Breaking All the Taboos with Robert Andy Coombs

What if everything you thought about disabled bodies and sexuality was dead wrong? In this raw and radically honest episode, Daniel and Fred get intimately real with photographer Robert Andy Coombs, a Yale MFA powerhouse whose provocative self-portraits explore the erotic, emotional, and unapologetically sexual side of queer disabled life.

Robert doesn’t just pose, he seduces, challenges, and redefines what sexy means. Together, we dive deep into care-work as foreplay, navigating desire with dependence, and how disabled bodies aren’t just desirable, They’re Effin' iconic.

Learn about the seductive power of vulnerability and trust, why disabled people make damn good lovers, turning carework into connection—and sometimes kink, breaking taboos around pleasure, touch, and representation & making art that turns you on and makes you think

This isn’t about inspiration—it’s about liberation. It’s hot. It’s honest. And it’s time.

Watch the video version on YouTube

Chapters

• Show Open (00:00)
• Introductions (00:19)
• Getting Into Photography (01:22)
• Shooting in Black & White (04:41)
• Robert’s Paralysis & Photography Practice (05:08)
• The Topic of Sex, Disability & Sexuality (06:34)
• Intimate Creative & Personal Pursuits (09:14)
• Inspiring Vulnerability (10:58)
• The Technical Side & Art Assistants (12:55)
• The Crip Trip RV Gallery / Dusting off the Polaroid (16:47)
• Raised Eyebrows & Other Reactions (19:11)
• Abled-Bodied vs. Disabled Audiences (21:06)
• Fetishists, Devotees & Objectification (23:05)
• Intention, Art & Intimacy (25:45)
• Getting Hired vs. Going Solo (28:02)
• The Art Industry, Capitalism & People with Disabilities (29:04)
• Closing Remarks & Credits (34:30)

Guest Bio - https://www.robertandycoombs.com/about 

Coombs grew up in Michigan's majestic Upper Peninsula where he spent his childhood roaming the great outdoors. He started photographing his walkabouts in middle school and moved on to portraiture in high school. Coombs received a scholarship to Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids Michigan. During his third year in undergrad, Coombs sustained a spinal cord injury due to a gymnastics training accident. After a year of recovery, he returned to KCAD and received his BFA in photography in 2013. Coombs' photography explores the intersections of disability and sexuality. Themes of relationships, caregiving, fetish, and sex are depicted and explored throughout. Coombs graduated from the Yale School of Art with his MFA amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and is currently residing in coastal Alabama.

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Watch the full series on AMI-tv and AMI+ and follow Crip Trip on Instagram

 

More about the Crip Trip Disability Podcast

Hosted by quadruple amputee filmmaker Daniel Ennett and his longtime collaborator Frederick Kroetsch, Crip Trip is a candid, irreverent, and insightful podcast where disabled artists share their struggles and triumphs in the art industry. From inaccessible workplaces to the fight for authentic representation, Daniel and Frederick dive deep into the challenges disabled creatives face while keeping the conversation lively with their signature humor and punk-rock energy. Each episode features participants from Crip Trip, offering raw, unfiltered stories about surviving—and thriving—in a world that still has a long way to go.

 

Host Bio's:

Daniel Ennett

Daniel Ennett is a filmma