What if we looked for the remarkability in people instead of the disability? July is Disability Pride Month, which marks the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, so there is no better time to share this conversation. In this episode of Breaking Rank, the podcast where we lead without permission, I sit down with Roxy B. Rocker, a disability advocate, consultant, and broadcaster, and the founder of Embracing Disability. Roxy has lived with disability her whole life, and she has spent decades turning that lived experience into advocacy, education, and community for others. We talk about what it means to carry multiple visible and invisible disabilities, and why so much of what people navigate every day is something the rest of the world never sees. Roxy is honest about the discrimination and bullying she has faced, about being told she could not be a leader, and about being doubted even now by people who question whether her disabilities are real. She shares the turning point that led her to found Embracing Disability: a stretch of hospital stays in 2021 that ended with a serious accident and eleven days in a hospital bed, where she found herself asking for something as basic as dignity. That experience became a mission. Embracing Disability is now a media and education platform built around disability stories, representation, and inclusion, with a magazine, an adaptive clothing line called Roxease, a television project, and a growing community. Roxy is also working to turn it into a nonprofit that teaches broadcasting and hosting skills to people with disabilities. We get into the psychology of the word "disability" itself, why it can trigger pity instead of connection, and how Roxy reframes her work around inclusion, relationships, and community. We also talk about advocacy and leadership: the history of the disability rights movement, the fight for accessibility and independent living, and her belief that we all have a seat at the table, even when someone would rather we were not in the room. This is a conversation about dignity, visibility, and the kind of leadership that refuses to disappear. As Roxy puts it, learn, listen, ask questions, and look for the remarkability instead of the disability. In this episode: Living with multiple visible and invisible disabilities Why so many disabilities are hidden, and what that means at work and in daily life The hospital experience that inspired Embracing Disability Why dignity in care should never be optional The psychology of the word "disability" and the pity response it can trigger Building inclusive media: a magazine, adaptive clothing, television, and community Disability rights history, the ADA, and the fight for accessibility Why we all belong at the table, and how to stay in the room Roxy's challenge to see the remarkability, not the disability Learn more about Roxy's work at embracing-disability.com. Find every episode and more at breakingrankpod.com. If this episode opened your eyes, share it with someone who needs to hear it. #BreakingRank #leadership #authenticity #reinvention #resilience #disabilityawareness #DisabilityPrideMonth #ADA
