We recently connected with Ian Langtree and have shared our conversation below.

Ian, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

I left home at 15 to join the Royal Australian Air Force. (They were trying out an apprentice program at the time so my youth – along with an ability to pass several challenging tests – was an asset. The program lasted a number of years.)

The driving force for that risk was a need to leave, though I was also interested in military service.

I left military service to travel Australia with a friend, working a variety of interesting jobs in towns and cities along the way. That risk was a little more balanced. I wanted to leave but also felt a call toward something: I felt a need for freedom.

A few years later as a young man providing for a family I decided to teach myself coding. The internet was largely unheard of or misunderstood but I believed I could carve a space for myself – and so I worked as a mechanic during the day and spent almost all of my other hours learning how to be lucrative online. To the people around me I seemed delusional. My first cheque (for one dollar) told me I was not.

I have been building websites now for almost forty years; adapting them as needed. Not only adapting for the online space but also adapting to my family life. One example: I abandoned my adult dating sites in order to build Disabled World – a website bringing news, ideas, and academic articles to audiences worldwide. Neither site was better than the other, but the Disabled World site was more relevant to me and my family.

I was always a risk taker. In my youth it was often to get away from something, and in my later years it was to gain something.

The risks work because I work at making them work.
And because I’m willing to risk again if necessary.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My youngest years were spent in Ensay, Australia – I then moved around while raising my children, as well as my partner’s siblings and her children from a previous relationship. Among some of the places we lived were Broome W.A., Darwin N.T., and Cairns, Queensland Australia.

I worked a lot of jobs for a lot of people but in most cases I did mechanic work. One memorable position I had was adapting vehicles to their disabled drivers. Each case was unique, challenging me to be inventive which is something I have been since boyhood. (My dad built me a work shed where I could fully immerse myself in a variety of inventions and ideas. Also, when they failed, my work shed gave me the freedom to yell obscenities without being overheard by my younger sister. Which perhaps was a reason for the work shed.)

I have never minded hard work but I have always found it challenging to work for someone else. It was really that need, the need to have the fruits of my labour be my fruits, that led me to teach myself coding. Over the years I have built many profitable websites but it wasn’t until immigrating to Montreal, Canada, over twenty years ago, that I created the site I feel best benefits my life and the world at large.

In America alone, there are over fifty-four million individuals with disabilities. Recognizing this, I saw the need for a platform where people with disabilities, regardless of age or background, could come together free of charge and with minimal obstacles. In 2004, I established the Disabled World (DW) website.

Since its humble beginnings, Disabled World (DW) has evolved into a comprehensive platform, offering a diverse range of information, disability community news, and an array of services tailored to its users’ needs. It serves as a meeting point where individuals can access valuable resources, personal experiences, and helpful tips, fostering a sense of unity within the disability community.

There are people in my life who are disabled. I think this is true for most of us. One day I expect I will have a disability as well. The odds are in my favour.

I care about the people who come to Disabled World. Yes, it is a business and for that reason I continue to optimize and adapt where I can for monetary reasons. But the site itself exists to serve the people it influences. I am always eager to hear from our visitors. If there is a subject they’re interested in that is related to People with Disabilities, Seniors, Family Members, Friends, or Veterans, and they don’t find it in the existing extensive collection of information, I encourage them to contact me. I’m willing to research items or consider their own stories and articles for publication.

In a way, I’ve built a work shed for the community. One where we can invent, consider, explore ideas and collaborate. Sort of like my childhood work shed, but without quite as many obscenities.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I first began building my online businesses and websites, I made a lot of money in the online dating business. It was amazing. I was making so much money while also being part of this new trend for finding love.

As time went on the work became more adult in nature. I was comfortable with it, I even enjoyed using my space to publish adult content that was inclusive, non-judgemental, and safe. However, though I was comfortable with the content, and I was doing great financially, I had to hide the work from the children in my home. I was working all the time, often sixteen hour days, hiding away from the family. For me, that meant something had to change.

So I abandoned, sold, or unpublished it all.

I built Disabled World and made that lucrative instead.

Now that my family has grown and everyone is an adult, I’ve been comfortable also republishing my Sexual Diversity site. Sexual diversity refers to the truth that everyone has different understandings about what sexuality means to them. This is sort of a sister site to the Disabled World site, a place where we discuss themes of sexuality in all communities, including disability.

I still sometimes work sixteen hour days, but with the door open.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

At Disabled World we publish academic articles, opinion pieces, personal stories, and press releases. I try to bring our readers articles that are relevant and interesting.

I think, though, that if I have to guess at why Disabled World has such a good reputation in the field it would be because I care about representing all sides of any issue. If I am reading too much about one view point I insist on learning more about the other view points, and sharing the valuable insights I find. It’s not that all views are equal or correct, if modern media has taught us anything it’s that there are often loud voices insisting on unsubstantiated even dangerous things, but all views come from people with relatable reasons for their views.

Hence, I look for the core of these issues and try to share all theories related to them. It’s not necessarily about balance, but about a fully informed awareness.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.disabled-world.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/disabled_world_news/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Disabled.World/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/disabled-world
• Twitter: https://x.com/disabledworld
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DisabledWorld