Being blind or visually impaired is not a condition anyone dreams of. However, it’s what you do with it when faced with the challenge that puts you in a different league. We at OrCam compiled a list of famous blind men who did not let adversity stand in the way of their dreams, nor their success. Scroll through the list below, and get inspired!

Musicians

• Andrea Bocelli – Singer Andrea Bocelli became blind after a sports accident when he was only 12 years old. However, his blindness never stopped him from achieving success in life. Andrea has revived most of the Late King of Italian Opera, Luciano Pavarotti’s music. The art we can respect tremendously when it comes to Andrea Bocelli is his ability to master each sound, hymn, vocal note, or high pitch verse with vocal precision. And in the highest level of professionalism. His perfection is unmatched among tenors and is quite simply remarkable.

• Stevie Wonder – “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” singer Steve Wonder has been blind since infancy.  He has recorded more than thirty U.S. top ten hits and won twenty-two Grammy Awards (the most ever won by a solo artist) as well as an Academy Award for Best Song, and been inducted into both the Rock and Roll and Songwriters halls of fame.  American music magazine Rolling Stone named Stevie the ninth greatest singer of all time. His key appearances include performing at the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Paralympics in Salt Lake City, the pre-game show for Super Bowl XL in 2006, the Obama Inaugural Celebration in 2009, and the opening ceremony of the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens, Greece.

• Ray Charles – Singer Ray Charles started going blind at age five.  By seven, he was completely blind. Ray mastered being a singer, pianist, and song writer as well as carving his name in his musical career as the grand-daddy of blind musicians and particularly, for being able to blend Jazz, Gospel, Country, and Pop into his songs. Frank Sinatra called him “the only true genius in the business.”  In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Charles number ten on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and also voted him number two on their list of The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.

Athletes

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? Happy Earth Day and a throwback to Yosemite with speed-climbing legend @hansflorine. We were revisiting some classic routes that I hadn't attempted since 1996. Always a good day to be in the Valley — surely one of the most stunning places on the planet. ? El Cap, 2019, @conkoch. #earthday #blind #climbing #keepreaching #nobarriers

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Geplaatst door Craig MacFarlane op Zondag 14 juli 2013

• Craig MacFarlane – Blind since age 2, Craig has won over 100 gold medals, the majority against sighted competition in sports such as wrestling, track and field, snow-skiing, and water-skiing. All these achievements are impressive when done by a person who possesses all five senses, but they wow, even more, when you consider that he’s done everything without the benefit of his sight. Currently, Craig travels throughout the world sharing his message with large corporations such as Ford, GM, IBM, Whirlpool, Walmart, Energizer, Coke, and many more.

Stay tuned for our next blog on famous blind women to be inspired by!