Meet Brett Devloo

 

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brett Devloo. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brett below.

Hi Brett, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

My name is Brett Devloo, but most people know me as The Blind Kid, or TBK for short.

Most kids get their nickname from a talent or some inside joke. Mine was because I went blind during the middle of history class when I was sixteen. (Bet you didn’t think that was possible, did you?) It turns out I have a rare DNA mutation called Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (or LHON for short). You know how our DNA is made up of millions of pieces of information that talk to each other so your body works the way it’s supposed to? Well, I have a small piece of coding that didn’t get the memo, which caused me to suddenly lose 98% of my vision.

Understandably, a lot of people ask me how I reacted—was I scared? Angry? Panicked? To be honest, it didn’t really hit me like that. One minute, I was taking notes on the overhead, learning about Louis Riel, and the next, I couldn’t see. So, I walked to the eye doctor alone. Yes, alone. Did I tell anyone where I was going or why? Nope. Did I emphasize to the receptionist that I couldn’t see? Also no. (They told me to come back later, so I went back to class and returned for my appointment a couple of hours later.) It took six months to diagnose me, but I wasn’t really fixated on “why” I went blind. All I knew was that I couldn’t see, and it more than likely wasn’t coming back. There was nothing to do but move forward.

People often ask me where my resilience comes from—how I managed to keep going without getting lost in the “why me?” I think it comes down to how I’ve always approached life: you don’t dwell, you adapt. When I lost my vision, I didn’t see the point in looking back at what I couldn’t change. Instead, I focused on what I could do. That mindset was built into me long before I lost my sight, but skateboarding cemented it. It taught me to fall, get back up, and try again. And when I stepped back on my board after going blind, I realized I could still do this.

That’s what drives me—helping others see that they can do this too. Over the years, that’s taken many different forms: motivational speaking, pouring my heart into music that resonates with those who need it most, and fundraising to provide visually impaired students with iPads to better support their education. And, of course, skateboarding—my lifelong passion that has set me free.

Because for me, resilience isn’t just about overcoming obstacles—it’s about showing others that they can too.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

How it started
My name’s Brett, but you can call me The Blind Kid (TBK for short). They call me The Blind Kid because I lost my vision when I was 16 in the middle of history class, and instead of letting it get me down, I flipped it and owned it. T
The moment I’m told something’s impossible is the moment I know I have to try. When I was told a visually impaired person couldn’t design anything, I became inspired to start a clothing line.

You’ll find most of my raisons d’etre stem from stories like this…skateboarding, motivational speaking, and so on.

On the surface, The Blind Kid is a clothing brand, but it’s so much more than that. People who get to meet me will tell you TBK is Brett, but The Blind Kid is something to be a part of. When I started the clothing brand, I would go to the skatepark with a backpack full of t-shirts and hustle them while taking breaks from skating.

Where we are now
Over the years, this has transformed into a fully fledged website (theblindkidtbk.com) and a collaboration with Hippie Mike Industries (HMI). The HMI-TBK collab has a beautiful twist: every shirt has raised braille you can actually feel within the graphic. What’s even cooler is that $10 per shirt sale goes towards The Blind Kid iPad Initiative, which is dedicated to giving iPads to visually impaired students to help them with school and connect them to creativity.

At the heart of it all, I’m still just the dude at the skatepark with a backpack full of fresh t-shirts for sale, working to make a difference any way I can.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Some of my best advice as a business owner is to be prepared, start small but dream big, and don’t tell everyone your plans—show them when you’re finished.

I started The Blind Kid 12 years ago when I was 17, and let me tell you—I had no entrepreneurial experience. I made mistakes and absolutely did things my way. At first, I got a lot of inventory and hit the ground running, selling it anywhere I could. The problem with that was I didn’t have a plan for growth.

Even if it seems like a pipe dream, make plans for the next steps and at least have an idea of where you want to go. Then break it down—what do I have to do to get there?

I rebranded and brought The Blind Kid back in May 2024. This time, instead of getting a ton of inventory and failing to adapt to changing styles, we’re working smarter, not harder. Smaller batches mean we can keep up with the times and stay ahead of the competition.

Having great ideas and feeling like you’re ahead is exactly when you should be keeping things close to the chest. Keeping your ideas to yourself isn’t just about preventing someone with better resources from beating you to the punch—it’s also about protecting your credibility. If you build hype around something that isn’t guaranteed or still evolving, and it doesn’t work out, you risk losing trust. And as a small business owner, I don’t have to tell you—credibility is everything when you’re starting out. Keep it clean.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

When it comes to overcoming any challenges in life or business, I go to the same person: my wife. My business partner is my life partner, Natalie, and I’m lucky to have her. Anything I can’t do due to being blind, Natalie figures it out with ease. Everything from making the website to confirming my clothing ideas don’t look too ridiculous, Nat rocks. Together, we are The Blind Kid.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Geoff Howard (sealynn skateboarding photo only)

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Leadership Development
Empathy Unlocked: Understanding how to Develop Emotional Intelligence

“Empathy is the starting point for creating a community and taking action. It’s the impetus

Productivity
Where do you get your work ethic from?

We’ve all heard the phrase “work hard, play hard,” but where does our work ethic

Productivity
Boosting Productivity Through Self-Care

When you have a never-ending to-do list it can feel irresponsible to engage in self-care,