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

Rachel, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I had asked my ocularist who I’d been seeing for 26 years at the time if they would be willing to make me an eye that didn’t match my working eye. I specifically wanted one that was gold, to help me feel like I got to choose the narrative when people looked at me. I wanted to have control of what they saw and I wanted to not feel like I was hiding from the fact that I was different. When they told me that they weren’t willing to create it, I set out on a mission to find someone who would. While I had spoken to a couple ocularists who said they would, the cost of travel along with the eye, made it unattainable. That’s when I found an ocularist in my city, who was willing and excited to make this happen for me.

Years ago I had the opportunity to talk with A little girl named Gracie who was just diagnosed with retinoblastoma at the time, and her mother. To talk to them and reassure them that everything was going to be ok and let them know I was thriving after surviving, and Gracie would be totally capable of living a normal and fulfilling life even though she is different.

About a year after I got my first fun prosthetic, Gracie had an appointment with my new ocularist Christina King at Center for Ocular prosthetics and I decided to raise the funds on social media to surprise Gracie with a fun prosthetic at her appointment. When I asked social media if anyone could help, the response was overwhelming, we had Gracie’s eye paid for in less than 1 hour. And by the next morning we had enough to pay for 3 fun prosthetics.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a one eyed cancer survivor whose goal is to make fun prosthetic eyes accessible to anyone who may want them. I’ve found so much freedom in being able to express myself through fun eyes. Being able to own the fact that I’m different and celebrate it has created so much healing for me and I want to make sure the same is true, and provide the opportunity for others to experience the same healing after the trauma that comes along with missing an eye. I grew up in a world where the only examples of representation for someone with monocular Vision were Monsters, witches and pirates. I want to show the world that being different is beautiful and something to be celebrated not hidden. That is what the fun eye fund is all about, it’s a non profit raising money to not only pay for a non typical prosthetic but to afford all recipients the gift of healing and self love.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I started really gaining my following on social media when I made a video in response to a mean comment I had gotten. I didn’t put much thought into this one take video. I hadn’t posted much about my fun eye at that point and the comment was pertaining to a video completely unrelated to having one eye at all. It was just a regular video and people noticed the difference in my regular prosthetic and my natural eye and the comments were brutal. People just tearing me apart and making accusations about me because of it. So my response video basically stated,

“You guys are bullies, and just to show you I don’t care what you have to say, I’m not wearing my regular eye anymore”

Then I removed the normal prosthetic on camera and inserted my New Fun Gold Prosthetic.

This was my way of saying ‘your negative outlook doesn’t define me’

And by the time I had finished my commute, the video was at 100,000 views. By the next morning the video was over a million views and I’d gained 100,000 followers.

It takes two seconds to post a mean comment, and a life time of work to love yourself for exactly who you are. I think that even though the internet can be a mean dark place, it can also be the most supportive and it give you the opportunity to create such an in incredible, inclusive community, One where children can see people like them and know they aren’t alone, they get to have the say in not only what they accept as their truth, but in how they allow people to speak to them.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The biggest thing that I’ve had to unlearn throughout this process is that, Society tells us that we are supposed to blend in to be accepted.

When the truth is, you get to be exactly the person you create and the only person whose acceptance matters is your own.

Through the journey of learning to love myself through my differences the only persons “acceptance” that made a difference in my life at all.. was my own,

A million people could tell you your beautiful, smart kind. But until YOU can say it to yourself and believe it, it means nothing.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/rachel.mackenzlee?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
• Other: TikTok: @rachel.mackenzlee

Image Credits
Fae & Scales Photography