind of just pay attention to the trends that are happening in our community and it's all about listening to our members and what you guys want to see. We want to bring you the media representation that you feel you would like and how we can all connect. It's really about continuing conversations and if there's any time that we can do any sort of legislative change or anything like that to get things moving on an advocacy level, that's what we're all about. So, accurate representation in the media for people with disabilities and changing the picture of film through disability representation. - So, Jennifer, if people want to get a hold of you, what's the best way to contact you? - Instagram. They can Instagram me at jenja J-E-N-J-A underscore B. I'm always on Instagram. They can also Instagram me at CTDFilmFest and also find me online at our social media page, Cinema Touching Disability Film Fest and also my email. I'm all over. - And your email? - My email is J Bracy, B as in boy, R-A-C-Y @TXDisabilities.org - Fantastic. So, folks reach out to Jennifer. She's got a lot of information. And she certainly wants to hear what you want to see as well. - Yeah, I want to continue the film moving forward and I want to again, tap into what you guys want to see and what I can do for you and how we can keep the conversation going moving forward because there is a real epicenter to all this that is really coming together and I think with all of us banding together, both in terms of fashion and legislative change, we can really do something great together. - Fantastic. - Thank you so much, Gene. - Thank you. - Thank you. - So long folks. - Bye. - Yeah, like I said last night, I actually started this process about 27 years ago and I was in college and that's when I discovered the need for clothing for people with disabilities as a real issue, that there were brands out there, at the time, there were still catalogs and so, there were brands out there that were definitely, like Sears for uniforms, standard Velcro or hook and loop. Got to give them their copyright. But there were definite brands out there but it wasn't about fashion. It was just simply about function. And I think JC Penny also had uniforms. You had brands like Silverts, which is still around. They're based in Toronto. You had brands, a lot of brands overseas, interestingly enough. The states was really slow to the game with regards to adaptive fashion and I think what that did for me is it created an insatiable desire to do search. But it wasn't research to get a PhD. It wasn't research to start a business. I was literally just out to solve a problem. And that's a different type of motivation. And so, what would happen is anyone that I saw on the street with assistive technology, like I was saying, occupational therapists, any doctor I could talk to, anyone that I could talk to I gave information. And then from there I went on to, I was actually shopping in Target. And Target now has an adaptive collection for children. And it's only two women running that. Two women. And they're not getting a lot of support because, but that's what happens. A woman has a child with a disability and she says I want to make sure there's access and so now you have something at Target. But I went into Target at the time shopping for something for my cat, who allowed me to live in our home, I needed to bring a toy home. And I saw a clothing for dogs that was just, it looked like London Fog coat. And we see them all the time but the pocket worked. The zippers, I'm like when is a dog going to use a pocket. And then it just, at that point I packed away all of my clothes for an entire year. I was still on radio, on the radio in the morning. I had a morning drive show. And I packed away all of my clothing and I was just like, you know what, I'm going to raise awareness for the next year. And at the end of that year, that's actually when I started, the first time in my life I actually gained weight. I become less social. My self advocacy was in the trash. It was just weird going into a store and only being able to pick from a random number of pajamas when all of this clothing was available. And I thought, this is how people feel when they don't have access and choice. And so, that's what really motivated me to go back to get a second grad degree and fashion journalism, it really made a difference. - My path started with just needing a chance to kind of have an alternative to stress. I was working as a vet tech in a non-profit animal clinic and we dealt with a lot of surgeries and emergencies, 15 hour days. For seven years I did that. And my husband recognized that so we started talking about that. I could never find things in stores that I liked because I have a particular idea of what I like to wear. So, he was like, well, make them. Because I keep my clothes. I have clothes from high school, from the '90s. I mean, I keep my clothes. And so, he and I talked about it and I started sewing and then within a year, I took a bunch of classes, taught myself a bunch of stuff, started researching and then within a year and a half we started the business. And now, I do that full-time. It supports, pays our bills. I do it 100% of the time. And it's taken me on such a great journey. Like you were saying, my path is completely different. I mean, I was working full-time, getting up at five or six in the morning, working on sewing, learning drafting, reading books til about nine o'clock. Then I'd go to work. Come home at six. Do it again til midnight or one, everyday. Because I was super into it. I was super passionate about it and I didn't know. And I offer instruction as well, through my business because I've been a teacher more than half my life but I tell my students, regardless of your age, just do it. You might like it. You might love it. You might hate it. But at least you'll know. I didn't have any exposure to sewing as a kid. I wasn't the child who had the grandmother sewing and had the tin box of cookies with sewing. I didn't grow up with any of that. And I didn't know that I was going to be good at it. So, that led me down that road and then we just decided to start the business. We started small and then we realized we had a demand. And then we found a target market and we researched a lot. My husband and I researched a lot. We were constantly working. And when we're on vacation we're still brainstorming. When we're eating lunch we're brainstorming. We're just constantly on it because we're passionate about it. And so, I think that's important is finding something that you really want to focus on, you're really passionate about. Try new things. Everything. Just try it. And if you, you're in an awesome, we're in a city where you have accessibility to a lot of things. Where I'm from, I didn't. So, I just think that's a big part of it is just giving everything a chance and seeing what you're good at. And then I started doing custom sewing and then started downloading the instruction. So, now I run a sewing and design studio. I offer instruction, product development, design work and custom sewing. So, customers are actually able to find us because of the help of my husband. He is a marketing specialist. So, I'm very fortunate. He and I work very well together. And so, luckily, we've again, researched on how to, the SEO and how to do the whole, I'm not going to really go into detail because I don't know much about it but we research a lot on how to find customers and also, I am the kind of person that will get out there. Somebody asked me do you know 60TD? I have no exposure to this program or the organization. I was like sure. Somebody will ask me to do something and I will say yes, almost always. Because I never know who I going to meet and how it's going to change my experience. - But I think it's important, I agree with everything you just said. It's important to also solve a problem. And I can't just be how can I get my stuff out there? It's got to be, and I don't care what the industry is. I think the most effective entrepreneurs are people that identify a problem and solve it. And then everyone goes, why didn't I do that? I don't know if anyone here has ever heard of Spanx. They cut the bottom of their stockings off. If you've ever done something like that, she did it and thought, huh. Now, she has stores and it's just solving a problem. And I think when you go into something from the mindset that I'm going to solve a problem, it helps you identify your customer base because you are meeting a need, so you're not forcing them to jump on board on your ideas. You're saying, I see you, you matter and I'm going to help meet your need. - [Jennifer] So, Stephanie, where do you see opportunities to bridge the divide between big brand adaptive fashion and DIY, how we're all kind of doing it ourselves for now? - Well, I think the bridge is communication. As a communication professor, I think that that's the bridge. I think having the courage for people that are doing this on their own, you have to be able to have what I takes to just contact the brands and say hey, it costs a lot of money to take a small brand and manufacture things because your orders are small, increases the price. But these larger guys can do that portion. You need to present yourself as a consultant. You need to say like, I saw that you were working with AFOs. I would follow all the Alleles and follow those other brands and see how they're doing their thing with prosthetics. And then I would just chatting with people and seeing if they wanted, - I was looking at a sports shin guards because Adidas and these huge brands that actually we went to Carol's Orthotist, which I had, I did a lot of research of patents and seeing what was out there on, what was already not under patent anymore because it's over 20 years. And I saw a lot of these designs and kind of made an adaption and little prototypes where how she could now sweat in the so much because that's the biggest problem. I'm sure you know. And she's saying, I sweat in the winter, I sweat in the summer and are always miserable. We've all had sweaty feet at some point. So, we know how this feels. And we just kind of got into a conversation, and Jennifer was there, that was kind of disheartening because instead of being about new ideas and how we can solve the problem, it directly went into Medicare and Medicaid and how they won't pay for new stuff. And they have to, so they said, like something new needs to be paid for by 2000 people before they will consider adopting it, which could be, for something simple couldn't be that bad because you charge, I don't know, 50 bucks or something. How much are shin guards? And you see this disconnect between shin guards verses a Flows and why are they so expensive? I guess it's the custom part. - And I think too, it's not just the custom part it's because we're segregated as a community, so disability doesn't have a political power, doesn't have a lot of power to be, do you think any other group would allow that disparity in pricing? - No way. - No way. They'd lobby. And I've trained as a lobby, in the program that they've had in different states, but I got advocacy training and I though, there would never be this problem but this group needs the money for their issue. This group needs the money for their issue. So, it keeps it segregated and that's where we lose the power, the one voice power. - So, he was talking about replacing straps use to be free. You know, like the Velcro straps because Carol said it last night, you need to wait five years to get a new pair of Air Flows. So, imagine the same shoes for five years. That sounds crazy but that's how it is. So, straps are going to break. He use to replace them for free and now he has to charge $200 for a piece of Velcro. - [Jennifer] Velcro. - So, he told me, well you can do whatever you want. Obviously, I'm working with a hospital so at the moment I don't want to do whatever I want because I carry the liability of a big institution but as a friend I'm like, maybe I can help you for free or you buy the 10 bucks worth of Velcro or whatever is. - But I feel like this is a global problem in America period when it comes to any assistive device. To get a wheelchair, it's like you have to have your own army to prove to the insurance companies that you need it. And I mean, we're talking not even the latest and greatest. We're talking just a lightweight wheelchair. And you do have to wait five to seven years to get anything. And a lot of times you can't just rely on the insurance company. You also have to pursue other state services and prove to them that you are worthy. - Because the fact that I'm even here from LA having this conversation means that things are changing. I couldn't pay anyone to have me talk about this a decade ago. There like no, get your money. Just stop. So, the fact that people want to know and are having this conversation, I think shows you. So, it's not that the brands are necessarily leaving it, they really don't know. I want to say something else before we move on. There's a lot of talk on Twitter about ableism. Have you guys heard the term ableisms? - [Audience Member] Yes. - Have you, is anyone unfamiliar with the term ableism? So, ableism just means people that discriminate against people with disabilities because you're able body. So, my thing is, can we really have a conversation about ableism before we authentically discuss disability? And my answer is no. Because I think, when do we learn about disability? What class? What class did we take? Was it social studies, math? Did we, when did we learn about disabilities. You learn about the history, the civil rights, the language. Until we realize that there's been a gap in communication and knowledge, we can't accuse people of ableism because we are still afraid to say disability and I don't mean how self-identify it. Every single person gets to self-identify however they want. That's the power of it but as a culture, when is it taught? We celebrate Columbus Day but we don't know anything about disability. It's interesting. So, the work that I do with individuals is personal styling. So, yes, it is personalized to that particular person's lifestyle and body type but my styling system, I use it across the board. I have these three question that I ask, and although simple when I say them, if you've ever shopped for something and you walk up to it and you think it's really nice and it cute and you're like, oh, I love this. If it doesn't get those three checks, we live it in the store, we leave it online. So, it has to be accessible. It has to be easy to put on and take off for your body type. And I remember when I first got this trademarked, they weren't going to let me call it Disability Fashion Styling System because they were like, everyone's going to use the word disability. And I finally was able to get my lawyer to get around that but it's accessible. It has to be accessible, easy to put on and take off. It has to be smart, smart for your health. And what I mean by that is that if you're a little woman and you're wearing shoes that are going to cause you, that are just dangerous. Most little women that I know, even if I'm putting them in heels, a slight heel, it's never going to be like a stiletto. It's going to be something that works with their body type, that's good for their health. So, it has to be smart. And then finally, it has to be fashionable. It has to work not only for their body type but for their lifestyle. And body types means like if you happen to have a seated body type, we all know some people use wheelchairs and they also stand. We also know some people use wheelchairs and they have spinal cord injuries. Everyone that uses a wheelchair doesn't have the same problem. So, it needs to work for their lifestyle, their body type and then you have to love it. And once we check those three boxes then it's good to go. What normally happens is they love it and then it has a zipper in the back. If they're wheelchair users I'm like, there's no way you'll be able to get out of this if I'm not around, no. And they're like, don't worry about it, I'll have someone there. And that's usually the fight because it's very different to find brands that are not zippers in the back or all these fasteners or inset sleeves that make it difficult to put on and even something jersey knit like this, is something that would suggest because it has an inset sleeve, it has the current trend of a puffy, you know a puffy sleeve, and it is a mini, which works well with a long boot a booty, different ways that they can dress it up. They can add a belt. We can play with it. So, I try to get them to rethink their clothing so that they can have things that they need. And this is for my male customers as well as my female customers and my no-binary gender customers. I just try to make sure that I'm listening and I'm helping to meet their needs. - [Announcer] This program was made possible from the support of VSA Texas. - [Spokesperson] Mom afford to have help preparing her meals? We know what you're going through. Amerigroup has a plan for people with Medicaid that helps them get the services they need to live at home. Amerigroup, choose us for helping your loved ones live at home. Call 1-800-964-2777.