We were lucky to catch up with Guadalupe Moreno recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Guadalupe , thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

Blindness awareness and prevention is the mission behind Blind Man Barbecue. As a child I began losing my vision in grade school. I didn’t receive another exam after 1st grade until Jr. High. By this time my vision loss was drastic, and I had developed severe astigmatism. After suffering additional ongoing vision impairments, I became legally blind by the age of 40.

As my vision deteriorated, I always continued my passion of smoking meats for my family. By this time, I was diagnosed with Severe Astigmatism, Myopia, Wet Macular Degeneration & Cataracts (caused by the trauma of the injections to treat the Macular Degeneration). Today I’m missing partial visual field in the right portion of my right eye and distorted vision out of my left eye.

Early detection and prevention could have changed this outcome. I strive to do what I can to remind families about the importance of yearly vision screenings and I support annual vision events and organizations like half Helen who provide preventive hearing and vision screenings ensuring early detection for children in the Austn area.

After years of eye injections, in 2021 I was offered last ditch surgeries by a doctor who specializes in advanced studies. Both surgeries were considered a success and partial vision was restored to each eye. After my recovery and returning to my finance job of 20+ years, I decided to take my passion of smoking meats to the next level and resign to open Blind Man Barbecue. My hope is that this story can help one person with early detection or help lead them to one of the many organizations that are available today that weren’t when I was growing up.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Blindman BBQ was established in March of 2021. Although backyard BBQ had always been a hobby for me, it came to fruition when my family and friends joined forces to host a BBQ fundraiser for my upcoming last-ditch effort eye surgeries.

I was raised in Austin, Texas and I grew up in the heart of Dove Springs. After a lifetime of severe vision impairments, in 2017 I woke up one morning not being able to see out of my right eye. Macular Degeneration would be the second of four eye diseases that I would be diagnosed with by the time I was 40. Treatments of painful eye injections would begin to try to salvage what vision I had left. And after 4 years, I was officially legally blind. By this time, I was suffering from Cataracts and Severe Astigmatism as well. I lost my driver’s license, my independence, and by February 2021 my vision.

I would lean on family and friends for rides, assistance with work, and depending on the lighting and atmosphere, I sometimes even needed help with direction, walking, and being fed.

Throughout these trials I would spend many sightless evenings alongside a smoker, smoking my family’s favorite meats. I was able to adapt my other senses to continue practicing my favorite hobby. I was able to gain a sense of independence while smoking “low and slow” and managing the foundation of good BBQ, the fire.

In February 2021 I was referred to a doctor with expertise in refractive surgery. I had been told for many years that there was nothing more that could be done to help me. But armed with a confident Doctor, a strong loving family, and the support from my community the seeds of Blind Man BBQ were planted. Three surgeries and treatments later, partial vision was restored to each eye.

After getting through these trying times, I decided that I would fully invest my time in the hobby that kept me going.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

After I received the eye surgeries that restored some vision in each eye I went back to the corporate world of finance. Having the vision loss and then returning from that allowed me to “see” how fast everything was moving. Personally, I no longer felt comfortable in such a fast-paced environment, and I took a chance on myself. It is hard leaving the corporate world, but I was thankful that I had a second chance at doing something I love full time. Today I smoke meats and I love serving up good food at a pace that is better suited for me. I am thankful for all of the knowledge I received over the years as a leader and in management. This knowledge allows me to succeed in my own business venture and I will continue to use those lessons daily.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

The most important thing that a manager can provide to maintain high morale is REST. Working in a high stress environment for 20 years and managing a team for most of that time I discovered that as long as you provide the ability for your team to rest, they are happier and more comfortable in the workplace. The importance of mental and physical health should always be a top priority. If it is not, it can quickly become a melting pot of low motivation and difficulty with concentration. Also, as a leader, don’t forget to follow that motto yourself!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://blindmanbarbecue.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blindmanbbq/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550240217897

Image Credits
@lauraskeldingphoto (Photo of Lupe holding Tray of appetizers)