We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Austin Whitney. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Austin below.
Austin, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
Six months after a car accident that severed his spinal cord and took away his legs, Austin Whitney attended his first music festival. For the first time since his spinal cord injury, he was able to smile and simply enjoy life.
While the accessibility of the festival was limited and didn’t fully provide the necessary accommodations, he was still able to enjoy the live music experience. Realizing how much better of an experience he could have had with the proper accommodations, he decided to devote his life to ensuring people of all abilities can have an equal opportunity to experience live music and recreational activities to the fullest extent possible.
With help from his business-minded childhood friend Oren Shani, Austin combined his legal education from UC Berkeley School of Law and his own personal experience with disability to create Accessible Festivals. Today Austin assists some of the nation’s largest event promoters to ensure they are fully accessible to individuals of all abilities. During the course of his work, he realized that personal interaction is the single most important component of a successful accessibility program. Understanding the true nature of disabilities, and the corresponding needs that arise is essential for providing the ability to have an amazing, life-changing experience, regardless of the situation.
Our vision is to provide the tools necessary for understanding disability on a societal level and ensure no one feels stigmatized due to something that cannot be controlled. A fulfilling life includes having access to choosing one’s own experiences; our focus is to make experiences possible through the majesty of live music, entertainment and recreation.
Austin, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Recreation and leisure are critical to our happiness, self-worth, and self-identity. However, the importance of leisure activities is often overlooked when programs are developed for the 40 million US Residents living with autism and other special needs. Accessible Festivals recognizes this essential human need and is dedicated to making recreation accessible to all, regardless of ability.
Accessibility is a fundamental right for all people of all abilities and throughout every facet of life. While various efforts are made by governments, organizations and individuals to provide accessible accommodations for infrastructure, education and employment, not much has been done to make live music and other entertainment and recreational events accessible. The ADA has very limited language surrounding this area of need; yet it can be just as important as any other aspect of accessibility. Thus, Accessible Festivals strives to close this gap and focuses on providing resources within the live entertainment and recreational field. By bringing together like-minded organizations and individuals, sharing knowledge and resources, and aligning our vision with one another, we can take the next step in ensuring people of abilities are able to have the quality of life they dream of.
Inspired by the beauty and universal language that connects us all through music, Accessible Festivals provides direct services, consultation, and training to professionals in the entertainment industry, while educating the general public about the value of inclusion and accessibility through innovative events and experiences. Annually, Accessible Festivals presents Inclusion Festival, the nation’s first and only sensory-friendly music and wellness festival, a multiday event that combines recreation and education by offering over 50 workshops, and demonstrates the value to society at large when accessibility and inclusion are embraced as the norm.
The importance of festivals is documented throughout history and across virtually all cultures. Traditions like Chinese New Year, Mardi Gras, Diwali, and more highlight important cultural values and heritage. Festivals like these are a purposeful and profound way to connect with our roots, reflect on personal values and experiences, and identify rituals and practices that resonate with us. They offer individuals an opportunity to come together in celebration, strengthening our sense of belonging and cohesiveness.
Additionally, festivals tend to evoke a sense of joy and appreciation for our surroundings. Often, upon entering a festival grounds, one can feel positive energy radiating. This energy is mutually created and mutually shared amongst participants. It invites the possibility of contentment, relaxation, and the reduction of inhibitions. In this space, individuals can become fully present, strengthen self-awareness, explore passions and interests, build relationships, and connect with inner purpose to guide and sustain positive lifestyle choices.
When music is included in the festival experience, participants experience many physical and psychological benefits. An extensive review of peer-reviewed research journals conducted by the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) concludes that music is universally appealing and helps promote social, emotional, and cognitive skills across many different disability categories. Music is widely accepted as an evidence-based therapy that is known to reduce stress, enhance memory, improve communication, strengthen sensory-processing, and more. Additionally, there is strong potential for communities with diverse needs and backgrounds to bond through shared musical experiences like those offered at Accessible Festivals events.
In today’s fast paced world, festival celebrations are not commonplace for all people. It is our belief that the festival experience, and inherent benefits, can be integrated into daily life and community spaces. Like festivals, our programs promote joy and unity while offering accessible recreational and educational experiences that highlight the value of inclusion.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Austin Whitney is the Founder and Chairman of Accessible Festivals and Founder and President of Ten Fifty Entertainment. Austin has a Juris Doctorate from UC Berkeley School of Law and a BA from UC Berkeley. He has been a wheelchair user for the last fifteen years. He currently is the ADA Compliance Director for Coachella Music and Arts Festival, Stagecoach, the PGA Championship, and Star Wars Celebration. In the last ten years he has been the ADA Compliance Director for over one hundred and fifty events. He was named as a “Change Agent” Honoree by Billboard in 2021. He was this year’s presenter on “ADA Compliance at Temporary Events” for the National ADA Symposium in May and is frequently a speaker on inclusion and accessibility.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
See answer to Q 1
Contact Info:
- Website: https://accessiblefestivals.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/accessiblefestivals/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/accessiblefestivals
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessible-festivals
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmaK_hH_IHTQ3Ih55dV-cHQ/videos