We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Maya Chupkov. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Maya below.

Maya, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The most meaningful project I have ever worked on is a documentary I am producing right now. The documentary is about two black men who stutter and the varying ways their speech disability impacted their lives. One is from Stockton, California, the other from St. Stephen’s, South Carolina. This project is meaningful to me because it is so personal. I have lived with a stutter my entire life and through these men I am hoping this film will change the lives of people stutter from around the world, while also educating viewers on the nuances of the lived experiences of people who stutter, and how race, violence, mental health and class intersect with speech challenges. It is rare that we see Stuttering normalized on the big and small screens. The film sends a message that we are all more than our stutters.

Maya, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Before I got into the film industry, I started my own podcast called Proud Stutter. I taught myself how to produce episodes, host and edit. I used my professional background in PR and communications to market my show and cultivate a worldwide audience of listeners. Since launching I have been featured in a ton of newspaper article, radio shows, and TV spots. I have spoken at conferences in and outside the United States. In the same way, I taught myself how to create a successful and award winning podcast, I am teaching myself and relying on my connections to produce a documentary. What sets me apart from others is my ability to build relationships, organize my community and raise capital through marketing and education.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Stuttering has taught me to be a resilient person. I didn’t think I would survive fourth grade because of the severe bullying I experienced. Looking back at that time, I believe I was targeted by my bully because of the vulnerability I showed as a result of having a debilitating stutter. I had low self-confidence because I struggled to express myself. I felt sorry for myself because of the way I talked the bullying caused me to mistrust others, which prevented me from making friends. It wasn’t until college that I knew the true meaning of friendship. As I learn to trust others, my self-confidence improved. Having to navigate not being able to communicate easily made me resilient because it has taught me that I can’t give up on communicating just like I will never give up my dream of being a successful documentary filmmaking and using this medium to be a source of understanding and empowerment for the stuttering community. The reason I want to be a filmmaker is to have influence on the stuttering narrative and normalize the speech disability once and for all.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

The mission driving my creative journey is to create safe spaces in as many corners of our society as possible for the stuttering community. Film, television and media have a huge power to shift societal norms and narratives. Documentaries have proven to change the world. Success isn’t just being nominated or winning awards. It’s about creating opportunities for people who stutter around the world, and their loved ones, to feel seen and understood, and have a vehicle where they can make change happen in their own communities. The harder we work to get stuttering recognized in film, TV and media, the harder we work to have as many screenings as we possibly can, the more impact we will have in achieving our goal of normalizing stuttering and speech challenges.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.ProudStutter.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mayachupkov?igsh=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProudStutter?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayachupkov?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
• Twitter: ProudStutter
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@proudstutter?si=cgJ8Xy37IoehA-hF

Image Credits

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