Category:
Social Impact
Client:
Eone
Duration:
12 months
Despite having extremely limited vision, World champion paraclimber Justin Salas uses his technical prowess to break barriers and build empathy. Eone funded The Blind Ascensionist and pioneered 'blind climb clinics' to grow our community, strengthen brand equity, move hearts and minds.
(IMPACT)
Through the production and release of the film, Justin and I brought awareness of paraclimbing to 300 individuals in person, with a current online viewership of approximately 30,000. The pioneering climb clinic not only helped introduce climbing to blind and low vision individuals with no previous exposure, but also aided in one particular individuals sight loss transitional period.
(VISION & INNOVATION)
Eone's biggest asset was its community and being an icebreaker for inclusion through design. One of the biggest motivations and goals for individuals with sight loss, is regaining a sense of independence and 'doing what everyone else does' – something I learnt through living and spending time speaking with community members. My vision for this project was to enable Justin to tell his story, and use the medium of climbing and Eone's platform to help individuals achieve this.
"Inclusion is when a blind person is not a spectacle and they're not the center of conversation simply because they are blind." – Justin
(CHALLENGES)
Climbing films are ubiquitous. Sight loss (and sight for that matter) is a spectrum that is often misunderstood to be binary. It was very important to me that we worked with production experts who truly understood our vision. Jay Snyder and his team were pivotal in achieving this, and his own lived experiences meant we really hit the nail on the head.
(PROBLEMS)
Working on a budget, Justin, Jay, and I negotiated value in kind sponsorships from climbing gyms, streaming platforms, press, and media to help bring the film to the public. With their help, we not only created a film, but several community events that enabled Justin to continue impacting individuals to this day.
