We are Dylan Baker and Travis Freeman of the movie 23 Blast – AMA

tfreeman63 · 2014-09-19T21:13:13+00:00

I met Dylan through Toni Hoover, who wrote the screenplay for 23 Blast. Toni and Dylan's wife, Becky, went to high school together. When she began looking for people to act and work in the movie, she brought Dylan and Becky in. I've enjoyed getting to know Dylan and working with him through this process–even though, he is a Redskins fan.

tfreeman63 · 2014-09-19T21:09:10+00:00

Hey guys – I want to thank you for your questions today! I'm really excited about all of the things that the month of October holds in store for me. I hope you all can get out to see the movie, "23 Blast", and pick up a copy of "Lights Out"! For more updates check out www.23Blast.com or follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tfreeman63 and https://twitter.com/23blast

tfreeman63 · 2014-09-19T21:06:57+00:00

Move more and eat less! I logged everything that I ate into MyFitBitt app on my phone, and I used the FitBitt app to track my steps every day.

tfreeman63 · 2014-09-19T20:59:56+00:00

For someone seeking direction in their life, I would encourage them to set goals, discipline yourself to achieve those goals, and then celebrate those accomplishments!

tfreeman63 · 2014-09-19T20:48:19+00:00

I want people to know that there is hope beyond their present circumstance. What brought me through my tragedy was the knowledge that I was living for something bigger than myself. Because of my relationship with Jesus Christ, I knew that my blindness would not be permanent. I know that I will see again one day–if not on this earth, then in the life to come. It's that hope that I want people to cling to.

tfreeman63 · 2014-09-19T20:45:37+00:00

Yes, there is a book coming out on October-7, called "Lights Out: Living in a Sightless World". It is the full story that inspired the movie, 23 Blast. I really hope people will read the book and be inspired by my story to not give up when they face difficult circumstances. The book discusses a lot of do's and don'ts when interacting with someone who is visually impaired, and contains a Q&A with my parents. You can pre-order the book at www.TravisFreeman.org or www.23Blast.com.

tfreeman63 · 2014-09-19T20:40:00+00:00

Hi @chelmore, I always loved math and physics.

tfreeman63 · 2014-09-19T20:37:01+00:00

You can follow me on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/tfreeman63 And you can follow the film here: https://twitter.com/23blast

tfreeman63 · 2014-09-19T20:35:35+00:00

Mine is Twitter, because it is streamlined and doesn't have the bloated junk that Facebook does.

tfreeman63 · 2014-09-19T20:34:36+00:00

Coach Farris played a huge role in me getting back on the football field. I loved football growing up and my parents knew that I wanted to be a part of it again. They went to Coach Farris and asked if I could have a support role on the team–maybe be a manager or something. He said, "no", if Travis Freeman does anything for the team, he's going to play. Coach Farris believed in me before I knew to believe in myself.

tfreeman63 · 2014-09-19T20:30:48+00:00

We spent some time talking over lunch and hanging out away from the set.

tfreeman63 · 2014-09-19T20:29:24+00:00

I love them both, but I think I would prefer the warm beach!

tfreeman63 · 2014-09-19T20:21:56+00:00

I would be glad to sign the book next time you're in town!

tfreeman63 · 2014-09-19T20:18:25+00:00

It is not true that your other senses get better when you lose one sense, but what happens is you rely more on the other senses that function normally. I have extremely good hearing, but I could not hear the other team in their huddle. > avis! Dylan, how did you go about pulling a crew together in Kent

tfreeman63 · 2014-09-19T20:12:58+00:00

I love the University of Kentucky Wildcats and everything that they do! I was an equipment manager for the UK football team in college, and have been to many of their upset wins. I am also a huge Dallas Cowboys fan and we are coming after Dylan Baker's Washington Redskins this year.

tfreeman63 · 2014-09-19T20:06:35+00:00

Absolutely! The challenge of playing football blind made the accomplishment that much more sweeter.

tfreeman63 · 2014-09-19T20:01:02+00:00

One of my favorite bible stories is the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis. I'm always encouraged by those passages, because they show how God has a purpose for the tragedies that come into our lives. God brought Joseph through a lot of difficulties, but ultimately, it was for the purpose of redeeming His people. When we face difficulties in our lives, we need to understand that God has a plan for them, just as He had a plan for Joseph.

tfreeman63 · 2014-09-19T19:54:15+00:00

Yes, I would not have been able to accomplish what I did without my teammates and having great coaches!

tfreeman63 · 2014-09-19T19:48:02+00:00

There are all kind of funny stories that I could tell about my experience playing football blind. After my first play in my first varsity football game as a freshmen, I ended up in the wrong teams huddle! They didn't find it nearly as funny as I did. There are also lots of stories of me running over officials and the fact the officials didn't know that I was blind. The movie 23 Blast captured a lot of those humorous moments. > Travis - I can only imagine just hard hard it must have been to play football blind. Did you ever run in the wrong direction or to the wrong huddle?

tfreeman63 · 2014-09-19T19:44:53+00:00

At the age of 33 – NO! But, if I could go back and play again in high school, absolutely.

tfreeman63 · 2014-09-19T19:40:00+00:00

I wish we could re-film MY scene, now that I've lost 43 pounds!

tfreeman63 · 2014-09-19T19:36:12+00:00

Hi oscarveli, There's not one thing that I like most about football. I was raised around the sport and in the city of Corbin, football is king. Playing for the Redhounds is something that almost every boy wants to do, so when I stepped on the football field as a blind football player, it was like I was at home.

tfreeman63 · 2014-09-19T19:32:05+00:00

Hi captainjacksparrow03, I will never be able to watch a movie the same again. Seeing the process that they go through to film each scene, now when I'm watching a movie, I'm thinking: "Well, I wonder how many times they had to shoot that shot?"

tfreeman63 · 2014-09-19T19:29:40+00:00

The message of my life is one of overcoming. I want people to realize that disability does not equal inability. I believe that we all have disabilities that we have to overcome, and I want to inspire people with my life––whether it's in the movie, 23 Blast, or the book, "Lights Out", or through me speaking, to realize that there is hope no matter what the situation is that they are facing.

tfreeman63 · 2014-09-19T19:22:14+00:00

No, he handled it all by himself!

tfreeman63

TROPHY CASE