Karan Nagrani - Diversity & Inclusion - Disability Advocate, Speaker, Content Creator

Travels From Victoria

Karan Nagrani

Disability Advocate, Speaker, Content Creator

Nominee for Blind Australian of the Year, Karan has had an extensive career in the corporate world as a marketer, graphic designer and video creator, in a career spanning almost two decades. He is also blind. Bit of a head-scratcher right?

Diagnosed at Eleven with Usher Syndrome, a rare degenerative and incurable condition leading to complete blindness, and hearing loss, Karan’s perspective is very unique. An excellent communicator and creative talent, he was drawn to marketing, graphic design and communications. Fast forward to his thirties and Karan’s vision loss had progressed to more than 97% leaving him with no night or peripheral vision and a narrowing field of sight. Determined not to allow his vision loss to impact his life and motivated by a desire to help others with low/no-vision and disability, he now works as a disability advocate, campaigning for social change, accessible workplaces and an inclusive society.

Through his disability journey Karan has had to deal with the slow and progressive loss of his sight, a challenge only few would be prepared for and let alone capable of navigating. how would you manage knowing you’re going blind? Emerging from his vision loss as a mental health warrior Karan has now dedicated his life to disability advocacy.

With the tagline, Pretty Fly for a Blind Guy – Karan’s take on life and the world around us is fresh, real and extremely relatable. A natural comedian, Karan’s communication style, whether through Instagram or public speaking is raw, unfiltered and from the heart. A proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community, Karan is deeply passionate about breaking down misconceptions about vision loss, the “invisible disabilities” and ableist stereotypes. Karan says that blind people can be gay, person-of-colour and don’t have to have six pack to live a full and rewarding life. Karan has been the Disability Ambassador for Chillout Festival in 2023 and Midsumma Festival and Darwin Pride in 2024.

A very passionate graphic designer, Karan is on a mission to show the world what blind people like him see. A skill he may no longer be able to use as he loses all his sight in a few years.

Whether it’s through content on Instagram, Public Speaking as an Advocate with a hint of Comedy, or his collection of clothing and merchandise, ‘That Blind Guy’ Karan is on a mission to change how the world sees blind people.

Testimonial

" Top End Pride were very proud and humbled to have Karan as our 2024 Darwin Pride Ambassador. Karan's story and passion to shine a light on disability within our community really came through. He spoke at our Launch, our Business Networking event, our Educational Forums and at the start of our parade and the feedback we received has been phenomenal. We want to Thank Karan for being our ambassador and for shining a light on such an important topic."

Darwin Pride

"Karan's session with us instantly impacted the perception and empathy we hold for those living with impaired vision. He's able to clearly explain the impact of Usher Syndrome on his life in a passionate, warm and witty style that won over many hearts and minds at Canva. His direct challenge for us to more fully design Canva for disabilities continues to positively reverberate through our teams."

CANVA

"Karan came on board for the 2024 Midsumma Festival as our Community Ambassador and Presenter at Victoria's Pride Street Party. Karan did an amazing job engaging with community, creating content for social media, and collaborating with our team to create meaningful engagement through his disability leadership and advocacy. Karan's presentation at Victoria's Pride Street Party was part of the official proceedings and was charismatic, insightful and entertaining. Karan was an asset to our team and we would highly recommend working with him."

Midsumma Festival

"Karan joined AMS as a speaker to help us celebrate Disability Pride Month for the first time in July 2023. Karan shared an invaluable perspective to help us break down misconceptions about vision loss and promote understanding of disabilities that are less visible to educate our colleagues, highlighting the importance of intersectional experiences. Thank you for sharing your story with us Karan!"

AMS

"Water Corporation’s Albany office was privileged to have Karan share his personal journey with retinitis pigmentosa and advocate for those with a disability. Karan spoke about the importance of inclusivity and his daily challenges while shedding light on disability using humour and meaningful graphics. The informative presentation was entertaining, moving and very well received by all staff."

Water Corporation

"Karan Nagrani has worked with AIIM Choices as an Ambassador and Speaker role for more than 2 years. In this role Karan has been tasked with promoting AIIM Choices business and its attitude to people with disabilities, especially, those people with vision challenges, primarily through our social media but also in the public arena at expos. Karan, his presence and personality, always enhances the environment with a joyful and positive approach to promote and support the visually impaired and the whole community. The initiative he continually displays, makes life so easy to work with him."

AIIM Choices

Travels From Victoria

Categories

Karan Nagrani

Enquire about Karan Nagrani to speak at your next event