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Amit Ghose is a keynote speaker who was born with a condition called Neurofibromatosis Type 1, which has caused him to visibly look very different.
After years of bullying due to his condition, Amit is now on a journey to support, help and inspire new generations to be kind. He advises audiences on how to be confident on who you are, and how to overcome obstacles and challenges thrown your way.
In addition to attracting a 80k+ Tik Tok audience, Amit has appeared in Unilad, Truly, Snapchat – Unfiltered, New York Post, Yahoo, and many other media and news articles.
Born with Neurofibromatosis Type 1, Amit Ghose has had to live a life with significantly different facial features. Throughout his childhood and early adulthood, he sadly endured much bullying, and he felt people made assumptions about him as a person just because of how he looks. He believes there is still a lot of stigma in the world about people who don’t look the norm, and he believes that the media is not making it any easier to stop.
However, over his 30+ years, he has learnt to embrace and celebrate who he is and his differences. He has started to share his story with the world, particularly on TikTok. He started his account in early 2023, and has since gone on to gain over 82,000 followers and 1.3 million likes.
In July 2023, Amit uploaded a documentary entitled “Born Different”. Amit speaks about his condition and how it affects him physically, such as losing an eye, how it has impacted upon his social skills and his ability to find love (spoiler alert: he is a married man), whether there is any hereditary risk to any potential children, how he has raised awareness, and reactions he has experienced from the general public. As of September 2023, the documentary had over 40,000 views on YouTube.
Whilst his condition has affected every aspect of his life, there are a few main ones which he likes to draw awareness to. Firstly, it is how these deformities are approached in South Asian communities. “…this topic remains largely taboo, leading to stigmatisation and discrimination against those with certain conditions”. As a school child, he was confronted with stars and rejection, other children would distance themselves from him, often because of their own fear of the unknown. Because of this, Amit has struggled with his mental health, particularly with anxiety and depression. His self-worth was low and he feared not being able to find someone to spend his life with.
But after having a conversation with someone about marriage, he decided to change his mindset and his outlook on life – and this resulted in him finding his now wife online. But even though he has made leaps and bounds in his own approach to his condition, he is still often faced with criticism, with fear and worry, and with judgement, often from within his own extended family.
But now, Amit hopes to go out and talk more publicly about the difficulties he has faced; he wants to support and inspire a wider range of people to be more considerate and respectful.
– Bullying
– Confidence
– Motivation
– Inspiration
– Storytelling
Amit’s story is an important one. He brings real impact and a substantial change in mindset with his talks. His message about self-acceptance and confidence makes a difference to his listeners, and provides them with something positive to take home with them.
“Today, with a fire in my heart and countless stories up my sleeve, I stand poised to redefine perceptions, inspire, and motivate. I wish to be more than a beacon; I want to be a movement. To not just narrate tales but to ignite flames of hope and resilience. With every story I unravel, I promise a mix of inspiration, motivation, and an ounce of mystery. After all, life has taught me that every scar hides an untold story, and mine? It’s just beginning”.
HSBC, Venn Recruitment, Aston University, University of Leicester, Joseph Chamberlin College, Cadbury College and Many Primary Schools