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Episode 4: Zach Anner
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Zach Anner is an award-winning comedian, author, and disability advocate known for his infectious humor, quick wit, and positive outlook on life. His unique blend of comedy and candid discussions about disability has earned him a dedicated following and helped challenge societal perceptions of disability.
Zach gained national recognition in 2010 when he appeared on the reality show Your OWN Show: Oprah's Search for the Next TV Star. With his hilarious audition video that quickly went viral, he captivated audiences and eventually won a show on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) called Rollin' with Zach, where he traveled across the United States, showcasing his adventures from a wheelchair user's perspective.
In addition to his work on television, Zach is a prolific content creator. He has a popular YouTube channel where he shares comedy sketches, travelogues, and inspirational videos, many of which humorously and honestly explore his experiences as a person with a disability. His comedic web series, Have a Little Faith, featured interviews with people from different religious and spiritual backgrounds.
Zach's talents extend beyond the screen. In 2016, he published his memoir If at Birth You Don’t Succeed: My Adventures with Disaster and Destiny, a critically acclaimed and hilarious account of his life, filled with humorous anecdotes and reflections on overcoming challenges.
An outspoken advocate for disability rights, Zach uses his platform to promote accessibility, inclusion, and the importance of humor in addressing life's obstacles. His work has earned him a devoted fan base and numerous accolades, including a Daytime Emmy Award for his contributions to online media.
Today, Zach Anner continues to inspire and entertain audiences with his sharp comedic style and advocacy, demonstrating that a sense of humor can break barriers and foster greater understanding and acceptance for people with disabilities.
Follow
Cerebral Palsy Foundation on Instagram: @yourcpf
CPGU on Instagram: @cerebralpalsygrowsup
Alexa Orban on Instagram @lexi_orban
Zach Anner on Instagram @zach.anner
Credits
Host: Alexa Orban
Producers: Katy Gaastra, Kyle Khachadurian
Executive Producer: Ashley Harris Whaley, Rachel Byrne
Graphics: Briana Raucci
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction: Cerebral Palsy Grows Up
00:00:09
Speaker
Welcome to Cerebral Palsy Grows Up. Join us as we dive into the unique experiences and stories of adults living with cerebral palsy. We hope that as you listen, you feel a sense of camaraderie and community.
Guest Introduction: Zach Anner
00:00:23
Speaker
Today, we're joined by Zach Anner, an author, public speaker, host, comedian, creator, and all-around funny man. Being able to sit down with Zach and talk not only about his work, but his process, made me think about a common theme I see it with a lot of my disabled friends, a constant pressure of perfectionism. It made this conversation really relatable, and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.
Humor and Pronunciation: 'Cerebral Palsy'
00:00:49
Speaker
Hi, Zach.
00:00:51
Speaker
a Welcome to Cerebral Palsy Grows Up the Podcast. We're so excited to have you here today. And to kick off the conversation, we'd love you to just give a brief self introduction. Sure. Uh, I'm Zach here. I'm a YouTuber, television writer,
00:01:11
Speaker
sometimes social media influencer, blah, and I don't know, so many things, author, cerebral palsy foundation ambassador, I think, unless I've been kicked out of the program, didn't get the memo, ah so many things. I'm just really glad to be here, I guess.
00:01:36
Speaker
We're so happy to have you here. And I have to say, I think you are still a CPF ambassador. um Definitely, if you're here today too. But I wanted to start with kind of ending maybe a lifelong debate. um You say cerebral palsy and I say cerebral palsy. And I noticed on one of your videos,
00:01:59
Speaker
ah that that's how you that's how you pronounce and that's how you think it should be said so let's yes that's how i say it i know like reddish people say cerebral i don't know where that comes from but i pronounce the r yeah my accent is very deeply you know buffalo so i don't know if it's a buffalo thing i were i remember saying cerebral when I was growing up and then I saw the word spout and I was like, I feel like I'm going to pronounce that. Yeah, I don't know. It could be my New England accent, so that could be it too. Is that what you always said, cerebral palsy? It is. I thought it was a different word. I didn't know that it had anything to do with the brain.
00:02:48
Speaker
I know. So I'm still learning. What is cerebral palsy? It would be nice to learn today. Well, I think it's tomato, tomato, right, Zach? Yeah. It's two sides of the same coin. For sure. i I saw that earlier, and I was like, oh, we we have to end the debate, but I guess we're just- I guess it's still a debate. Yeah. Is this tunnel we're going to spend the hour? Yes, we are. You can go back your fourth.
Early Media Aspirations and Disability Representation
00:03:17
Speaker
yeah yeah and so well that's this is good This could be a good social media poll. oh chas I love that. who So um I want to tell our listeners a little bit more about your starring comedy and entertainment. And if you always planned um for your disability to be your central theme.
00:03:37
Speaker
I'm not sure I always planned for my disability to be central to how I entertained. I remember growing up, there was such a dirt of representation in media that I thought I wanted to be in movies. ah But the thinking was that 90s was like the introduction of CGI. And so I remember thinking like, oh, by the time I older cgi will have gotten so good that i'll be able to play able-bodied characters and so i had internalized ableism of like oh yeah i want to be in entertainment
00:04:21
Speaker
But i want like I don't want anyone to know about my disability. And I remember when I got older, I was like, no, this is a tool in my toolbox that I can use to empathize and communicate with people. i don know And so I wasn't always... Central because I feel like a lot of the thinking was around disability that um if you were doing it right, you were making people forget about your disability, which I think is just an old fashioned, ableist way of thinking. i don't know But I grew out of that, thankfully.
00:05:01
Speaker
Yeah, i I think that, you know, across the board for myself, too, that's been a centralized theme in my life um because for a very long time when I was younger, it's not something that I identified as was disabled. um And so my goal was always to fit in with the crowd. So that's so interesting from your perspective, too, that, you know, in the future, you could play a non-disabled character.
00:05:25
Speaker
Yeah, I was like, I want to get those Harrison Ford type rules, you know, Air Force One and all that. Because by then, they'll be able to just like Photoshop out the chair. um And I'll just be a floating man. ah But he realized, you know, this is something that I can use to really connect with people. So why not? You know, if you got it flaunted.
00:05:53
Speaker
And I think that's what's so amazing about social media because it kind of opened up that world of being able to see everybody from different perspectives of life where you're like, wait a second, I actually want to share this piece of my life. I don't know if you felt that way too, um but that's when I started to feel like I really could share more about who I was and how I navigate through life.
Social Media's Role in Disability Awareness
00:06:15
Speaker
I think ah social media really opened the door for me too. you know YouTube especially back in the day because I remember just feeling like there were going to be no doors open for me in entertainment unless I was able to define my own space. It got me even better over time just in terms of the different corners of TikTok.
00:06:44
Speaker
so many voices. I remember feeling when I was growing up and there weren't those avenues to express yourself and your creativity. like that The goal was to have people think of you as something more than your disability and like not engage with it. But like
00:07:07
Speaker
Honestly, social media has taught me more about disability than I think I learned in my entire like childhood and schooling years, just because the ah notion that you had to like run from it or overcome it was so prevalent when I was growing up. Like, oh, you're so great because you overcame cerebral palsy and accomplished things. And it's like, no, I haven't.
00:07:35
Speaker
Like obviously I haven't cerebral palsy is still very much part of my everyday life it it It factors into every important decision that I make but it's also given me so much perspective and empathy and and Has opened as many doors as it closed for me. So I think it was more of a of a perspective shift of, oh, now I can, that I'm confident in who I am, um I can bring this to the table and have it be another form of expression.
Impact of the Internet on Zach's Career
00:08:15
Speaker
Yeah. And you're one of like the original content creators. You've been making content for a long time. um So how has your career evolved across the different modalities and platforms as as you've grown, you're following? So war okay so I was doing online video before YouTube was even a thing. I remember posting videos to MySpace first and just like, oh, it's so cool that we can be featured on MySpace. And then YouTube came along and with, you know, like the, I remember I used to be on a star system and you would try to get like featured on main page and stuff.
00:08:57
Speaker
And and like way back in 2010, there was an online competition when Oprah Winfrey was launching her own network. And anyone could audition and ah say what type of show they would make for her network. And I remember our In college, I had tried to get a disability travel show off the ground because ah my dad had taken us to Europe. and We and had so many great experiences of like trying to break down my 250-pound power wheelchair to get on the train and then like showing up to Pompeii and realizing that
00:09:41
Speaker
town that's covered in volcanic ashes and particularly accessible and like figuring out oh there's so many steps and cobblestones and these are like the um the voltage that fries my wheelchair charger and figuring out all of these things. And we're like, this should be a show. And then when Oprah wants her network, she's like, got any ideas for shows. And my mom said, you gotta audition for this. And I did. And nothing really happened. I went to in person auditions and they didn't give me a callback. But the same night that I didn't get a callback,
00:10:23
Speaker
My audition video of me pitching my travel show went viral. on Reddit and it all stems from there and I wound up competing on that reality show and actually winning my travel show. So the internet is like the reason that I'm able to have a career. and Internet, Reddit, Oprah, all those things come together and so random, but I'm still grateful for it.
00:10:53
Speaker
That's so amazing. It's like when content creation was sort of the Wild Wild West and you were just, you know, throwing, you know, shooting arrows. Doing everything you can. It's just like whatever platform will post it here or like I have no idea if this is actually going to be called a thing or whatever.
00:11:14
Speaker
does what it did. But yeah, and it's so strange because back in the day, there was no business model around it. And I remember if you ever tried to monetize anything, people would like exit in droves because they were calling you a sellout. And then they were like, you're supposed to just give us this content for free. And now people will have whole businesses around it.
00:11:44
Speaker
Yeah, yeah,
Authenticity in Growing Representation
00:11:45
Speaker
it is. It's a whole new market, right? um But okay, let's talk about that for a little bit too. Now that the content creator market is a bit more saturated, how do you maintain your niche? I think Honestly, like I wouldn't even say it it's saturated. It's just sort of like, thank goodness there are all these voices. It makes me feel, I used to be intimidated about it when I was younger. If someone else was cerebral palsy, like got a show or got a break, I was like, they're only going to give it to one of us, right?
00:12:20
Speaker
I remember when Josh Blue won last comic standing, I was excited, but i was all there was part of me that was like, there goes my shot. But now it's just like seeing the diversity and the intersectionality within the disability community is so cool. It really does.
00:12:45
Speaker
make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, that there's that level of inclusion and representation and non-learning. And in terms of ah maintaining my niche, I don't know. i I feel like I'm more dialed into it now than I ever have been because I realized that it you know with with everything going on with the strikes and AI and the uncertain future of the industry, I just came to this conclusion that the
00:13:19
Speaker
The thing that I can bring is my authenticity and my experience and and connect with other human beings, and that's enough. And I don't need to try and define it any more than that. and that is that yeah that uniquely human experience and that ability to sort of um know just look at things from from my specific lens is what people are going to connect with.
00:13:51
Speaker
Wow. Yeah, I couldn't agree with you more. And I really want to just touch upon that one piece that you did say that it's not oversaturated because we're bringing so many unique perspectives. And that really, I mean, that's a ah lens change for myself, um because I think a lot of people that want to share their story, they feel as though they can't.
00:14:11
Speaker
because there's so many other people that are doing it. um you know But I think, like you said, when we come together and we share our uniqueness and we really share our different perspectives of life, like that's where I love social media. and And that's where I just see it being such a great tool because it's helped me find so many great connections and community too. So definitely wanted to help. Yeah,
Comedic Storytelling with Personal Experience
00:14:32
Speaker
it's a magical thing. And I know it's easy to be cynical when everything is going on. But it's like really, really special. like the This community is one that I longed for as a child, but it didn't exist or I didn't know where to find it. And now when you're on Instagram or TikTok or wherever, you can find hundreds of creators with cerebral palsy and see which of your experiences are overlap or which are unique to you. And it people always love a good story and they always love to to
00:15:11
Speaker
get little windows into different walks of life. And and I try and find the universal themes that resonate within the specificity of my experience. And that seems to be working so far.
00:15:29
Speaker
It's true because, you know, from a viewer or consumer perspective, it seems like you incorporate so much of your personal and real life into your comedy and other work. So how do you marry your work and real life together? I mean, they wanted to save, you know, because it's really.
00:15:48
Speaker
The sort of paradigm shift that I had was that any experience any lived experience is it worthy of um talking about if you can ingest it and and find a lesson in it.
00:16:02
Speaker
i used to think like oh Nothing that will happen to me will ever be as big as like getting a show from Oprah Winfrey and you know, how am I gonna cop that story when it's just like the everyday things that everyone goes through those those human emotions those insecurities and just like weaving that sort of like half history of ah the the um outwardly mundane and finding some depth in it, I found real value in it. It sort of made me look at my whole life this as a story and what can I get from this? you know What can I learn from it? And what are what might other people be able to learn from it?
00:16:50
Speaker
Yeah, so if you're talking about yourself as Zach, the comedian or content creator, author, writer, like you say that that's all of you merged together into one amazing person. Yeah, exactly.
00:17:03
Speaker
one kind of solid six person. And then there's another guy back there. We haven't quite found out how that works too. ah But ah yeah, I guess. ah Yeah, it's just like, like, using every tool in your arsenal. And like, I i used to very much be of the mindset, like, ah if it's not like, extraordinary, then what why am I talking about it? And there were many years where I didn't post a lot because it's going through a lot of personal things and didn't really know how what my angle was. And you know now that I'm almost 40, I think my angle is just gratitude for all of it.
00:17:47
Speaker
and you know there' there's Like every moment can count if you really are present for it. So I ah rather than trying to be like, what's my next big thing? It's like, is there anything to glean from this tiny little thing that happened?
00:18:08
Speaker
ah to me and can I make something out of this? Is it and said funny to me or and this this ridiculous embarrassing thing is there now a value to saying it out loud and contextualizing it? And so like right that's one of the gifts of having a sense of humor and being a writer is that no embarrassing or mortifying experience is wasted.
00:18:34
Speaker
Yeah. And I feel like you're consistently great at storytelling and like that perfect funny zinger. Um, so I'd love a little insight into your comedic storytelling process too.
Crafting Engaging Instagram Stories
00:18:44
Speaker
Okay. So I will, I will tell you about how I've gotten my cake on Instagram. Uh, it, I have ADHD, so it's very valuable to me to have.
00:18:56
Speaker
boundaries and parameters that I have to fit stories into. And one thing that's great is ah Instagram Reels will only let you do 90 seconds, right? So I and sort of took that as a personal challenge. I had stories that I wanted to tell. And when I first started, I said, oh, I can just go up and film these things on my roof or wherever.
00:19:22
Speaker
And they would take hours and hours and days to just whittle them down to 90 seconds. And then after the first few, I was like, there has to be a more economical way to shoot these.
00:19:37
Speaker
and also in Instagram reels you they won't let you film more than 90 seconds so if you if you uh go over you have to go back and cut something so that was just sort of nice for narrowing it down um and then after the first few videos um my girlfriend came over and she's like, I can help you narrow these down because she's like a national public speaking champion. And I was like, well, this is a great resource to have. So we would write these out together. And she's like, you don't need this part. And what what is the essence of it, right? So it's easier when you get it down to vaguely 90 seconds. And in terms of like,
00:20:28
Speaker
figuring out the takeaway for things. I have a log of things in my head. up like I know that I want to talk about this experience, but I don't know what the takeaway is. I don't know what the universal thing is.
00:20:44
Speaker
and you know invariably, it shakes loose over time of like, oh, this is what this actually means. And being able to look at your old life and all of those little minutiae things of like, what does it what could it mean? um That process of self examination and then also thinking, okay, what's the quo? What is the thing that people are gonna when they share this to their story, what's the line that they're gonna put in quotes over this video and trying to guess what that is, but also making sure that it feels authentic and true and sort of looking at your own life, not just in terms of stories, but in terms of like takeaways and sound bites, then really helpful in terms of actually getting things
00:21:39
Speaker
out, because that's always been my problem is I am they go off the ideas, and mda they get away from me. But just having that restriction of got to be 90 seconds, you got to like, get this story out really quickly. um And then zeno bur super, out. Well, as you can tell, I ramble when I'm not given any guard route. So No, I think that's so helpful, though, just just talking through everything that you did, because for so many people, they look at content creation, they look at the content you're putting out and saying, wow, that's so easy for Zach. But even personally, for myself, I know that experience. And then on top of it, editing and trying to publish it and doing the caption, like there's so many things that go into what you're creating.
00:22:29
Speaker
So it's a relatable experience. You talked us through exactly the woes of all those pieces that add up. And I think some people are intimidated to share their story because they feel like they can't fit into that box of like what social media has given them. But it's more of like a practice makes perfect and a balance of getting that right quote out like you are saying versus just getting something online.
00:22:56
Speaker
Yeah, i hear I tend to think of what what is the value to my audience of this piece of content. ten and like i i really do It a lot to me, even if you're just scrolling on your phone that people would would want to spend 90 seconds to hear what I have to say. And I take that responsibility seriously, even though Yeah, it's just like Instagram and on a certain level it is but if I can can change some strangers day around in terms of like
00:23:37
Speaker
across the world, that's pretty freaking cool. and It's not lost on me that that like it's a gift to have the audience that I have and to have the platform that I have. so yeah i mean i I try not to put out things that I don't genuinely believe in.
00:23:57
Speaker
Yeah. And is this like a principle that also goes into the other work that you're doing, like when you're navigating working with writers and balancing your lived experience with genre experience on top of, you know, all of the pieces that you're putting together with content you create?
From Content Creator to TV Writer
00:24:12
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, we were like So I wrote a few TV shows, one called Speechless on ABC and then another one called Best Put Forward on Apple TV. And with each of those, it was very important for me to bring my lived experience, but also to realize that, okay,
00:24:34
Speaker
they're both family comedies. And our goal is not to just speak to families who are touched by disability and make them feel seen, but it's to having make the audience that would normally other people with disabilities see a universal humanity in those experiences. So it's it is a balance but You have to remember, like why got wet the the Venn diagram is where honesty and authenticity meet fun. I like that analogy for sure, because I think you know that that is also that value add to like being authentic, but having that whole where people are attracted to to staying engaged.
00:25:23
Speaker
um really interesting. So I'd love it for you to like talk a little bit more about what you do for work um because I think that's like a ah piece of your life that um is so interesting too.
00:25:36
Speaker
Yeah, I don't even know how to explain it. Somehow I became a television writer in addition to a kind of content creator. I think, you know, GPF has ah a big role in that, actually, because that's how I was initially introduced to Speechless and Scott Silveri, because he had done work with you um on the pilot of the show, and then also got notes from CPF, and they were looking for authentic representation in the writers' realm back in 2016, 2017. And so Scott Silveri, who was the creator of Speechless,
00:26:22
Speaker
sitcom down to ABC that had to do with a nonverbal teenager with cerebral palsy and it's like really quirky family based on Scott's own life. They wanted a writer obviously that could bring debts and nuance to that character rather than just having it lens through the rest of the family.
00:26:49
Speaker
And so they invited me out for a week um in season one the to just like pitch things. And I think I sent them a 20 page document of my lived experiences and trouble.
00:27:05
Speaker
that that document meant they got like four or five storyline and then invited me to to write on the show full time and i was like way out of my depth but uh you know because that i i'm used to being one of the funniest people in a room and then going into that writer's room every single person was funnier and than i was and learning that like oh i have a lot to um the game here a lot to learn and but my experience has value and my voice has value and i I deserve to be here and feeling like finding that balance of like you got a lot to learn but you also are worthy of being in the writer's room with so many brilliant hilarious minds and
00:28:04
Speaker
Yeah, so that's when mike my writing career started. But thank you, CPF, for that hookup. I don't think we would have you know ever been connected without CPF. Yeah. And just through telling your story and making connections, like it's that snowball effect sometimes where you start somewhere and you don't realize like where that road is bringing you.
00:28:29
Speaker
um and I think that's like powerful too because some people are so afraid to fail or or put their story out there or try. um and you know When I'm trying something new, it's not that I'm going in fearless. like I could definitely still be very scared, but just growing off of that, like you really start to realize like I can still go in and do it scared.
00:28:51
Speaker
Yeah, that's that's a wonderful thing. I'm going to take that. I can do it scared. Yeah. Because that's been my experience since I've never felt ready for any of those things. I only realized in retrospect that the reason that or part of the reason that I succeeded is I had been preparing for the moment even though I didn't feel prepared.
00:29:19
Speaker
So true. and i think like That feeling of imposter syndrome, too, I think really creeps in on so many people. All the time. Yeah. So do you ever experience that? And then what advice would you give to people that feel like you know they're constantly living in a cycle of imposter syndrome?
00:29:37
Speaker
I mean, like that's every day. um you know we we ah My writing partner, Gillian Grassi and I, we were just at a showrunner's workshop and that at Netflix for a grant that we got through the Inevitable Foundation. and and just we got to learn from you know but the show runners of like on my block and poker face and they're all of these wonderful people that had worked on like Kimmy Schmidt and Lady Dynamine and all these things and and just the imposter syndrome there was you could just it was just so intense but I realize now that
00:30:25
Speaker
ah My authentic self is acknowledging my fears and faults right off the bat. and Part of my confidence comes from, what but if you want to call it that, part of my confidence comes from embracing that fear, acknowledging it, talking about it, getting getting comfortable with it, living in it.
00:30:51
Speaker
and and like I think that is why people are drawn to me as I remember presented as somebody who has all or even any of the answers. And i and i I feel like Most of my life has been about learning and then unlearning. and and like I was probably most confident when I was in middle school that I knew nothing. and Ever since then, i I've just become confident that I'm going to learn what I thought I knew was wrong and hopefully you'd become a better person because of that.
00:31:34
Speaker
and i i i I'm working on a video now where I talk about how I'm grateful to be able to look back at the things that I did 10 years ago and cringe because that means that I've grown as a human being. you know like When we did my Oprah show,
00:31:54
Speaker
I got to admit, I was a little bit of an inspiration porn star back then. And um a it was just what I had learned about disability and the conversation around it. and I and internalized a lot of it. And um it now when I watch it, I sort of like Oh, well, ooh, I wouldn't say this now. And like, ah there were producers that would always try to get me to say, you know, as someone with cerebral palsy, I never thought I could do this. Whereas I thought I always knew I could, you know, skydive or mountain climb and just, um, and not being able to feel like I had the agency to say it back then. yeah And, and realizing like,
00:32:44
Speaker
Because we've made progress, those things, if you watch to them now, you're like, look, and i'm I'm glad to be one of them, you know, because so the only way that we make progress is by, like,
00:33:03
Speaker
iterative mistakes and learning and growing and hopefully I i never look back at my work and said say, I've done it. It's perfect. It's perfect representation because the conversation is always changing and evolving.
00:33:19
Speaker
And I think, you know, nobody wants to be a stick in the mud or a wheelchair wheel in the mud or accurately in my case. um So, yeah, ah i know I'm just so grateful. i I forget what the question was, but I'm so grateful to look back at my career and be like, I'm like, will you know, just a little bit.
00:33:49
Speaker
Yeah.
Using Comedy to Promote Understanding
00:33:50
Speaker
Well, I mean, you brought up a really good point, too, of just how that conversation has changed. And so like through your content, through your work, it really has. But disability can be a tough or uncomfortable topic for a lot of people to be confronted with. um What are your thoughts on this? And how do you find yourself using humor to ease that discomfort? I feel like Everyone's going through their own struggle, right? And everyone is, is internalizing what they see based on their own experience. So I try and never shut down the, the.
00:34:29
Speaker
conversation or would be the reason that people are scared to engage with talking about disability. and i people who are And I feel like part of the reason that I can say that is because I've had a lot of privilege and like people tend to non-judge me because of a um so um some privileges that I have. So I understand if you go through life and and to everyone seems like they're infantilizing you or antagonizing you or or not looking you in the eye, you know, that you
00:35:13
Speaker
Being angry is a perfectly acceptable response, but that's never been my approach to it. I've always been like, oh, if I can be the ambassador rather than the person who gets indignant or or upset when when people are misinformed, then ah maybe I can change the conversation a little bit.
00:35:42
Speaker
I think people are afraid to engage with that conversation because they are thinking that, oh, either they're thinking I hope I'm never that person or they are facing something with their own frailty or their own mortality and they're not ready to face it. But what I would say is that um the disability experience is the human experience.
00:36:17
Speaker
and on And it's something that a lot of us will experience in our lifetimes. And I think ah being able to be fully engaged in that just makes us more human, more connected. And it's important. and like um like the um the humor piece of it is it's disarming right if you're laughing you can't be scared or you know you can't like even if it's just a momentary reprieve from your darker more intrusive thought
00:36:56
Speaker
that's a moment of joy that you have. So I think it is a great branch of understanding if you can get people laughing and and see themselves in you. all right And ah I think it, like, why wouldn't I have the conversation? I got i got nothing but time.
00:37:23
Speaker
Yeah. And adding like, I love that you say like laughter, I think is this a human experience. Disability is a human experience, right? Like kind of your Venn diagram reference, right? Like if you can bring the human experiences together, it brings people's stories together and it kind of breaks down those walls. Yeah. anyway And in a really great way. Oh, thanks. Yeah. um Yeah, I don't think people need to be afraid of oh disability. i mean I think even in the in the disability community, like it's something that we all do. we all
00:38:00
Speaker
hey youre
00:38:03
Speaker
like There's comparative suffering within the disability community. and like even a ah an event I went to recently, I was taking questions and a mother of kind of was, he got up and was talking about her son and she said, um oh, thank God that it's mild. And it was just like an interesting moment because we were surrounded by people whose cerebral palsy was a lot more severe and
00:38:35
Speaker
even you know within our communities we we have that sort of feeling of oh at least I didn't get such and such diagnosis or I'm at home in my own body and at peace with my own diagnosis but if I had to deal with what this other person is going through then I'm not sure I would be able to deal with it as well. um and So my my um
00:39:08
Speaker
that The thing that I would like people to take away is that a challenging life doesn't necessarily mean a bad life, or a life with unique challenges does not mean that it's not a life worth living or enjoying.
00:39:26
Speaker
and and so just I think when you're when you see somebody on the street who may have a disability or if they have something that you wouldn't want for yourself, don't project your sadness onto them. it They might have a wonderful, fulfilling, laughter-filled existence that you are just reducing them to alarm.
00:40:01
Speaker
only what you can see and what your experience is and your context is. But yeah, ah I've lived a great life and I try to communicate that whatever work that I do um and I know it goes the other way too where if you look at someone and they look like completely happy and together and like there they don't have a care in the world, um they could be struggling with something so deeply. so In many ways, I have gratitude but that people are at least receptive to the idea that I might be struggling with something because it's easy to see. so In a way, it's a gift.
00:40:48
Speaker
It's that's such a cool perspective to look through with it Zach because i've I found myself especially like at at a point in my life I have um a very close friend and she has cystic fibrosis and so one day it was sharing a story of a struggle that I was going through and I caught myself stopping. And she said, I know why you're not continuing to share this with me because she had had a double lung transplant. And she said to me, just because your experience is so totally different than mine, doesn't mean that your feelings aren't valid and your experience isn't valid.
00:41:25
Speaker
So it's one of those moments where like a barrier within myself broke down and some people don't have the interactions to have those barriers break down. So they don't have those aha moments throughout their lives where you realize just how, you know, how many layers there is to the human experience where it's like, it's almost like an onion, right? And like some people have more layers exposed for a lack of a better analogy there. we Yeah.
00:41:50
Speaker
Um, and, and so yeah, you you don't always know the depth of which, um, you know, you're experiencing someone. Um, but I think that that's such a cool way to look at it too. And having cerebral palsy helps us kind of see the code to the matrix a little bit, you know, and, and maybe dig a little deeper than most people are given the space to. Yeah.
00:42:18
Speaker
That's so true. Yeah, I mean, how how do you fit into the norm when you're not born into the norm, right? I think that that differentiation and just in in my lens like of life is is totally different because of that, so. Yeah. Awesome. This was so amazing. um One thing that we're asking every single guest on the podcast is, what's the number one thing you want to see changed about healthcare for adults with CP?
Healthcare for Adults with CP
00:42:44
Speaker
um I think you all have some interesting insights.
00:42:47
Speaker
Okay, well, the number one thing, and CPF is working really hard to do this, is actually continuing care into adulthood. And I feel like the i I'm learning things about my body and my diagnosis that there is no there's no roadmap for. And I feel like there's a lot of focus on young in it, and almost no focus on adult. And then also, I just wish that um medical professionals, even if they don't know or aren't
00:43:33
Speaker
aren't you know well versed in dealing with cerebral palsy. I wish that they would listen to their patients as opposed to assuming. and I think the work that CPF is doing is so profoundly important because I'm somebody with a platform and an audience and I had trouble getting healthcare as an adult with CP. So it it thank you for doing what you're doing and fighting the good fight.
00:44:13
Speaker
Well, thanks so much for that, Zach. I think your sentiment is echoed across many, many other guests that we've had. um So that's exactly why we're having these conversations too, because we're a piece of that story that's all adding up into the initiative too. um One last thing, where can our listeners stay connected with you?
Connect with Zach Anner
00:44:31
Speaker
Uh, follow me on, uh, Instagram and, uh, and YouTube and Facebook and Tik TOK and around Glendale, California. Um, I'm just, uh, you know, I'm on the street a lot of times, you mean back and forth. So follow me. I guess that's a way to, to stay connected or just follow CPF. You know, I'm always popping up on there.
00:45:00
Speaker
Perfect. Thank you so much for today, Zach. I'm so looking forward to sharing this conversation, and we hope to see you soon. Oh, thanks. Thank you for listening to this episode of Cerebral Palsy Grows Up, the podcast. This show was produced by Ashley Harris Whaley, Katie Gastra, and Kyle Kechedorian, hosted by Alexa Orban, and its logo was designed by Brianna Rachey. We'd like to thank our listeners for being a valuable part of our community, and we'd like to thank Zach Anner for his time and his expertise.
00:45:29
Speaker
Don't forget to subscribe and rate Cerebral Pulsar Grows Up the podcast wherever you get your podcast from. Please follow Cerebral Pulsar Grows Up on Instagram and TikTok to connect with the project and stay up to date. Thanks again for listening, and we hope you'll be back for our next episode.