LUCY: Welcome back to our podcast and webisode series called ‘If you don’t mind me asking’, where we invite some rather interesting people along to share their lived experience of disability. I’m Lucy and once again I’m joined by
My co-host Dan. DAN: Hi Lucy, today we are delighted to be joined by Isaac Harvey MBE, who is, and I have a list here which I do have to read, so here is where the notes come in because there are
That many roles. So Isaac is a Disability Advocate, President of Wheels and Wheelchairs, Patron for Happy Smiles, a Power 100 Disabled People 2021, a Purple Tuesday Ambassador, a model, a video editor and I’m sure in the time that we’ve last spoken, it’s probably been a couple of months, there’s
Plenty of other roles to introduce there as well. So Isaac, great to have you and why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself: who you are and what you do other than all those? ISAAC: Well,
Thanks for having me. I think the introduction has been enough I don’t have to say much more – no I’m joking. Yeah, so I’m Isaac, born in East London, with a disability called limp pelvic hypoplasia, which means I have no arms and short legs, a weak pelvis, which means I’m not able to
Walk, scoliosis which is the curvature of the spine, and on top of all of that I have acid reflux. But I’ve had really supportive friends and family since day one who have always encouraged me to be
The best version of myself, and that’s allowed me to do that long list you mentioned earlier. DAN: That’s amazing so I mean all the stuff that you had throughout your life. Can you tell us a little bit about your upbringing, your experiences that you’ve had in, sort
Of, I suppose, living with those disabilities. ISAAC: Yeah so it’s been a bit of a 50 – 50. So on the one hand it’s been really fulfilling and as I said, I’ve had really supportive people who’ve never really discouraged me from doing things. And whenever I say I’m going to do something as
Wild as a skydive they say “yep if you want to do it then go for it” so that’s really been helpful. I think it’s because of my disability I’ve been able to do all of these things and get these
Opportunities. And be able to have a platform like this has been because of my disability, so it’s definitely opened a lot of doors for me. But on the other hand it comes with pain every
Single day of my life because of sitting in my chair for too long, that’s caused a lot of pain. When I was younger public transport wasn’t as accessible as it is now so I had to get taxis everywhere, and then when I eventually got onto public transport it was the most terrifying
Thing I’ve ever experienced, because my chair would go all over the place and I said, ” No, I’m not using the bus anymore”, so that took quite a while to get used to. And a lot of barriers that life puts in front of people with disabilities. Something that I’ve really been learning, being
More of an outspoken advocate for the past 2 or so years now, especially on LinkedIn. So yeah, it’s come with – it’s 50 – 50, but overall I’ve lived a very fulfilling life. Oh, and on top of that, dealing with my mental health as well played a huge part in that too, and
Coming to terms with that through that journey and realising that yeah, my disability has been my biggest strength, but I was blinded by that for a very long time. LUCY: We’ll come back to some of that in
A minute Isaac, because I do want to talk to you about your LinkedIn content and the topics you discuss. You make me feel guilty on LinkedIn, like you you’re busy doing something it appears every day and I’m like, I’ve just sat at my desk replying to emails. But I will come back to
That. One thing I wanted to just focus on a little bit was that President of Wheels and Wheelchairs, because if someone’s never heard of that, can you tell us a little bit more about what that is and
How that works? ISAAC: Sure, so Wheels and Wheelchairs is an outdoor activity sports club which started in 2012, where roller skaters push wheelchair users. On a weekly basis we skate around London. On Saturdays it’s Battersea Park, and then on Sundays we skate with about, between 100 to 200 other skaters
On the Streets of London. And we take part in fun skates where we – well, recently we dressed up in pajamas on a skate, and there’s a Santa skate, where everyone’s dressed up as Santa – Santa
Claus – and a few other fun skates in between. And then we’ve also taken part in marathons as well. Istanbul, we went to Berlin as well. So yeah, quite a lot of different activities. But it’s all good fun. LUCY: And
Is it the social aspect or the just getting out there and doing stuff? What was it that brought that together and gave you the idea, or made that come to life, as it were? ISAAC: So the group started in 2012 after a French group had been doing similar activities in Paris, and for their
10th anniversary they challenged themselves to skate from Paris all the way to London for the start of the Paralympic Games. So they contacted skaters here, because they wasn’t sure on the routes on how to get to the stadium, I think it was. And they said, “Oh yeah, we’re bringing wheelchairs,
And we’re going to be on roller skates” and the skaters were thinking what a weird concept, like, that’s not going to really work. But they said okay, if you know what you’re doing we can help you out. And then once they had arrived the skaters were so impressed they said yeah, we got
To start something here. And that’s how Wheels and Wheelchairs was born, and it started taking out people from the hospice at first and then it’s gone to all types of disabilities. And I got involved
And heard about it at the end of 2018, after going to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. I went on the ice rink in my electric chair and one of the marshals came up to me and we started talking and
He said: “Oh, would you be interested in wheelchair roller skating?”, and I never heard of this concept before. So I said yeah sure I’ve done other adrenaline activities but never done that before, so yeah that
Sounds good. And it’s close to home as well, because usually some of the these activities I have to go abroad, but this is straight in London, so I can get to it. And yeah, it kind of went off from there and
I’ve really enjoyed it ever since. LUCY: Fantastic. I’m gonna come back to that social media stuff now, and just, I know when we had a little chat a few weeks ago, and I know you said you avoided creating disability-related content for quite a while. Now we can’t keep you off there,
Can we? And as I say you’re always doing something, which is fantastic. There’s so much new content coming through all the time. But what was it that changed your mind to focusing around disability and using that as a topic and to kind of underpinning most of the stuff you talk about?
ISAAC: When I left school I knew I didn’t want to do the 9 to 5, and that’s because I’ve always had a creative mind. And I wanted to express that creativity through video, because I did media in school. And YouTube was starting to become a thing back then. So I started creating vlogs
Of my adventures and things that I would get up to. And friends and family during this time would always say to me: “you really need to talk about disability, you can really change people’s perspectives and you can really change people’s lives” and things and I always said oh, why do
I need to do that for? I don’t really understand why I need to do that. I just like creating content, why should I be talking about disability? Because like I said I just like creating things and having fun. So I kept on ignoring friends and family. And then they – oh no, and then
I was given an opportunity to talk about overcoming obstacles at this, I guess you could say a bit of a conference. I said yeah sure, I can do that. So in that talk I spoke about how it’s been difficult to use train stations, because not all the lifts are good, and I can’t
Get on on all of the trains, and the buses and the ramp’s not working, and the buggies taking priority over the wheelchairs, and the driver’s not doing anything about it. But I’m still
Able to do X, Y and Z. And those people really liked what I had to say. And I’ll always remember this: a woman came up to me afterwards, after I finished talking, and she said: “I get loads of pain in my
Legs, and I’m always complaining about it, but after hearing your story it’s really changed my perspective on things, and I really am thankful for you sharing your story”. And that was kind of the first time I’d heard it, not from a friend or family member, and the impact I was making so
I started implementing it into my videos. And then this was also going through the mental health, and understanding the importance of being honest about how I am, and the stories that I share. And then yeah, transferred on to LinkedIn. And I guess that’s how I solidified a bit of a
Voice in the community, and talking and being an advocate for disability, just by sharing my lived experience. DAN: It’s funny what you say there as well about, maybe not as a rule, always ignoring friends and family. But it’s one of those things you have to come to yourself, isn’t it? Especially sort
Of like, say, you’ve had that creative mind and then you’re like, well, actually this is the way I want to channel it now. And you probably got friends and family just after you start doing that going “Oh
Yeah, that’s a good idea, yeah, wish we’d mentioned that.” But fantastic. I know, myself as someone who sort of – the way my mind works or perhaps doesn’t work, it can take me all day just
To do a tweet. So in terms of the amount you get to do around – with your video editing, all of this content creation, and with what you’ve already shared about your disability, I wondered if
You had any, like, you know – what do you do, how do you manage to keep that churn up? What sort of software or hardware are you using to be able to make that possible? ISAAC: So
It does come with its challenge, because currently I’m doing most of it solo. That’s from, like, the writing the LinkedIn post, the video editing, the scheduling, the meetings, the podcasting – all types of different things – it’s all done solo. And it does come quite – it’s quite challenging at
Times to remember all of it, and being able to keep on top of it all. But one thing I make sure to do is, I do one thing at a time. And realising I can’t do everything all at once,
And try not to overwhelm myself in the process. And there’s been some technologies now I’ve been using this year, which has really helped in that productivity as well. So I have one now which takes meeting notes for me, so that helped me remember meetings. And if people forget
To send over notes I have that already down. That’s a software called Jamie. I use Microsoft Word for voice dictation, because I can type with my foot, but it’s not as fast and I do get pain from typing for too long. So that’s really helped. And I also have hands-free technology for my
Phone, to take phone calls and being able to do those certain things. So yeah, it’s a bit of a mix of hardware and software. But yeah, one thing at a time. LUCY: Actually, I know when we spoke I was,
Maybe it’s my naivete, I was slightly surprised you didn’t have more specialised kit. Because you just use your feet to do stuff that I might use my hands to do stuff, and actually I think that’s
Really – and I know that sounds daft and really simple, but actually stuff like that is just really interesting. It’s like well, why wouldn’t you just use your feet? So I think actually that for
Me was kind of like: oh don’t be so stupid Lucy, of course people just do stuff a bit differently but use the same kit, the same software and everything else. A few little bits maybe, but – and actually, I think there’s more accessibility features built into stuff these days as well, isn’t
There? So that that really helps, and again keeps the cost down if you’re paying for that stuff as well, doesn’t it? ISAAC: And usually it’s equipment that’s not really advertised as being accessible, but it actually is. So that’s been, yeah, really good when it’s implemented for
Everybody. LUCY: Yeah, absolutely, and it reduces the stigma, because actually it benefits all of us. I’ve been using speech-to-text and text-to-speech just today to do some stuff. And I don’t have an access need, it just helps and makes life a bit easier, so that stuff’s brilliant,
Isn’t it? I was going to say to you, one of the things that definitely comes across in your social media is your authenticity and your honesty. Not to sort of shock people or anything else, you’re
Just being, keeping it real I suppose, isn’t it? And being very honest about when it’s a good day, when you’ve had the best day and you’ve been modelling on the catwalk, or when you’ve just had a really
Crummy day, you couldn’t get the bus, your carer has let you down or whatever might have been the issue, and actually that’s that is the life of a person with a disability, isn’t it? But for you, what are the most sort of frustrating things that you live with on a day-to-day basis? What
Are the things that just really get you down, when it’s it’s really tough? ISAAC: I think the biggest one for me would have to be not having the flexibility to always go out and do something for a long period
Of time. I mean I can travel independently into London and probably can do a half day. But if I’m not meeting someone, or I go out with someone, it means I’m not able to eat and drink. Being
Able to go to the bathroom, because I can’t do that without any assistance. So that can sometimes be very frustrating when, I’m free to do something, but because I don’t have anyone to come with, I’m very restricted. And that’s happened quite a lot, because at the moment I rely on
Friends and family to help with that. But, really good news: I’m going to be making the call to Access to Work soon, and that’s going to hopefully make a huge difference in my life and allow me to have that flexibility, and being able to be a bit more spontaneous with
Life and keep doing what I’m doing, but in a more productive and enhanced way. But yeah, it does frustrate me currently, at the moment. And yeah, it can get me down. DAN: I know
We spoke as well around some of the, I suppose, sort of of attitudes as well, previously in one of our conversations Isaac, around how they can sometimes, or may have in the past, been a barrier as well. ISAAC: Attitudes in general? DAN: Yeah, in terms of sort of like what you’ve faced.
ISAAC: Yeah, I feel, you know, one thing I’ve really noticed when it comes to attitude, and there’s a bit of…I have to be a bit defensive on some of it, what I’m about to say, but the attitude of not seeing the importance of accessibility, and it being something that can affect everybody.
Because you know, the amount of stories that people share regarding, you know, going for a job, or stores not being very accessible, like there’s not enough room to get around. And people not doing web accessibility correctly. But you know, at the end of the day, if if they were to
Get that correct it’s only helping your business or yourself do better, but also realising that anyone at any given time can get a disability. So the attitude of it not being at the forefront of every conversation and why it’s so important still baffles me, being an advocate in the space.
I do feel since being it and being able to connect with loads of people, it has been changing and a lot of people are having that understanding, but it’s still got a bit of a long way to go. And
Also the bit I said about defending the point is: if you don’t know about it, then how are you meant to know? So I think it’s one of those things where we got to see it as a two-way street and
Educate people as well as learn from each other. DAN: I’ve certainly seen a lot of your LinkedIn posts around that as well, about champion where that accessibility is being brought in whether it be in, I know recently some stuff around wheelchair lifts, like a hotel that you
Were using or you’re going to events there as well. So being a to point out the good practice where it exists and you know, whether these things are perfect or not, but at least where that
Effort is being made. I know there could be quite a lot of noise around all of that as well, especially as soon as you start to touch on social media. You probably get that quite a lot, just
As in, again, the amount of times you’re either putting yourself out there as well in terms of whether it’s LinkedIn or any of the social media. There’s sorts of voices, I suppose, in both directions as well, as soon as you put yourself out there. ISAAC: Oh yes, definitely it’s all types of
Opinions whenever I put any sort of post out. But yeah, I you know I do like to highlight the good, because I think that’s sometimes overlooked and negative always gets the most attention. So I like to showcase what is out there and what happens when you do do it correctly, that
You get good customer experiences and you get more people wanting to come and support your business if you’re doing so. So you know, showing the good is only helping a lot of people understand the benefits of it. DAN: Yeah, that’s also what we’re about here as well so, well that’s a bit of
Luck. Right, so we were going to ask as well around the fact that you’ve obviously been through so many of these roles already: you’re a model, you’re a content creator, advisor and President of Wheels and Wheelchairs. We wanted to hear a little bit about what’s next for you, what’s next in
The pipeline for you? I mean, for me it sounds like you might need a rest but again that’s me talking. ISAAC: Yeah, what is next? I mean, to be honest I’ve been going with the flow. Most of the things, nowadays it’s like I never knew really existed or I’d never get
Myself involved in, so I’m kind of going with the flow. But I think the biggest one next is I’m going to be collecting my MBE in November. DAN: Nice. “The next one, I’m going to be collecting my
MBE”. LUCY: Who are you gonna take to that one? Who’s got the pride of place as your plus one for that? ISAAC: I’ve got a plus three, so I can take – LUCY: That’s brilliant. DAN: Quickly, put Lucy on
Mute. ISAAC: So definitely has to be my mum. She’s definitely helped me to get to where I am today. I’m taking the person who founded Wheels and Wheelchairs, because part of why I’ve got the MBE
Is because of Wheels and Wheelchairs, so I thought it’ be only right for me to invite them. And my friend Kat, who’s been making bespoke clothing for me for the fashion walk. And she’s going to be
Making me an outfit for the day, so I thought it’ll be nice for you to see it in person when you’re there. LUCY: You’re going to need a special outfit for that day. ISAAC: Yeah. LUCY: Fantastic. And I was going to
Say, you did some modelling for Unhidden, didn’t you, at London Fashion Week in 2022, which is where your model status comes from, which was fantastic. Stuff like that’s so important, because we need to see a diverse range of people on the catwalk. And you know Vogue followed up with
That, and there does seem to be a real positive change in this area, doesn’t there? ISAAC: Oh, 100%. I mean, being in the fashion world wasn’t something I wanted to get into. Because I admit it was one of those spaces that I did mock, actually, because I didn’t really understand it and whenever
I saw people on the catwalk it’s those ridiculous outfits and I thought: if that’s fashion I don’t want to get involved in it. So I didn’t really look really into it. Until Victoria contacted me about adaptive clothing, because it was a term I’d never heard of. When it came to
Clothing, my mom just made sure my clothes fitted me. So I never really knew about adaptive clothing. But having the opportunity to be on the catwalk and wear it, it’s when my mind clocked and I was
Like: oh, actually yeah now I see the importance of this and why we need to really be speaking about it. Because so many people are missing out on clothing and options. So to be in this space,
I’m glad I’m able to use my network to be able to share it and make it more known. LUCY: Yeah. I was gonna ask you a question, I don’t know if it’s really relevant to to you, so let’s see where
This one goes. You talked about how you know you always you always thought you could do anything as a child, and your family is really supportive, and obviously you’ve name checked the mum. Mums are always very important obviously, I say that as a mother.
But is there a piece of advice you’d have offered to young Isaac, maybe sort of between 5 and 10, in terms of where his life was going to go or what his dream should look like? What bit
Of advice would you give your younger self? ISAAC: I would have told my young self that it’s okay to not be okay. Because I wasn’t very confident in sharing my emotions, seeing being vulnerable as a negative rather than seeing it as a positive thing, and something that I can really
Build on. So to really, yeah – just to internally believe in yourself, and don’t really rely on outside sources to bring the internal happiness. LUCY: Brilliant. DAN: Fantastic. Well, unfortunately, as ever, we’re coming to the end of our time with you at the minute, Isaac. So I was going to
Ask where – well, I’m sure you’re pretty much all over the online space, but where would you like our listeners to find you online? ISAAC: So I am on all platforms @iamisaacharvey, but I mainly post on LinkedIn now, where I share my lived experience on a day-to-day basis. And if you
Would like to follow Wheels and Wheelchairs that’s @wheelsandwheelchairs on Instagram and Facebook, and Linkedin as well. And yeah, thanks for having me. DAN: Thank you ever so much Isaac, it’s been fantastic for us. So thanks both from Lucy and myself. I’m sure we will be back for another episode soon. Thanks everyone, bye-bye.
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