Cameroon-born Mason Ewing has big dreams. At the age of 30, he’s already hosted his own fashion show, and is now trying to put together a teen TV drama in Hollywood. These are noteworthy accomplishments for anyone of that age, but even more so when you consider that Mason Ewing is blind.
Ewing had an incredibly abusive youth. After the murder of his mother at age six, he was sent to live with an abusive aunt and uncle in Paris, who subjected him to repeated, vicious beatings. At age 15, one beating was so bad that it left him in the hospital with a seizure, culminating in the loss of his sight. After that, he ended up in a series of foster homes, and then went on to college, where he studied physical therapy.
In 2001, he realized that he wanted to pursue fashion design, leading to his first show in 2006. Ewing’s signature product is a series of t-shirts featuring a multi-ethnic character known as Baby Madison. His shirts feature a raised-braille tag that allows him to know the color of the shirt and which design is on it. He credits part of his success to a heightened sense of touch, which allows him greater sensitivity in selecting different fabrics. Given how much he’s accomplished so far, there’s no telling what the future has in store for him.