Run With Chestnut

Brandy Pinder, a talented blind massage therapist and passionate triathlete, shares her journey into massage therapy as well as her athletic goals as a triathlete. Brandy offers insights into overcoming misconceptions about blindness in her profession, the tools and techniques that keep her competitive, and how athletics have shaped her life and career. We also cover her thoughts on other people who are blind and low vision getting into massage as well as some fun stories about her experiences.

Subscribe for more episodes like this! Leave us a comment to tell us what you liked and if you have any suggestions for future episodes.Simon is an assistive technology instructor at the Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library, a branch of the NY Public Library system. The library is now the national library service for the blind and print disabled, rather than national library service for the blind and physically handicapped. This makes it more clear that people with print reading disabilities such as dyslexia are eligible!NLS often partners with commercial audiobook publishers to get audiobooks for library patrons. Since they operate under a copyright law exemption that allows them to provide copies and specialize formats without limitation, this means that library patrons don’t have to wait for audiobooks to become available and don’t have to return them within a certain timeline. NLS also records audiobooks in cases where a commercial audiobook is unavailable.  Many of the expanded program offerings that the library provides, including the online workshops, are made possible by volunteers, so that the more people who join us, the more the library can achieve!

Andrew is a blind DM leading many dungeons and dragons games. We have a conversation about how he got into D&D and what makes a compelling and successful D&D session. Drop us a comment to tell us what you think! Hit us up @RunWithChestnut on for extras!

Welcome to Season 3 of the Run with Chestnut podcast. We catch everyone up on the past few months and go on to discuss our races and future goals. This includes Simon’s first ever 70.3 half ironman triathlon, the NYC marathon, and more. We would greatly appreciate it if you would leave a review for this podcast on which ever platform you use to listen to podcasts. Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.

This bonus episode was recorded back in March of 2023 and it recaps Ultraman Florida. This is an ultra distance triathlon and Francesco was the first person with a disability to successfully complete it! Listen to hear all about the struggle and drama that happened over the 3 days of racing. We would greatly appreciate it if you would leave a review for this podcast on which ever platform you use to listen to podcasts. Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.

In this episode first for 2023, Francesco and Simon are joined by first time podcast guest Tianna to discuss Francesco’s upcoming attempt to be the first person with a disability to finish UltraMan Florida. We also discuss how Tianna found the Achilles team and how she got involved with racing as a guide for Francesco. We would greatly appreciate it if you would leave a review for this podcast on which ever platform you use to listen to podcasts. Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.

Today we discuss how both Francesco and Simon face their recent injuries! Is it coincidence that they both were injured a week apart? Listen on to find out. Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.

Today we discuss the fun adventure of bar trivia and how accessible it is to the blind! Before hitting this, we recap the Boston Marathon and the first time both Francesco and Simon roll jiujitsu. Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.

We discuss the invasion of some not so friendly neighborhood pigeons into the Chestnut apartment, as well as THE positive test that no one wants to receive! Finally we talk a bit of race recap where Simon sends it on the course to beat out our third flat mate Andrew in their long standing rivalry. Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.

We discuss the purpose and evolution of audio description which helps to make visual media accessible to those who are blind. We share some personal stories then go on to discuss our own top 5 favorite movies and TV shows as well as the role of audio description within our favorites. Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.

We open the episode with a few fun tidbits from the week including a hot take on a sauna trick on how to ensure early morning sauna sessions are super toasty! Then, we discuss how Simon runs up the bills on a certain blind related assistant app. Finally we enter into a discussion on technology used by the blind, hardware, software, and ultimately the different forms of audiobooks that we have consumed from special four track cassette tapes up to the modern smartphone app. Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.

Welcome to the first late night recording of the RWC podcast where we go off the rails slightly! We start by discussing common don’ts for parents of blind kids, then go on to discuss the role of taking ownership for those who are blind. We open the episode with a recap of the snow storm that hit our area over the weekend and some of our blind snow antics. Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.

Francesco and Simon discuss their recent ski trip where Simon along with a few other buddies got on the slopes for the first time. They discuss what it takes to ski as a blind person and the different ways the sport might be adapted for a person with a disability. Shoutout to TASP (Telluride Adaptive Sports Program) who got all of our skiers going on the snow! Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.

Francesco and Simon discuss the top 10 list of experiences that some people who are blind miss out on in their childhood or growing up. It’s easy to assume that everybody has experienced the same things, so here are some that not all people who are blind have had. Think about potentially exposing yourself as a blind person, or your blind friend / relative! Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.

Francesco and Simon discuss the general thoughts and concerns surrounding raising a child who is blind. Covered subjects include how to decide on the type of schools, mindset on teaching, ways to integrate the person into broad society, activities and hobbies to create relationships, and more. Clearly there is a whole lot of areas not covered so feel free to get in touch with anything you’d like us to cover in a future episode. Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.

In this episode, Francesco and Simon discuss the top 10 gifts to give a blind person in your life. Whether they are a friend, partner, or acquaintance - Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.

In this return to podcasting for Francesco and Simon, we discuss what we’ve been up to in the past few months including Ironman 70.3 Sardegna, the NYC Marathon, and the return to in person rehearsals for our blind chorus! It’s good to be back!  Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.

In this special bonus episode of season one in the RWC podcast, we discuss Simon’s unexpected trip to the emergency room. Discover the malicious intent of certain ordinary household items and their intention to injure poor Simon. Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.

In this episode, Francesco and Simon talk about the meaning of a first impression on those who can’t see the stereotypically highlighted aspects of a first impression. Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.

In this episode, Francesco and Simon dive deep into what exactly digital accessibility is and what makes something inaccessible to blind and low vision tech users. We cover the accessibility of Google apps, Microsoft, Apple, as well as popular social media apps like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Linked In. Reach out to us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @RunWithChestnut to give us any feedback, or future topic requests.