BLOG
Tying Blind: Chris Mathews on The Longhairs Podcast
What Does Bad Ass Look Like?
Our guest on Episode 98 is a 23-year-old longhair of Rochester, MN, and a longtime member of The Longhairs’ community with a unique physical characteristic many of us surely take for granted—and who has a valuable and insightful perspective on long hair. His name is Chris Mathews, but around here he goes by El Ciego.
He is one of several men in the community who is visually impaired, in his case legally blind, and if you think tying your hair up without seeing yourself in the mirror is easy…he is gonna tell you what it’s really like.
Born prematurely at 26 weeks, he lost most of his sight to retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) as an infant. Though he has some very limited vision, he has no ability to look through both eyes at the same time, he uses a cane, and reads braille.
Getting to know Chris raised questions we’d never thought about, like how do you know how your hair looks? How do you tie your hair up? What does bad ass actually look like?
In our short time knowing him he’s helped us start to better understand what things look like from the perspective of someone who cannot see the way most people see; to recognize the visual nuance of sight, and more carefully consider the idea of something, like where it came from and what it signifies, more than just what it looks like.
From skydiving to learning how to pitch a baseball, he sees things differently, and tells us what it’s like on Let It Ride.
What you'll hear about:
My goal is just to make you think about it. I’m not here to be aggressive and be angry. I’m here to learn how to pitch, learn how to tie my hair, learn how to put all that together and become a functional human being.
If I help some people along the way doing that, or bring more people into this community, or strengthen the way that people are thinking about this kind of stuff…I’ll take that as an added bonus.
Until the day we see him throw the first pitch at a ball game, get to know Chris Mathews on The Longhairs podcast.
Watch the show…
Or listen on Soundcloud…
Or find Let It Ride wherever you listen to podcasts.
Chris Mathews “El Ciego”
Chris Mathews is a longtime member of The Longhairs community, proudly representing visually impaired longhairs everywhere. Connect with El Ciego on the Serious Hair Guys Facebook Group or come and meet him in person at The Great Cut 2024.
CONNECT
Blind Over Matter
This episode of Let It Ride is brought to you by Hair Ties For Guys, the finest hair ties in the world. Guaranteed.
Bros On This Episode
El Rubio
Co-Founder, CEO & Chief Manetenance Officer for The Longhairs, El Rubio is a writer, traveler, avid skier and athlete. He writes most of the words you read from The Longhairs.
El Moreno
Co-Founder, President & Chief Follicle Officer for The Longhairs, El Moreno is a husband, father, athlete and creator. He makes most of what you see and interact with on The Longhairs websites.
