Bradford & Bryan Manning

Early Life

Born in New Jersey, Bradford Manning was five years old when he failed the kindergarten eye chart. After a two-year search to understand what had happened to his eyesight, doctors performed a fundus fluorescein angiogram (FFA) test which utilizes a special dye to evaluate the retina. He was then diagnosed with Stargardt’s disease, a juvenile form of macular degeneration.

While Bradford was too young to understand, it was a tough moment for his parents. At the time they didn’t know much about the disease, how much vision would be lost, or how quickly. His brother, Bryan, was diagnosed with the same disease five years later.

By the age of ten, Manning was considered legally blind. For the first six months he experienced rapid vision loss, followed by a gradual decline over the next fifteen years. Manning says that any vision loss since that time has been subtle and hasn’t affected his lifestyle much.

The years that followed were challenging as his parents worked to figure out what would best help Manning to succeed. He began using visual aids and magnifiers in the classroom, experimented with large-print text, and sat close to the board. His parents encouraged him to take up swimming because the bold black line at the bottom of the pool was easy to spot.

Career

Today, Bradford and his brother Bryan run Two Blind Brothers, a nonprofit and ultra-soft clothing brand dedicated to raising awareness, expanding education, and creating opportunities that help people thrive with blindness or low vision. The company donates 100% of its profits to preclinical research aimed at curing blindness.

One of the goals of Two Blind Brothers is to help enable the next parent or young person navigating blindness or low vision. “We want to help do for them what people have done for us,” said Manning. “To offer the kind of encouragement, examples, and sense of community that made a difference in our own lives.” Recalling that there weren’t a lot of people who had Stargardt’s that they could relate to growing up, Manning said “To be able to go into The Dot Experience and get all of that in an immersed way is special. It would’ve been good for us as kids and for our parents,” said Manning.

The Dot Experience

Manning believes that one of the biggest risks with blindness or low vision is psychological impairment. One of the reasons he appreciates The Dot Experience is because “It meets people exactly where they are.” In a world where barriers are increasingly being removed Manning said, “To be able to lean into that is wonderful. That somebody can walk in, feel like there’s a community, a culture where they won’t just cope, but thrive.”

Humbled to be a cast member in The Dot Experience, Manning deeply appreciates the thoughtful design behind the project – especially the inclusion steps that have been taken around accessibility. “They’re doing it in a way that will surprise and delight people,” said Manning. “I’m excited about the nature of the content and to see it presented through modern design and a 21st century user experience.” To Manning, it reflects a world being built for the future.

Bradford Manning lives in Miami, FL with his wife and three children. While they don’t have pets, they do have peacocks that roam their yard. Bradford believes the most important thing to remember is: “It’s not about the cards you’re dealt, it’s how you play your hand that you’re measured by.”

To keep up with Bradford and Bryan Manning, you can follow them on Instagram or visit their website.