'My life's work is to market the abilities of the blind.' Hein Wagner on being born blind
This blind South African visionary and adventurer is helping visually impaired students bridge the unemployment gap with his technical academy.
Lester Kiewit speaks to South African, Hein Wagner, about his tech academy which trains visually impaired students on cyber security and helps those with visual impairments to be more eligible in the job market.
Despite being blind since birth, Hein Wagner has accomplished incredible things - from completing marathons to motivational speaking and starting a technical skills school for the blind.
Wagner's accomplishments include completing the Absa Cape Epic, running the Antarctica Marathon, the Two Oceans and New York Marathons, completing the full Ironman race, the Cape to Rio Yacht Race, holding the World Blind Land Speed Record at 322.52 km/h and receiving a golden key award from the University of Stellenbosch for his ongoing efforts towards social upliftment while travelling the world and sharing his love of adventure.
On the business front, Wagner inspires organisations and individuals to turn life obstacles into opportunities, which is exactly what Wagner did with his blindness.
Wagner uses a storytelling approach based on his own experiences as he recounts the source of his inspiration that helped him navigate his blind but visionary reality.
Wagner also established a technical school where he helps train visually impaired students in cyber security to help bridge the unemployment gap. The initiative comes after Wagner himself had difficulty finding a job.
"I tried so hard to find a job but got no replies until I removed three words: 'blind since birth'. Then, I started getting interviews. Therefore, I've made it my life's work to market the abilities of the blind. We have such a contribution to make to society."
- Hein Wagner
Overall, Wagner finds his blindness fascinating and will continue to use it to propel lightness into the world.
"Being blind is a fascinating place. I find it an absolutely magical space. We don't see society through the eyes of our most vulnerable and can't continue to turn a blind eye to the blind in society".
- Hein Wagner
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the full conversation.