March 7, 2024 • 41 mins
Host, Mark Miller, speaks with Dustin Giannelli about his life experiences, his advocacy, and his work as a public speaker and successful business professional. Learn about:
- His unique journey.
- His experience at Michael Jordan's basketball camp.
- His motto "Be on offense."
- Positive Mental Attitude (PMA)
- Meeting Stevie Wonder at CES
- His advocacy and mission
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
(upbeat music)
(00:00):
- [Announcer] Welcome to TPGi's
"Real People, Real Stories" podcast,
where you'll find interestingand diverse stories
from folks working to make theworld a more inclusive place.
- Hey, welcome to "RealPeople, Real Stories" podcast,
brought to you by TPGi.
I'm your host, Mark Miller, thanking you
(00:22):
for helping us keep it accessible.
Do us a favor.
If you're enjoying the "RealPeople, Real Stories" podcast,
share it, tell someone about it.
Hey, even link to it fromyour accessible website.
So thanks, everyone, for joining us.
I wanna introduce to yousort of an old friend
of mine, Dustin Giannelli.
Dustin, you and I met a couple years ago
(00:45):
when you were at CSUN working with 3Play.
We had a great, great conversation,
got to know each other a littlebit there, and here we are.
We're here again.
And since then, you've madea lotta changes in your life.
You're doing keynote speaking,
and you also have a bunchof brand partnerships.
So the first thing I wanna find out
from you, I get keynote speaking.
(01:05):
It makes sense.
I've done some of it.
Tell me about these brand partnerships.
What is that for you?
- Yeah, thank you so much for having me,
and it is great to seeyou again, too, Mark.
You know, as a keynote speaker,
hearsdustin.com is myplatform that I'm able
to partner with different corporate brands
(01:26):
and not only share my storybut also help shine light
on the efforts they're doing related
to diversity, equity, inclusion,accessibility, belonging.
And, you know, my story assomebody who is profoundly deaf
and has worn hearingaids since I was five,
is a vessel to the overall message.
(01:48):
The message is the key tosuccess in life is communication,
and the key to communication is access.
And so it's my passion to stand up
in front of hundreds of people
and share my story and learn about theirs.
- So tell me a little bit about,
like, when you go to one ofyour brand partners, right?
(02:09):
When you go to one of these companies,
and you start to share your story,
and you start to talk tothem about communication
and access, which is alwaysan interesting thing, right?
Because I think people think
they think they understand access
until they hear a story like yours,
and then they realize maybe
it's a little bit more complicated
than what they had originally thought.
(02:30):
What's the reaction?
How do people react to that,
and how does it end up improving things
for them in that corporate environment?
- Just like life, accessibilityis a journey, right?
And everybody has a unique story,
so whether they're hearingmy story for the first time
or your story or anybody else's story,
(02:52):
they realize, oh, wow, Ihadn't thought about that.
You know, we're creating thisnew product or a new program.
I hadn't thought aboutthat approach, right?
So it makes people realize
that accessibility is ajourney with no finish line.
- Mm-hmm.
- And, you know, it's somotivating to all of us
(03:17):
to learn and utilize different stories,
you know, experiences in my life
from when I was a little kidto when I was 11 years old
and went to Michael JordanBasketball Camp, for example.
And we can get into that later,
but that's where I created my motto,
be on offense, at 11 years old.
I'll talk a little bitabout that in a bit,
but, you know, whether it was high school
(03:39):
or my college experience, myprofessional career, you know,
that life, those stories,that experience is a journey,
and we can learn so much from each.
- So, talk to me a littlebit about what your story is.
I mean, I think we get the basics, right?
Like, obviously, you're deaf.
It sounds like that wassomething that was progressive
(04:00):
that started when you were a child.
Tell me, Dustin, like, what's the story?
What did you go through,
and what did you learn going through?
It sounds like you had some challenges,
and you had some adventures.
Like, what are the things thatyou learned along the way?
- Even before I was diagnosed
with a profound hearingloss, I was introduced
(04:22):
to disability and handicapat a very young age.
My grandfather was a double amputee,
and so he had prosthetics.
He had a wooden hook and a wooden leg.
He got in a boatingaccident in his mid-20s,
and helping somebody, he wasthe one that hit the propeller,
(04:42):
and he survived it.- Ooh.
- He survived it and thrived,
and, you know, he wasalways upbeat, positive.
You know, he taught me PMA,positive mental attitude,
and what that meant.
Never to take no for an answer.
And so I was already introduced,right, at a very young age.
(05:04):
And at the age of five, see,
one year, I passed theschool nurse's hearing exam.
Who remembers that, right?
- [Mark Miller] Mm-hmm.
- I passed it, no problem,
but then the second year, Iremember standing in line,
and they had put a board up
in between the nurse and all the students,
(05:27):
and I remember looking at the board
and watching the students realizing
for the first time, thisisn't gonna work for me.
I read lips.
- Right.
- And I watched them.
I remember watching them click the button
to make the beeps go off, right?
- Yeah.- Raise your hand
when you hear the beeps.
(05:48):
- [Mark Miller] Yep.
- I remember seeing their armmove, and I was just adapting.
I just did what I had to do
to succeed, get an A on that test.
- So you were faking your way
based on observation, basically,through the hearing test.
- Nobody in my family was deaf,
so I didn't even knowwhat it meant to be deaf.
(06:10):
I just did what I had to do to succeed.
- You just figured out, just figured out
what was going on and handled it
a different way.- I learned how
to watch the mouth move andhow words were formulated.
- You were reading lips and thought
that that's what everybodydid, essentially.
- [Dustin Giannelli] Yeah.
- Like, you didn't realize
that everybody else was hearing a voice
(06:33):
that you weren't hearing orat least not hearing as well.
That is fascinating, that's fascinating.
So when did you figure all of that out?
When did it dawn onyou, hey, wait a minute,
something's going on differently
with me than my peers and my family?
- They immediately called my mom
and said, "I think your son is deaf,"
(06:55):
and my mom said, "What?"
You know, pun intended.
And no one in my family realized it
because at a young age, youknow, I read everybody's lips.
I put myself in a positionthat I could hear them-
- [Mark Miller] Mm-hmm.
- and understand.- And how old are,
how old are you at this point?
- I'm 30, well, I'm 34 now.- No, back then.
(07:16):
Back then.- But at then,
I was five years old.
- Okay, wow.
- Yeah, so very, very young age.
And I had one older brother,
and, you know, not a huge family,
but one older brother.
I knew a bunch of his friends.
I just fit in.
You know, played basketball my whole life,
(07:37):
and, yeah, it was neversomething that held me back.
- It's also a testament to justhow clever kids are, right?
- [Dustin Giannelli] Seriously.
- Like, you can't takeanything for granted
because a five-year-old'sgonna figure stuff out
that you wouldn't imagine
a five-year-old's gonna figure out.
And I'll tell you before you go on
(07:57):
that we were talking beforethe mics heated up, right,
and we started the podcast here
because I was asking you, you know,
kinda how you communicate,
and I brought up sign language,
which you said you knew a little bit of.
Well, I had a friend, so Iused to publish a magazine,
and one of my clients that I would walk
into every day, their daughterworked in this bookstore,
(08:22):
and I chatted with her,
and she had a voice about like yours.
It was good, but it wasn't,you know, it sounded
like there was a littlesomething different
about it, we'll just say,
but just a little bit, you know?
- [Dustin Giannelli] Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
- And so, I'd thought, well, whatever.
You know, there's this speech thing,
where I didn't really think much about it.
(08:42):
And I dealt with her for quite a while,
only to find out later on,like you, that she was deaf,
and this was before cochlear implants.
She really didn't have hearing aids
that she could use at all.
She was deaf.
But she grew up, and,you know, her parents,
(09:03):
like many parents not knowingwhat to do, had put her
through schooling toteach her how to read lips
and to teach her how to speak,
so she went throughintense speech therapy.
That's why her voice was so good.
But it was amazing to me, to your point,
to realize that she was deaf,
and that this whole timeshe had been reading lips.
(09:24):
And I think what happened isthat she had turned around,
and I had said some stuff to her,
and when she turned back around, you know,
she realized I was speaking,
and I realized she didn't understand,
and that's how I found out.
But at that time, she waslearning sign language,
so just, Dustin, that'swhen I learned sign language
I started, became reallygood friends with her
and met the whole deafcommunity in our area
(09:48):
and learned sign language.
But very, very similar story.
Like, you know, she was deaf from birth,
but took a while for herparents to realize it,
and these hearing parents,they didn't have a manual,
you know what I mean?
- Yeah.- They didn't, what to do,
which put her in an odd predicament
where she sort of had onefoot in hearing culture
and one foot in deaf culture,
(10:09):
which is another whole story.
But I guess that's my question for you,
is that once your parentsrealized that you were deaf,
like, how did they handle it?
How did they react to it?
And, well, just tell me that
to start with.- Yeah, I mean,
we immediately went toBoston Children's Hospital,
(10:30):
the Waltham location,
and got a, you know, proper hearing exam
in the booth and everything,
and sure enough, I was severely deaf
at the time, severe profound.
And over the next few years,it gradually decreased
to the profound levels,
(10:50):
and, you know, that's themost significant loss.
And so, when we look back,our doctor at the time
and my mom came to an agreement
that it was from chicken pox.
Now, chicken pox
is a virus, right?- Really?
- And I had a very severe caseof chicken pox all on my face
and my ears as a young, young boy,
(11:11):
and it must have damaged my cochlear,
which are hair cells thatvibrate when you hear sound.
Mine were broken, so they mightbe not moving the way yours
or others with, quote,normal hearing move.
And so it was a gradual decrease
(11:32):
from about the age five to 12,
and finally, I remember just,
I mean, you gotta remember,this is constant visits
to the audiologist every few weeks, month.
My mom's driving me back and forth.
It was kind of a pain, right?
But I always, you know,kept my grandfather's voice
(11:53):
in my head, "PMA, Dusty.
You gotta do what you gotta do.
You know, that's life."
And, you know, I did what I had to do,
but I finally said tomyself, "I don't want
to lose my hearing anymore."
- Of course.- And from that point on,
you know, that attitude,that be on offense mentality.
(12:13):
So lemme talk about that for a second,
right?- Yeah, go for it.
- I was 11 years old, my brother was 14.
My parents surprised us with tickets
to Michael Jordan'sBasketball Camp in Chicago.
This was a week-long camp in Chicago
with campers from all over the world.
(12:35):
There was a wait list.
My late father's auntworked at the college
and was able to get us onthe wait list years prior,
and we finally got called.
And so we got to meetMichael Jordan every day,
one way or another.
And one night, he wasgiving an auditorium speech.
(12:55):
It was middle of the week,
and they actually justannounced the all-star teams,
and I made the all-starteam for my age group.
- [Mark Miller] Wow.
- So I'm sitting with my new teammates
from all over the world,
and we're waiting forMichael Jordan to come out.
I was about 50, 60 feetaway from the stage,
off on the left side, andas soon as he came out,
(13:16):
and he started talking,everybody started laughing,
and I very quickly realized
I couldn't hear anything that he said.
And being five, six yearsnew into being deaf,
in that moment, Mark, it was up to me
to get the help I needed.
(13:36):
There was a counselor walkingup and down the aisle.
All I had to do was ask,"Hey, you know, I'm deaf.
I read lips.
May I sit up front?"
But I pretended to laugh
and pretended to smile for the full hour.
- [Mark Miller] Oh.
- I was embarrassed, right?
My new teammates, I didn't wantthat moment to be a barrier,
(13:59):
especially having justmade the all-star team.
And that's what HearsDustin is all about.
That's what my brand,what I am all about today,
is I don't want any other 11-year-old
or kids or parents, adults
to pretend to laugh or pretend to smile.
(14:22):
There's so much help out there.
You know, companies like TPGi, Vispero,
3Play Media, you name it.
There are so many companies out there
with resources that help all people
with disabilities and abilities.
- So that sort of one momentthat you look back on,
(14:44):
and regret's probably not the right word,
but wished you at that agecould've handled differently,
that really is the inspiration
for everything that youdo today, everything
that you're talking about today.
You bring up a good point whenyou talk about that story.
I mean, we're all humans, right?
And we all are social creatures,
(15:06):
so I think, you know, it's really profound
and understandable thatwhat held you back is
that you didn't wanna beembarrassed in front of your peers.
When you were diagnosed,
and, I guess, probably morewhen it was more obvious
to the people aroundyou that you were deaf,
(15:26):
how did your peers,
how did that affectthings with your peers?
How did they react to that,and how did you handle it?
- I mean, I already had a greatgroup of friends, you know,
and support within my family,
so when I got hearing aids,I already had glasses,
and I saw them as justsomething that helps me hear,
(15:48):
just like glasses help you see,
and that's what I toldmy friends, you know?
And, you know, allthrough elementary school,
people knew my older brother already,
so then they knew me,
and the teachers actedlike it was no big deal,
and so I acted like it was no big deal.
- That's great.- And then my peers acted
like it was no big deal.
And I did great in academics,
(16:09):
and I did even better onthe basketball court, and-
- That's fantastic.
- I let my actions speak for themselves.
And, you know, I was just recently talking
to another client abouthow when I was at recess,
all I wanted to do was play basketball,
and that's what we did, right?
And different games andkickball and you name it.
(16:30):
And I was the best one on the court.
I picked the players that got picked last
because I knew what thefeeling of inclusion felt like.
As somebody who has a disability, I know
(16:51):
what feeling includedand excluded feels like.
- Sure, yeah.
- So having picked the,quote, worst player
on the team first mademe work even harder-
- [Mark Miller] Mm.
- and smarter, right?
And so, you know, yeah,I just found it so fun
(17:13):
to see us all win no matterwhat the scoreboard said.
- Wow, what a great attitude.
Well, I think, you know,you were really lucky
to have a supportive group of friends
and a supportive family, right?
And you're super lucky tohave a grandfather with-
- Yeah.- the experience he had,
(17:33):
that had the attitude that he had,
and that probably reallyhelped set you up for success.
So when you go out and talkto these organizations,
and you tell them thatstory, what's the reaction?
Like, what do people come up
and sorta tug you on theshirt sleeve and say to you?
- Well, you know, it'sa fun story to tell,
(17:53):
and I think, you know, you're enthusiastic
in hearing about it, right?
- Mm-hmm.- And there's a lotta ahs
and oohs and wows from the crowd.
And whether there's, youknow, 50 people in front of me
or 500, the story allows
(18:14):
for this relationship
to happen in that moment.
I make eye contact with everybody
because I have to read lips,
but I have to read facial expressions.
One engagement I did witha very large corporation
outside of Boston, Inoticed in this moment,
(18:35):
I was building up thestory to make a point,
and as soon as I wasabout to make the point,
I could see a woman behind another woman,
trying to look around her head,
which was kinda blocking her view to me.
- [Mark Miller] Mm-hmm.
- I noticed that.
And when I made thepoint, I stepped forward
so she could see me,
(18:56):
and that moment was anaccessibility moment.
I wanted her to see me
just as the same way I had to see her.
And I said right afterthat, "Did anybody notice
that I stepped forwardwhen I made that point?"
No one really raised their hand,
and I wasn't expecting them to
'cause that's just how I talk.
(19:16):
I said, "Only one personmight've noticed,"
and she kinda thought itwas her but wasn't sure,
and I said, "Was it you?
Were you having a hard timeseeing me, exactly, right?"
- [Mark Miller] Mm-hmm.
- I want you guys to see me just as much
as I need to see you.
So in conversations atwork, let's remember,
open up our shoulders,to have a circle, right?
(19:40):
- Yeah.- Your ERG,
employee resource group,is called the Circle,
the Disability Circle.
- [Mark Miller] Mm-hmm.
- So let's open up, right?
And so that's the actionstep that I encourage us all
and just bring awareness to.
- It's interesting that you say that.
You know, through mylife, I've attended a lot
(20:01):
of like, social functions for work,
and, you know, those areas
where you have to meet a lotta new people,
and one of the things
that I've always done is exactly
like you said, these circles form,
and just having that awareness
when other people are walking up
or when other peoplewanna join the circle,
(20:22):
that you've gotta openthat circle a little bit
and bring that person in.
You know, I don't wantto have somebody have
to, like, look over my shoulder.
- [Dustin Giannelli] Right.
- It's always moving out.
And I think that, you know,just as an overall analogy,
that's kinda what you'retalking about with communication
is like, open up that circleand let's keep it a circle
because when it's acircle, we're all equal
(20:43):
in our ability to see andengage with each other.
But as soon as somebody's behind
or something like that,it's not that, you know?
- And not only that, it'sif somebody comes in,
and you wanna welcome them, yes, open up,
but also include them on where you're at
in the conversation you're talking about.
- Yep.- "Hey, we're just talking
(21:03):
about X, Y, and Z.
You wanna join us?"
"Oh, oh my god, yeah," you know?
- [Mark Miller] Yeah.
- How good that feelsto just be so welcomed
into a conversation aboutanything, "Game of Thrones,"
you know, business talk, different events.
- Whatever it is, yeah.
- Anything, and speaking of"Game of Thrones," right?
You need the closed captionfor that show, right?
(21:25):
- Yes. (laughing)(Dustin laughing)
I need the closed captions
because it's hard enough for me to follow.
- 80% of people that useclosed captions are not deaf
or hard of hearing.
- Oh, I believe it, yeah.
- Imagine?- I mean, just situationally,
just in bars and restaurants,
and I'm learning a second language.
I use closed captions
(21:46):
to help me learn a second language,
you know?- Absolutely.
- And then a lotta people, my son
and his girlfriend leave close captions on
almost all the time.
Just, I don't know why.
- Yeah.- For some reason,
don't even need to know why.
For some reason, it's abetter experience for them.
Yeah, and that's a goodexample of just how,
(22:07):
to your point, like to accommodating,
and maybe you're accommodating for someone
who has a disability andneeds an accommodation,
but anytime you make thataccommodation available,
you have no idea the number of people
that may be using that accommodation
for their own personal reasons
or in specific circumstancesor anything like that.
(22:31):
So what have you found,like, what has helped you
just in your career andgetting through life?
What are the things that you've needed
to make sure are in place for yourself
that have helped youaccommodate kinda your,
I guess, always being on offense, right?
Like, what have you offensively made,
(22:52):
offensively, that's not the way to say it.
What have you made sure is in place
so that you can do what you need to do?
- Yeah, you know, it's asituational question, right?
But there's a lot ofdifferent accommodations.
Of course, my hearing aids.
Having Bluetooth is amazing,
as I mentioned to you earlier on,
is I'm connected on Bluetooth,
(23:14):
so I can hear your voicedirectly through my hearing aids.
I've got the captions on, andI'm able to read your lips,
so that's what makes thisexperience accessible.
Now, remember, when the pandemic hit,
I was actually workingin a different industry.
I was working in thecommercial architecture
and design industry.
(23:34):
I was working for IdeaPaint,
which is a dry erasewhiteboard paint that turns-
- Really?- your whole wall, right,
into a whiteboard, and it'sa fun product for kids,
and your office, and you name it.
Well, imagine me being in an office,
a conference room, a boardroom.
I'm trying to read lips on the right side,
and then somebody talksover there, I'm trying
to read lips over there,and then they crisscross,
(23:55):
and it's difficult, it's fatiguing,
but at least I can readwhat's on the wall, right?
And so that's why I loved IdeaPaint.
Now, when the pandemic hit
and the offices closed, Irealized I needed so much help,
and, you know, the deafcommunity needed help,
and so I jumped to learnall about closed captioning
(24:17):
and video accessibility with 3Play Media,
and spent 18 monthsthere, built relationships
with, you know, the team andthe clients, the partners,
and really understood what.
You know, 3Play is such a thought leader
in the space for accessibility
and DEI-- Really are.
- and so I looked up to them to be able
(24:40):
to realize how importantjust sharing your story
and your motto, be on offense,
and the differentaccessibility and accommodation
that I use, how importantthat is to everybody, right?
There's 50 million Americansaffected by hearing loss.
- Wow.
- 430 million affected byhearing loss in the world.
(25:05):
Now, go back to America real quick
for more numbers and stats.
Of those 50 million,
28 million people say, "Yeah, hearing aids
or other assistive technologywould absolutely help me.
I would benefit from that."
- Right.
- However, only 14%
(25:26):
of that population, 4.5million, actually get the help
they need.- Wow.
Is that a financial barrier,
or is it apathy, or all of the above?
What's that attributed to?
- All of the above, whetherit's financial, confidence.
What about you have a job,
(25:47):
and what if you disclose that you're deaf,
and you're insecure about that?
Or once upon a time,you didn't tell people
that you had a disability or a difference.
Now, today, it's
about sharing your abilities.
- Right.
- Because our differenceslead to innovation.
(26:10):
- [Mark Miller] Yeah.
- Right?
- Yep, I was just gonna say that.
I mean, I think that that's almost
a strong second message
in your story is that based on what you,
based on how you had to innovate,
like, that original story, right,
of you figuring out howto pass the hearing test,
(26:34):
even though you couldn't hear.
I mean, that's incredible innovation.
It's innovation that I didn't have to do.
Like, somehow, your brain isrewired and has a new ability
because you had to innovate at that level
and continue to do that through your life,
and what does that bring to an employer?
(26:56):
What does that bringto your brand partners?
What does that bring to anybody
and everybody that youcome in contact with?
You know, that's of value.
That's a ability that you've created
that other people don't have.
And I see that because I know that
because I have ADD and dyslexia,
(27:17):
and with my dyslexia, I'vevery similarly, you know,
I had to cheat around spelling, you know?
Like, and I was afraid to death
of employers finding outhow bad my spelling was.
And, you know, thankgoodness for Grammarly
and, you know, spell check andall those kinda things today
(27:39):
because it really covers that up for me.
But I know exactly whatyou're talking about,
and I had to find ways to hide that
just like you were doingwhen you were five years old.
But by the same token,you know, there's things
that I know I'm good at becauseof all of that, you know?
(27:59):
So I think that that'salmost a side message,
is like, why are we focused?
Why would an employer focuson the fact that you're deaf
when they should be focused on the fact
that you have a uniquebrand of innovation-
- Right.
- because of, you know, how you had
to go through life and innovate.
(28:20):
- And speaking of focus, right?
Part of the IEP meetingthat my parents would go to,
individualized education programmeetings in school, right?
- Yes.- I know you've gone to 'em,
or you've had them.
- [Mark Miller] Yep.
- And, you know, part
of the accommodations was a couple things,
seating arrangements, sitting up front
(28:43):
in front of the teacher,
in front of the lecturer,professor, whoever it may be.
- I had that one, too.
- Yeah, and it's sohelpful to stay focused
and read lips and facial expressions
and really tune in to really understand
and build that relationshipwith whoever it is.
The second thing was also,
(29:04):
in school, I had what'scalled an FM system.
That was a microphone thatthe teacher would wear
that connected to my hearing aids.
- Oh, brilliant.
- And so it gave me-- [Siri] This on the web.
- Oh, my watch just went off,
and it was researchingwhat an FM system was,
my Apple Watch.- Nice.
Good one.- Thank you.
(29:25):
- Thank you, Apple.
- Yeah, so, you know, there'sa lot of different things,
and now I have a Bluetooth microphone
that I can bring aroundin different scenarios
where I really wanna focus on one speaker
in a loud audience or whathave you, put it on a table
in a restaurant or a boardroom,
(29:45):
and it can detect voices 360 or only
in front of you.- Wow.
- It's very cool.
It's called the Roger Pen,
and it's compatible withother brand's hearing aids
that have Bluetooth capabilities.
- It's amazing what technology,
(30:05):
like, how technology has leveled
the playing field, you know, for everyone,
and that's, you know, one ofthe things that's important
to us is like those technologies are great
and digital tech, as you know,
as you know from yourpast employment, right?
It's not enough just tohave the technology there.
We need to make surethat everybody's doing
(30:25):
what they need to, youknow, doing their part
to make sure that technology can work
on their content, you know?
- [Dustin Giannelli] Right.
- And that's a little different
than what you're talking about.
But I just think that theworld needs to understand
that the playing fieldis now leveled, you know?
- And there are so many people
that have helped us get there.
- Yeah.- And so, you know,
(30:46):
you think of people,
of course, Mike Paciello,Matt Ater from Vispero.
You think of so manychampions in the space-
- [Mark Miller] Mm-hmm.
- that just, we wouldn'tbe here if it wasn't
for the years and years ofcommitment and dedication.
- Absolutely.
- And their understanding ofdisabilities and abilities
(31:08):
and technology and innovation
and everything else in between.
You know, there was an amazing moment.
I was just at CES technology conference
in Las Vegas a couple weeks ago,
and Matt Ater was there.
- [Mark Miller] Yep.
- And we got to connect,
and I went to one of hisspeaking engagements one morning,
and then later on, Iended up bumping into him.
(31:29):
So how I ended up bumping into him was,
I was on the main floor of the convention,
and when I'm in a loud environment
like that, I usuallyshut one hearing aid off-
- Okay.- because I'm able
to feel the bass better,
and then the volumebetter on the right side.
- Okay.
- So, otherwise, it's too much noise,
(31:52):
and I can't really find the bass-
- [Mark Miller] Mm-hmm.
- and so I shut one off, keep one on.
And in this moment, it was so loud,
but I'm hearing and feelingthis bass around the wall.
I was almost expecting a performance,
and so I follow it,and I round the corner,
(32:12):
and all it was was a few people sitting
around a table testing audio equipment,
and I get closer, and it's Matt Ater.
- Matt. (laughing)- And I'm like,
"Oh, Matt, cool."- Really?
- And then I look to his right, my left,
it was Stevie Wonder.
- Oh, yeah, yeah.
- And so, they're fooling around
(32:32):
with this high-qualityaudio equipment by SVS.
- [Mark Miller] Yeah.
- And my God, it was just amazing
to witness Stevie Wonderand Matt just play
with this equipment andappreciate sound, music so much.
As somebody who's profoundly deaf,
(32:53):
to witness somebody who'sblind appreciate that moment,
that sound, because Iappreciate music so much.
I play an instrumentmyself, and, you know,
it was just-- Oh, great.
- an amazing moment andan awesome experience.
- Yep, Stevie Wonder
and Matt are often moving around together.
(33:16):
- [Dustin Giannelli] I've heard.
- Yeah, and, yeah, it's amazing.
And I think that's somethingthat Matt would say that
about Stevie is that to this day,
like just his appreciation for that sound.
You know, that his musicreally is profound.
Like, it's not, hey, this is cool.
I made a career out of it.
He absolutely knows and loves just music
(33:39):
and sound and all that kinda stuff.
That's a great story, great story.
So did you get to talk to Stevie?
- So in that moment, I didn't bother him.
No one bothered him, right?
- For you.- I ended up bumping
into him 30 minutes later.
People, fans were all aroundhim when he was on a golf cart,
(33:59):
and he was going right byme, so I was able to say
at the end, "Stevie, I'm profoundly deaf.
I've worn hearing aidssince I was a little boy,
and having watched you listen
to the music, that was amazing.
Thank you so much for everythingyou've done in the world."
That's all I said.
- Great.- And his smile grew
(34:20):
and grew and grew, and he looked at me
and said, "What's your name?"
And I said, "Dustin Giannelli,"and he said, "Thanks, man."
Pound it, and that was it.- Boom.
Yep, what a great guy.
Lotta respect for both Stevie Wonder
and Matt Ater, really do.
Good, good people.
Are you gonna be, soyou and I met at CSUN,
which both of thosepeople are often there.
(34:43):
Are you gonna go to CSUNagain this year, do you think?
- Not confirmed just yet.
- Okay.- There's a lotta different
travel plans and speaking engagements
on my calendar, datingout to July for ADA Day
on July 26th.- Busy, man, yeah.
- Yeah, well, you know, it's a very cool.
(35:04):
It's just been an amazing journey,
and I'm grateful for everybody
that helped me get to where I am today
and all the different companies
and champions that are bringing me on
to speak and share my story.
And, you know, sky'sthe limit at this point.
- Mm, so we need towrap things up, Dustin,
(35:25):
but I'm wondering, like, you know,
if there's like one message,
and I know you've said a fewof them through the podcast,
but just one thing thatyou would like people
to really walk awaywith, really understand,
what would that be?
(Dustin sighs)
- Such a profound question, right?
(35:46):
It's, you know,
how I got to where I am todayas a speaker is admiring
so many other speakers, right?
And this goes back, when I heard people,
like, if you know Erik Qualman,they call him the Equalman.
(36:08):
- Okay.- And he has millions
and millions of, I mean, he's reached
about 40 million people globally.
He has a podcast.
He's interviewing the Rockand, you know, Kevin Hart
and all sorts of figures,but he's called the Equalman,
so he has a lot of, youknow, great messages
about equality and things of that nature.
(36:29):
And, you know, people likehim, different teachers
and professors, they share stories.
They slow life down.
- Oh, yeah.
- The way they talk, andthen they speed it up,
and they hit the point home, right?
(36:49):
(Mark chuckling)
That passion, right?
So to answer your question,
it's share your story
because you never knowwho you're inspiring,
and everybody has a different story.
I might have a similardegree of hearing loss
as your friend that you mentioned earlier,
(37:09):
but we have completely different stories-
- Totally different.- and they're
both valuable, right?
- Yeah.- And so that's the point,
is if we can all continueto share our story
and what accommodationsare out there that help us
in different situations,that's what's gonna help us
as people and us as theAmerican people, for example.
Go back to that stat.
(37:31):
Like, there are so manyAmericans that aren't utilizing
or benefiting fromthings like hearing aids,
and we need to help them,
and that's why assomebody who has worn them
since I was five, I havea obligation, a sense
of responsibility to encouragethem to get what they need.
(37:51):
- I think that's my big takeaway here,
is that if you can make that decision
to always be on offense,
to appropriate your phrase,
and advocate for yourself,what we heard today,
the Dustin that we just heard today,
that's who you get to be.
(38:14):
Whereas, if you're not willingto do that for yourself,
if you can't find a path to that,
it's gonna be much, much more difficult.
And so I love your goal
of really making sure you get that message
particularly to kids, right?
Because that's when it starts.
If you can help kidsunderstand at a young age
that they need to advocate for themself,
(38:35):
and no matter what their situationis, it's okay, it's fine.
You just need to advocate for yourself
in a way that you cantake the best advantage
of that situation that you can,
and you are living proof andyour story is proof of that.
- Absolutely, and just recently,I did a Q and A experience
(38:57):
on Instagram, and my God,I mean, I was flooded
with questions andcuriosity, and it was fun.
You know, I did it on aSunday, so that was a fun way
to spend my second half ofthe day and into Monday,
and that opened the eyes
and ears of a lot of people,
(39:18):
and that's just one platform.
And you can find me on Instagram or TikTok
or LinkedIn where I do a tonof advocacy and posting weekly
and my website, hearsdustin.com,
so always updating, and, you know,
a lot of videos to come-- Great.
- and engagements to come.
- Perfect, and we'll put allof that in the show notes,
so if you're listening to this,
(39:39):
and you're like, "Wheredo I find all that?"
Just check out the show notes.
We'll have that all on the website
along with the transcript and all that.
We'll make sure this iscaptioned, everything will be,
we'll accommodate for everyone.
Thank you so much, Dustin.
I really appreciate it.
I wish we had more time.
I hope that we run intoeach other again soon
(40:01):
at CSUN or at some other conference,
but great catching back up with you.
It was great talking to you years ago,
and I'm hoping it's not toolong before we connect again.
- Well, I will be atUniversity of New Hampshire
where we both went, right?
I will be speaking on thefirst as well as the ninth
(40:22):
for the Diversity, Equity,and Inclusion Conference
at their new businessschool, so I'll be there.
I'll send you the dates,
and hopefully, if you'rearound, you can either join,
or we can get coffee after.
- Yeah, that's 20minutes away from me, so-
- Exactly.
- please do that.
Hey, I'm here with Dustin Giannelli.
We are at the second annual(attendees chattering)
Diversity, Equity, and InclusionConference here at UNH,
(40:45):
and we've seen a lotta great speakers.
You were one
of the great speakers.- Yeah, that's the thing
is that you-- And I gotta tell you,
my friend Dustin here called me out
in the middle of his speechto talk to the group.
- Invited him.
- Invited, invited him.
- Invited.- That was the word
I was looking for.(Dustin laughing)
But how's the conference been for you
so far?- It's been great.
You know, it's all about
bridging, building-- So, how are you-
- bridges-- That's why I saw you?
- and, you know, talking aboutthe importance of inclusion
(41:07):
and invisible versus visible
disabilities and all-- The ball.
- of the above-- Oh, I know.
- and all everything in between.
- Yeah, yeah, I mean.- So it's been very valuable,
a lot of diversity here, and-- I don't, I'm not sure.
- [Attendee 1] It's not it.
- this is the second annual,
so I'm already lookingforward to the third one.
- I'm looking forward to the third.
Well, I appreciate you beingon the podcast last week-
- [Attendee 2] Someone sees this,
and they're sure-- and it was great seeing you
again here, and this is all-
- It's general.- great work
(41:27):
and keep speaking.
- Thank you, thank you, Mark.- All right, you're welcome.
- Or I can-- This is Mark Miller,
thanking Dustin, and remindingyou to keep it accessible.
- [Announcer] This podcasthas been brought to you
by TPGi, the experts indigital accessibility.
Stay tuned for more
"Real People, Real Stories"podcasts coming soon.
(upbeat music)
(00:00):
- [Announcer] Welcome to TPGi's
"Real People, Real Stories" podcast,
where you'll find interestingand diverse stories
from folks working to make theworld a more inclusive place.
- Hey, welcome to "RealPeople, Real Stories" podcast,
brought to you by TPGi.
I'm your host, Mark Miller, thanking you
(00:22):
for helping us keep it accessible.
Do us a favor.
If you're enjoying the "RealPeople, Real Stories" podcast,
share it, tell someone about it.
Hey, even link to it fromyour accessible website.
So thanks, everyone, for joining us.
I wanna introduce to yousort of an old friend
of mine, Dustin Giannelli.
Dustin, you and I met a couple years ago
(00:45):
when you were at CSUN working with 3Play.
We had a great, great conversation,
got to know each other a littlebit there, and here we are.
We're here again.
And since then, you've madea lotta changes in your life.
You're doing keynote speaking,
and you also have a bunchof brand partnerships.
So the first thing I wanna find out
from you, I get keynote speaking.
(01:05):
It makes sense.
I've done some of it.
Tell me about these brand partnerships.
What is that for you?
- Yeah, thank you so much for having me,
and it is great to seeyou again, too, Mark.
You know, as a keynote speaker,
hearsdustin.com is myplatform that I'm able
to partner with different corporate brands
(01:26):
and not only share my storybut also help shine light
on the efforts they're doing related
to diversity, equity, inclusion,accessibility, belonging.
And, you know, my story assomebody who is profoundly deaf
and has worn hearingaids since I was five,
is a vessel to the overall message.
(01:48):
The message is the key tosuccess in life is communication,
and the key to communication is access.
And so it's my passion to stand up
in front of hundreds of people
and share my story and learn about theirs.
- So tell me a little bit about,
like, when you go to one ofyour brand partners, right?
(02:09):
When you go to one of these companies,
and you start to share your story,
and you start to talk tothem about communication
and access, which is alwaysan interesting thing, right?
Because I think people think
they think they understand access
until they hear a story like yours,
and then they realize maybe
it's a little bit more complicated
than what they had originally thought.
(02:30):
What's the reaction?
How do people react to that,
and how does it end up improving things
for them in that corporate environment?
- Just like life, accessibilityis a journey, right?
And everybody has a unique story,
so whether they're hearingmy story for the first time
or your story or anybody else's story,
(02:52):
they realize, oh, wow, Ihadn't thought about that.
You know, we're creating thisnew product or a new program.
I hadn't thought aboutthat approach, right?
So it makes people realize
that accessibility is ajourney with no finish line.
- Mm-hmm.
- And, you know, it's somotivating to all of us
(03:17):
to learn and utilize different stories,
you know, experiences in my life
from when I was a little kidto when I was 11 years old
and went to Michael JordanBasketball Camp, for example.
And we can get into that later,
but that's where I created my motto,
be on offense, at 11 years old.
I'll talk a little bitabout that in a bit,
but, you know, whether it was high school
(03:39):
or my college experience, myprofessional career, you know,
that life, those stories,that experience is a journey,
and we can learn so much from each.
- So, talk to me a littlebit about what your story is.
I mean, I think we get the basics, right?
Like, obviously, you're deaf.
It sounds like that wassomething that was progressive
(04:00):
that started when you were a child.
Tell me, Dustin, like, what's the story?
What did you go through,
and what did you learn going through?
It sounds like you had some challenges,
and you had some adventures.
Like, what are the things thatyou learned along the way?
- Even before I was diagnosed
with a profound hearingloss, I was introduced
(04:22):
to disability and handicapat a very young age.
My grandfather was a double amputee,
and so he had prosthetics.
He had a wooden hook and a wooden leg.
He got in a boatingaccident in his mid-20s,
and helping somebody, he wasthe one that hit the propeller,
(04:42):
and he survived it.- Ooh.
- He survived it and thrived,
and, you know, he wasalways upbeat, positive.
You know, he taught me PMA,positive mental attitude,
and what that meant.
Never to take no for an answer.
And so I was already introduced,right, at a very young age.
(05:04):
And at the age of five, see,
one year, I passed theschool nurse's hearing exam.
Who remembers that, right?
- [Mark Miller] Mm-hmm.
- I passed it, no problem,
but then the second year, Iremember standing in line,
and they had put a board up
in between the nurse and all the students,
(05:27):
and I remember looking at the board
and watching the students realizing
for the first time, thisisn't gonna work for me.
I read lips.
- Right.
- And I watched them.
I remember watching them click the button
to make the beeps go off, right?
- Yeah.- Raise your hand
when you hear the beeps.
(05:48):
- [Mark Miller] Yep.
- I remember seeing their armmove, and I was just adapting.
I just did what I had to do
to succeed, get an A on that test.
- So you were faking your way
based on observation, basically,through the hearing test.
- Nobody in my family was deaf,
so I didn't even knowwhat it meant to be deaf.
(06:10):
I just did what I had to do to succeed.
- You just figured out, just figured out
what was going on and handled it
a different way.- I learned how
to watch the mouth move andhow words were formulated.
- You were reading lips and thought
that that's what everybodydid, essentially.
- [Dustin Giannelli] Yeah.
- Like, you didn't realize
that everybody else was hearing a voice
(06:33):
that you weren't hearing orat least not hearing as well.
That is fascinating, that's fascinating.
So when did you figure all of that out?
When did it dawn onyou, hey, wait a minute,
something's going on differently
with me than my peers and my family?
- They immediately called my mom
and said, "I think your son is deaf,"
(06:55):
and my mom said, "What?"
You know, pun intended.
And no one in my family realized it
because at a young age, youknow, I read everybody's lips.
I put myself in a positionthat I could hear them-
- [Mark Miller] Mm-hmm.
- and understand.- And how old are,
how old are you at this point?
- I'm 30, well, I'm 34 now.- No, back then.
(07:16):
Back then.- But at then,
I was five years old.
- Okay, wow.
- Yeah, so very, very young age.
And I had one older brother,
and, you know, not a huge family,
but one older brother.
I knew a bunch of his friends.
I just fit in.
You know, played basketball my whole life,
(07:37):
and, yeah, it was neversomething that held me back.
- It's also a testament to justhow clever kids are, right?
- [Dustin Giannelli] Seriously.
- Like, you can't takeanything for granted
because a five-year-old'sgonna figure stuff out
that you wouldn't imagine
a five-year-old's gonna figure out.
And I'll tell you before you go on
(07:57):
that we were talking beforethe mics heated up, right,
and we started the podcast here
because I was asking you, you know,
kinda how you communicate,
and I brought up sign language,
which you said you knew a little bit of.
Well, I had a friend, so Iused to publish a magazine,
and one of my clients that I would walk
into every day, their daughterworked in this bookstore,
(08:22):
and I chatted with her,
and she had a voice about like yours.
It was good, but it wasn't,you know, it sounded
like there was a littlesomething different
about it, we'll just say,
but just a little bit, you know?
- [Dustin Giannelli] Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
- And so, I'd thought, well, whatever.
You know, there's this speech thing,
where I didn't really think much about it.
(08:42):
And I dealt with her for quite a while,
only to find out later on,like you, that she was deaf,
and this was before cochlear implants.
She really didn't have hearing aids
that she could use at all.
She was deaf.
But she grew up, and,you know, her parents,
(09:03):
like many parents not knowingwhat to do, had put her
through schooling toteach her how to read lips
and to teach her how to speak,
so she went throughintense speech therapy.
That's why her voice was so good.
But it was amazing to me, to your point,
to realize that she was deaf,
and that this whole timeshe had been reading lips.
(09:24):
And I think what happened isthat she had turned around,
and I had said some stuff to her,
and when she turned back around, you know,
she realized I was speaking,
and I realized she didn't understand,
and that's how I found out.
But at that time, she waslearning sign language,
so just, Dustin, that'swhen I learned sign language
I started, became reallygood friends with her
and met the whole deafcommunity in our area
(09:48):
and learned sign language.
But very, very similar story.
Like, you know, she was deaf from birth,
but took a while for herparents to realize it,
and these hearing parents,they didn't have a manual,
you know what I mean?
- Yeah.- They didn't, what to do,
which put her in an odd predicament
where she sort of had onefoot in hearing culture
and one foot in deaf culture,
(10:09):
which is another whole story.
But I guess that's my question for you,
is that once your parentsrealized that you were deaf,
like, how did they handle it?
How did they react to it?
And, well, just tell me that
to start with.- Yeah, I mean,
we immediately went toBoston Children's Hospital,
(10:30):
the Waltham location,
and got a, you know, proper hearing exam
in the booth and everything,
and sure enough, I was severely deaf
at the time, severe profound.
And over the next few years,it gradually decreased
to the profound levels,
(10:50):
and, you know, that's themost significant loss.
And so, when we look back,our doctor at the time
and my mom came to an agreement
that it was from chicken pox.
Now, chicken pox
is a virus, right?- Really?
- And I had a very severe caseof chicken pox all on my face
and my ears as a young, young boy,
(11:11):
and it must have damaged my cochlear,
which are hair cells thatvibrate when you hear sound.
Mine were broken, so they mightbe not moving the way yours
or others with, quote,normal hearing move.
And so it was a gradual decrease
(11:32):
from about the age five to 12,
and finally, I remember just,
I mean, you gotta remember,this is constant visits
to the audiologist every few weeks, month.
My mom's driving me back and forth.
It was kind of a pain, right?
But I always, you know,kept my grandfather's voice
(11:53):
in my head, "PMA, Dusty.
You gotta do what you gotta do.
You know, that's life."
And, you know, I did what I had to do,
but I finally said tomyself, "I don't want
to lose my hearing anymore."
- Of course.- And from that point on,
you know, that attitude,that be on offense mentality.
(12:13):
So lemme talk about that for a second,
right?- Yeah, go for it.
- I was 11 years old, my brother was 14.
My parents surprised us with tickets
to Michael Jordan'sBasketball Camp in Chicago.
This was a week-long camp in Chicago
with campers from all over the world.
(12:35):
There was a wait list.
My late father's auntworked at the college
and was able to get us onthe wait list years prior,
and we finally got called.
And so we got to meetMichael Jordan every day,
one way or another.
And one night, he wasgiving an auditorium speech.
(12:55):
It was middle of the week,
and they actually justannounced the all-star teams,
and I made the all-starteam for my age group.
- [Mark Miller] Wow.
- So I'm sitting with my new teammates
from all over the world,
and we're waiting forMichael Jordan to come out.
I was about 50, 60 feetaway from the stage,
off on the left side, andas soon as he came out,
(13:16):
and he started talking,everybody started laughing,
and I very quickly realized
I couldn't hear anything that he said.
And being five, six yearsnew into being deaf,
in that moment, Mark, it was up to me
to get the help I needed.
(13:36):
There was a counselor walkingup and down the aisle.
All I had to do was ask,"Hey, you know, I'm deaf.
I read lips.
May I sit up front?"
But I pretended to laugh
and pretended to smile for the full hour.
- [Mark Miller] Oh.
- I was embarrassed, right?
My new teammates, I didn't wantthat moment to be a barrier,
(13:59):
especially having justmade the all-star team.
And that's what HearsDustin is all about.
That's what my brand,what I am all about today,
is I don't want any other 11-year-old
or kids or parents, adults
to pretend to laugh or pretend to smile.
(14:22):
There's so much help out there.
You know, companies like TPGi, Vispero,
3Play Media, you name it.
There are so many companies out there
with resources that help all people
with disabilities and abilities.
- So that sort of one momentthat you look back on,
(14:44):
and regret's probably not the right word,
but wished you at that agecould've handled differently,
that really is the inspiration
for everything that youdo today, everything
that you're talking about today.
You bring up a good point whenyou talk about that story.
I mean, we're all humans, right?
And we all are social creatures,
(15:06):
so I think, you know, it's really profound
and understandable thatwhat held you back is
that you didn't wanna beembarrassed in front of your peers.
When you were diagnosed,
and, I guess, probably morewhen it was more obvious
to the people aroundyou that you were deaf,
(15:26):
how did your peers,
how did that affectthings with your peers?
How did they react to that,and how did you handle it?
- I mean, I already had a greatgroup of friends, you know,
and support within my family,
so when I got hearing aids,I already had glasses,
and I saw them as justsomething that helps me hear,
(15:48):
just like glasses help you see,
and that's what I toldmy friends, you know?
And, you know, allthrough elementary school,
people knew my older brother already,
so then they knew me,
and the teachers actedlike it was no big deal,
and so I acted like it was no big deal.
- That's great.- And then my peers acted
like it was no big deal.
And I did great in academics,
(16:09):
and I did even better onthe basketball court, and-
- That's fantastic.
- I let my actions speak for themselves.
And, you know, I was just recently talking
to another client abouthow when I was at recess,
all I wanted to do was play basketball,
and that's what we did, right?
And different games andkickball and you name it.
(16:30):
And I was the best one on the court.
I picked the players that got picked last
because I knew what thefeeling of inclusion felt like.
As somebody who has a disability, I know
(16:51):
what feeling includedand excluded feels like.
- Sure, yeah.
- So having picked the,quote, worst player
on the team first mademe work even harder-
- [Mark Miller] Mm.
- and smarter, right?
And so, you know, yeah,I just found it so fun
(17:13):
to see us all win no matterwhat the scoreboard said.
- Wow, what a great attitude.
Well, I think, you know,you were really lucky
to have a supportive group of friends
and a supportive family, right?
And you're super lucky tohave a grandfather with-
- Yeah.- the experience he had,
(17:33):
that had the attitude that he had,
and that probably reallyhelped set you up for success.
So when you go out and talkto these organizations,
and you tell them thatstory, what's the reaction?
Like, what do people come up
and sorta tug you on theshirt sleeve and say to you?
- Well, you know, it'sa fun story to tell,
(17:53):
and I think, you know, you're enthusiastic
in hearing about it, right?
- Mm-hmm.- And there's a lotta ahs
and oohs and wows from the crowd.
And whether there's, youknow, 50 people in front of me
or 500, the story allows
(18:14):
for this relationship
to happen in that moment.
I make eye contact with everybody
because I have to read lips,
but I have to read facial expressions.
One engagement I did witha very large corporation
outside of Boston, Inoticed in this moment,
(18:35):
I was building up thestory to make a point,
and as soon as I wasabout to make the point,
I could see a woman behind another woman,
trying to look around her head,
which was kinda blocking her view to me.
- [Mark Miller] Mm-hmm.
- I noticed that.
And when I made thepoint, I stepped forward
so she could see me,
(18:56):
and that moment was anaccessibility moment.
I wanted her to see me
just as the same way I had to see her.
And I said right afterthat, "Did anybody notice
that I stepped forwardwhen I made that point?"
No one really raised their hand,
and I wasn't expecting them to
'cause that's just how I talk.
(19:16):
I said, "Only one personmight've noticed,"
and she kinda thought itwas her but wasn't sure,
and I said, "Was it you?
Were you having a hard timeseeing me, exactly, right?"
- [Mark Miller] Mm-hmm.
- I want you guys to see me just as much
as I need to see you.
So in conversations atwork, let's remember,
open up our shoulders,to have a circle, right?
(19:40):
- Yeah.- Your ERG,
employee resource group,is called the Circle,
the Disability Circle.
- [Mark Miller] Mm-hmm.
- So let's open up, right?
And so that's the actionstep that I encourage us all
and just bring awareness to.
- It's interesting that you say that.
You know, through mylife, I've attended a lot
(20:01):
of like, social functions for work,
and, you know, those areas
where you have to meet a lotta new people,
and one of the things
that I've always done is exactly
like you said, these circles form,
and just having that awareness
when other people are walking up
or when other peoplewanna join the circle,
(20:22):
that you've gotta openthat circle a little bit
and bring that person in.
You know, I don't wantto have somebody have
to, like, look over my shoulder.
- [Dustin Giannelli] Right.
- It's always moving out.
And I think that, you know,just as an overall analogy,
that's kinda what you'retalking about with communication
is like, open up that circleand let's keep it a circle
because when it's acircle, we're all equal
(20:43):
in our ability to see andengage with each other.
But as soon as somebody's behind
or something like that,it's not that, you know?
- And not only that, it'sif somebody comes in,
and you wanna welcome them, yes, open up,
but also include them on where you're at
in the conversation you're talking about.
- Yep.- "Hey, we're just talking
(21:03):
about X, Y, and Z.
You wanna join us?"
"Oh, oh my god, yeah," you know?
- [Mark Miller] Yeah.
- How good that feelsto just be so welcomed
into a conversation aboutanything, "Game of Thrones,"
you know, business talk, different events.
- Whatever it is, yeah.
- Anything, and speaking of"Game of Thrones," right?
You need the closed captionfor that show, right?
(21:25):
- Yes. (laughing)(Dustin laughing)
I need the closed captions
because it's hard enough for me to follow.
- 80% of people that useclosed captions are not deaf
or hard of hearing.
- Oh, I believe it, yeah.
- Imagine?- I mean, just situationally,
just in bars and restaurants,
and I'm learning a second language.
I use closed captions
(21:46):
to help me learn a second language,
you know?- Absolutely.
- And then a lotta people, my son
and his girlfriend leave close captions on
almost all the time.
Just, I don't know why.
- Yeah.- For some reason,
don't even need to know why.
For some reason, it's abetter experience for them.
Yeah, and that's a goodexample of just how,
(22:07):
to your point, like to accommodating,
and maybe you're accommodating for someone
who has a disability andneeds an accommodation,
but anytime you make thataccommodation available,
you have no idea the number of people
that may be using that accommodation
for their own personal reasons
or in specific circumstancesor anything like that.
(22:31):
So what have you found,like, what has helped you
just in your career andgetting through life?
What are the things that you've needed
to make sure are in place for yourself
that have helped youaccommodate kinda your,
I guess, always being on offense, right?
Like, what have you offensively made,
(22:52):
offensively, that's not the way to say it.
What have you made sure is in place
so that you can do what you need to do?
- Yeah, you know, it's asituational question, right?
But there's a lot ofdifferent accommodations.
Of course, my hearing aids.
Having Bluetooth is amazing,
as I mentioned to you earlier on,
is I'm connected on Bluetooth,
(23:14):
so I can hear your voicedirectly through my hearing aids.
I've got the captions on, andI'm able to read your lips,
so that's what makes thisexperience accessible.
Now, remember, when the pandemic hit,
I was actually workingin a different industry.
I was working in thecommercial architecture
and design industry.
(23:34):
I was working for IdeaPaint,
which is a dry erasewhiteboard paint that turns-
- Really?- your whole wall, right,
into a whiteboard, and it'sa fun product for kids,
and your office, and you name it.
Well, imagine me being in an office,
a conference room, a boardroom.
I'm trying to read lips on the right side,
and then somebody talksover there, I'm trying
to read lips over there,and then they crisscross,
(23:55):
and it's difficult, it's fatiguing,
but at least I can readwhat's on the wall, right?
And so that's why I loved IdeaPaint.
Now, when the pandemic hit
and the offices closed, Irealized I needed so much help,
and, you know, the deafcommunity needed help,
and so I jumped to learnall about closed captioning
(24:17):
and video accessibility with 3Play Media,
and spent 18 monthsthere, built relationships
with, you know, the team andthe clients, the partners,
and really understood what.
You know, 3Play is such a thought leader
in the space for accessibility
and DEI-- Really are.
- and so I looked up to them to be able
(24:40):
to realize how importantjust sharing your story
and your motto, be on offense,
and the differentaccessibility and accommodation
that I use, how importantthat is to everybody, right?
There's 50 million Americansaffected by hearing loss.
- Wow.
- 430 million affected byhearing loss in the world.
(25:05):
Now, go back to America real quick
for more numbers and stats.
Of those 50 million,
28 million people say, "Yeah, hearing aids
or other assistive technologywould absolutely help me.
I would benefit from that."
- Right.
- However, only 14%
(25:26):
of that population, 4.5million, actually get the help
they need.- Wow.
Is that a financial barrier,
or is it apathy, or all of the above?
What's that attributed to?
- All of the above, whetherit's financial, confidence.
What about you have a job,
(25:47):
and what if you disclose that you're deaf,
and you're insecure about that?
Or once upon a time,you didn't tell people
that you had a disability or a difference.
Now, today, it's
about sharing your abilities.
- Right.
- Because our differenceslead to innovation.
(26:10):
- [Mark Miller] Yeah.
- Right?
- Yep, I was just gonna say that.
I mean, I think that that's almost
a strong second message
in your story is that based on what you,
based on how you had to innovate,
like, that original story, right,
of you figuring out howto pass the hearing test,
(26:34):
even though you couldn't hear.
I mean, that's incredible innovation.
It's innovation that I didn't have to do.
Like, somehow, your brain isrewired and has a new ability
because you had to innovate at that level
and continue to do that through your life,
and what does that bring to an employer?
(26:56):
What does that bringto your brand partners?
What does that bring to anybody
and everybody that youcome in contact with?
You know, that's of value.
That's a ability that you've created
that other people don't have.
And I see that because I know that
because I have ADD and dyslexia,
(27:17):
and with my dyslexia, I'vevery similarly, you know,
I had to cheat around spelling, you know?
Like, and I was afraid to death
of employers finding outhow bad my spelling was.
And, you know, thankgoodness for Grammarly
and, you know, spell check andall those kinda things today
(27:39):
because it really covers that up for me.
But I know exactly whatyou're talking about,
and I had to find ways to hide that
just like you were doingwhen you were five years old.
But by the same token,you know, there's things
that I know I'm good at becauseof all of that, you know?
(27:59):
So I think that that'salmost a side message,
is like, why are we focused?
Why would an employer focuson the fact that you're deaf
when they should be focused on the fact
that you have a uniquebrand of innovation-
- Right.
- because of, you know, how you had
to go through life and innovate.
(28:20):
- And speaking of focus, right?
Part of the IEP meetingthat my parents would go to,
individualized education programmeetings in school, right?
- Yes.- I know you've gone to 'em,
or you've had them.
- [Mark Miller] Yep.
- And, you know, part
of the accommodations was a couple things,
seating arrangements, sitting up front
(28:43):
in front of the teacher,
in front of the lecturer,professor, whoever it may be.
- I had that one, too.
- Yeah, and it's sohelpful to stay focused
and read lips and facial expressions
and really tune in to really understand
and build that relationshipwith whoever it is.
The second thing was also,
(29:04):
in school, I had what'scalled an FM system.
That was a microphone thatthe teacher would wear
that connected to my hearing aids.
- Oh, brilliant.
- And so it gave me-- [Siri] This on the web.
- Oh, my watch just went off,
and it was researchingwhat an FM system was,
my Apple Watch.- Nice.
Good one.- Thank you.
(29:25):
- Thank you, Apple.
- Yeah, so, you know, there'sa lot of different things,
and now I have a Bluetooth microphone
that I can bring aroundin different scenarios
where I really wanna focus on one speaker
in a loud audience or whathave you, put it on a table
in a restaurant or a boardroom,
(29:45):
and it can detect voices 360 or only
in front of you.- Wow.
- It's very cool.
It's called the Roger Pen,
and it's compatible withother brand's hearing aids
that have Bluetooth capabilities.
- It's amazing what technology,
(30:05):
like, how technology has leveled
the playing field, you know, for everyone,
and that's, you know, one ofthe things that's important
to us is like those technologies are great
and digital tech, as you know,
as you know from yourpast employment, right?
It's not enough just tohave the technology there.
We need to make surethat everybody's doing
(30:25):
what they need to, youknow, doing their part
to make sure that technology can work
on their content, you know?
- [Dustin Giannelli] Right.
- And that's a little different
than what you're talking about.
But I just think that theworld needs to understand
that the playing fieldis now leveled, you know?
- And there are so many people
that have helped us get there.
- Yeah.- And so, you know,
(30:46):
you think of people,
of course, Mike Paciello,Matt Ater from Vispero.
You think of so manychampions in the space-
- [Mark Miller] Mm-hmm.
- that just, we wouldn'tbe here if it wasn't
for the years and years ofcommitment and dedication.
- Absolutely.
- And their understanding ofdisabilities and abilities
(31:08):
and technology and innovation
and everything else in between.
You know, there was an amazing moment.
I was just at CES technology conference
in Las Vegas a couple weeks ago,
and Matt Ater was there.
- [Mark Miller] Yep.
- And we got to connect,
and I went to one of hisspeaking engagements one morning,
and then later on, Iended up bumping into him.
(31:29):
So how I ended up bumping into him was,
I was on the main floor of the convention,
and when I'm in a loud environment
like that, I usuallyshut one hearing aid off-
- Okay.- because I'm able
to feel the bass better,
and then the volumebetter on the right side.
- Okay.
- So, otherwise, it's too much noise,
(31:52):
and I can't really find the bass-
- [Mark Miller] Mm-hmm.
- and so I shut one off, keep one on.
And in this moment, it was so loud,
but I'm hearing and feelingthis bass around the wall.
I was almost expecting a performance,
and so I follow it,and I round the corner,
(32:12):
and all it was was a few people sitting
around a table testing audio equipment,
and I get closer, and it's Matt Ater.
- Matt. (laughing)- And I'm like,
"Oh, Matt, cool."- Really?
- And then I look to his right, my left,
it was Stevie Wonder.
- Oh, yeah, yeah.
- And so, they're fooling around
(32:32):
with this high-qualityaudio equipment by SVS.
- [Mark Miller] Yeah.
- And my God, it was just amazing
to witness Stevie Wonderand Matt just play
with this equipment andappreciate sound, music so much.
As somebody who's profoundly deaf,
(32:53):
to witness somebody who'sblind appreciate that moment,
that sound, because Iappreciate music so much.
I play an instrumentmyself, and, you know,
it was just-- Oh, great.
- an amazing moment andan awesome experience.
- Yep, Stevie Wonder
and Matt are often moving around together.
(33:16):
- [Dustin Giannelli] I've heard.
- Yeah, and, yeah, it's amazing.
And I think that's somethingthat Matt would say that
about Stevie is that to this day,
like just his appreciation for that sound.
You know, that his musicreally is profound.
Like, it's not, hey, this is cool.
I made a career out of it.
He absolutely knows and loves just music
(33:39):
and sound and all that kinda stuff.
That's a great story, great story.
So did you get to talk to Stevie?
- So in that moment, I didn't bother him.
No one bothered him, right?
- For you.- I ended up bumping
into him 30 minutes later.
People, fans were all aroundhim when he was on a golf cart,
(33:59):
and he was going right byme, so I was able to say
at the end, "Stevie, I'm profoundly deaf.
I've worn hearing aidssince I was a little boy,
and having watched you listen
to the music, that was amazing.
Thank you so much for everythingyou've done in the world."
That's all I said.
- Great.- And his smile grew
(34:20):
and grew and grew, and he looked at me
and said, "What's your name?"
And I said, "Dustin Giannelli,"and he said, "Thanks, man."
Pound it, and that was it.- Boom.
Yep, what a great guy.
Lotta respect for both Stevie Wonder
and Matt Ater, really do.
Good, good people.
Are you gonna be, soyou and I met at CSUN,
which both of thosepeople are often there.
(34:43):
Are you gonna go to CSUNagain this year, do you think?
- Not confirmed just yet.
- Okay.- There's a lotta different
travel plans and speaking engagements
on my calendar, datingout to July for ADA Day
on July 26th.- Busy, man, yeah.
- Yeah, well, you know, it's a very cool.
(35:04):
It's just been an amazing journey,
and I'm grateful for everybody
that helped me get to where I am today
and all the different companies
and champions that are bringing me on
to speak and share my story.
And, you know, sky'sthe limit at this point.
- Mm, so we need towrap things up, Dustin,
(35:25):
but I'm wondering, like, you know,
if there's like one message,
and I know you've said a fewof them through the podcast,
but just one thing thatyou would like people
to really walk awaywith, really understand,
what would that be?
(Dustin sighs)
- Such a profound question, right?
(35:46):
It's, you know,
how I got to where I am todayas a speaker is admiring
so many other speakers, right?
And this goes back, when I heard people,
like, if you know Erik Qualman,they call him the Equalman.
(36:08):
- Okay.- And he has millions
and millions of, I mean, he's reached
about 40 million people globally.
He has a podcast.
He's interviewing the Rockand, you know, Kevin Hart
and all sorts of figures,but he's called the Equalman,
so he has a lot of, youknow, great messages
about equality and things of that nature.
(36:29):
And, you know, people likehim, different teachers
and professors, they share stories.
They slow life down.
- Oh, yeah.
- The way they talk, andthen they speed it up,
and they hit the point home, right?
(36:49):
(Mark chuckling)
That passion, right?
So to answer your question,
it's share your story
because you never knowwho you're inspiring,
and everybody has a different story.
I might have a similardegree of hearing loss
as your friend that you mentioned earlier,
(37:09):
but we have completely different stories-
- Totally different.- and they're
both valuable, right?
- Yeah.- And so that's the point,
is if we can all continueto share our story
and what accommodationsare out there that help us
in different situations,that's what's gonna help us
as people and us as theAmerican people, for example.
Go back to that stat.
(37:31):
Like, there are so manyAmericans that aren't utilizing
or benefiting fromthings like hearing aids,
and we need to help them,
and that's why assomebody who has worn them
since I was five, I havea obligation, a sense
of responsibility to encouragethem to get what they need.
(37:51):
- I think that's my big takeaway here,
is that if you can make that decision
to always be on offense,
to appropriate your phrase,
and advocate for yourself,what we heard today,
the Dustin that we just heard today,
that's who you get to be.
(38:14):
Whereas, if you're not willingto do that for yourself,
if you can't find a path to that,
it's gonna be much, much more difficult.
And so I love your goal
of really making sure you get that message
particularly to kids, right?
Because that's when it starts.
If you can help kidsunderstand at a young age
that they need to advocate for themself,
(38:35):
and no matter what their situationis, it's okay, it's fine.
You just need to advocate for yourself
in a way that you cantake the best advantage
of that situation that you can,
and you are living proof andyour story is proof of that.
- Absolutely, and just recently,I did a Q and A experience
(38:57):
on Instagram, and my God,I mean, I was flooded
with questions andcuriosity, and it was fun.
You know, I did it on aSunday, so that was a fun way
to spend my second half ofthe day and into Monday,
and that opened the eyes
and ears of a lot of people,
(39:18):
and that's just one platform.
And you can find me on Instagram or TikTok
or LinkedIn where I do a tonof advocacy and posting weekly
and my website, hearsdustin.com,
so always updating, and, you know,
a lot of videos to come-- Great.
- and engagements to come.
- Perfect, and we'll put allof that in the show notes,
so if you're listening to this,
(39:39):
and you're like, "Wheredo I find all that?"
Just check out the show notes.
We'll have that all on the website
along with the transcript and all that.
We'll make sure this iscaptioned, everything will be,
we'll accommodate for everyone.
Thank you so much, Dustin.
I really appreciate it.
I wish we had more time.
I hope that we run intoeach other again soon
(40:01):
at CSUN or at some other conference,
but great catching back up with you.
It was great talking to you years ago,
and I'm hoping it's not toolong before we connect again.
- Well, I will be atUniversity of New Hampshire
where we both went, right?
I will be speaking on thefirst as well as the ninth
(40:22):
for the Diversity, Equity,and Inclusion Conference
at their new businessschool, so I'll be there.
I'll send you the dates,
and hopefully, if you'rearound, you can either join,
or we can get coffee after.
- Yeah, that's 20minutes away from me, so-
- Exactly.
- please do that.
Hey, I'm here with Dustin Giannelli.
We are at the second annual(attendees chattering)
Diversity, Equity, and InclusionConference here at UNH,
(40:45):
and we've seen a lotta great speakers.
You were one
of the great speakers.- Yeah, that's the thing
is that you-- And I gotta tell you,
my friend Dustin here called me out
in the middle of his speechto talk to the group.
- Invited him.
- Invited, invited him.
- Invited.- That was the word
I was looking for.(Dustin laughing)
But how's the conference been for you
so far?- It's been great.
You know, it's all about
bridging, building-- So, how are you-
- bridges-- That's why I saw you?
- and, you know, talking aboutthe importance of inclusion
(41:07):
and invisible versus visible
disabilities and all-- The ball.
- of the above-- Oh, I know.
- and all everything in between.
- Yeah, yeah, I mean.- So it's been very valuable,
a lot of diversity here, and-- I don't, I'm not sure.
- [Attendee 1] It's not it.
- this is the second annual,
so I'm already lookingforward to the third one.
- I'm looking forward to the third.
Well, I appreciate you beingon the podcast last week-
- [Attendee 2] Someone sees this,
and they're sure-- and it was great seeing you
again here, and this is all-
- It's general.- great work
(41:27):
and keep speaking.
- Thank you, thank you, Mark.- All right, you're welcome.
- Or I can-- This is Mark Miller,
thanking Dustin, and remindingyou to keep it accessible.
- [Announcer] This podcasthas been brought to you
by TPGi, the experts indigital accessibility.
Stay tuned for more
"Real People, Real Stories"podcasts coming soon.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.