I’m Kesh Patel. I’m registered blind, although I still have some sight. This has prompted a surprising number of questions about what I can and cannot see. I have not kept minutes.
For around thirty years I worked in health and fitness, coaching, teaching and writing. I was diagnosed with glaucoma in my twenties, and my sight changed gradually across those years. I was registered blind in 2025.
Over the past year, learning to use a white cane has helped me accept my sight loss. I use it when I need it. With tattooed arms and a white cane, I sometimes look like an underqualified gang member.
These days I write, make a short research podcast and work in patient advocacy as a helpline adviser at Glaucoma UK. That still calls for listening, asking questions and explaining things. Same skills, fewer dumbbells.
I was a DJ in my twenties. As my sight changed, music software became harder to use. I found another way to shape sounds and assemble tracks, which I now release as Gorilla on a Moped. There is a story behind the name, but the gorilla has asked for privacy.
The Optical Delusion is my other voice, with two very different jobs. On Instagram I make dry observations about sight loss. In the podcast I take a close look at research papers. I use “look” loosely. This site is where those projects meet.
In what passes for spare time, I still practise gymnastics and bodyweight training. A blind man doing handstands and backflips may sound like an administrative oversight. It keeps me grounded. Eventually.