Dave Steele

Dave Steele, also known as The Blind Poet, is an award-winning poet, author, singer and advocate for the blind. In 2014 Dave was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) which left him severely sight impaired. As a father of four, facing unemployment caused Dave much stress along with having to become accustomed to depending on other people. Dave is now committed to helping diminish the stigma and misconceptions which are associated with blindness.

Even though Dave’s life drastically changed in 2014, he was determined not to let this change his life for the worse. He turned to social media to help him with his RP journey but only found there were many people who had experienced injustice because they were blind or visually impaired. Upon a member of an online group discovering Dave had a background in singing, he was invited to perform at an event and altered the lyrics of Ben E. King’s famous song ‘Stand By Me’ to represent how he felt losing his sight to RP. Since creating his own Facebook page titled ‘Stand By Me RP’, it has gone on to become one of the largest social media groups representing those who are living with RP.

As Dave’s sight slowly began to decline, he found a safe place in place in writing poems and songs about his struggles. He has developed a legion of followers who have found a sense of relief from Dave’s poetry. He is now the published author of three books. His first book ‘Stand By Me RP Volume 1’ became the number one poetic release in Australia and the USA, his second book ‘Stand by Me RP Volume 2’ became the number one poetry release in Europe, and his third book, ‘Stand By Me RP Volume 3’ released in 2018 was equally well-received by the public. As a testament to his advocacy work which has been recognised both nationally and internationally, Dave was awarded the Henshaw’s ‘Impact Award’ and was the recipient of the Pride of Bury ‘Community Hero Award’. Dave has even been featured on the BBC, ITV and That’s Manchester ITV News and was in a short film ‘Blindsighted’.

Dave’s determination is a true inspiration to all those who suffer with a visual impairment, his fans relate to, and identify with, the struggles he has faced as an unemployed father who slowly lost his independence. As the global Ambassador for Two Blind Brothers, an American company, and the local Ambassador for Henshaw’s, there is no doubt of Dave’s commitment to help eradicate the misconceptions associated with visual impairments. When looking for a speaker who has proven his determination to help and inspire others, look no further than Dave Steele, ‘The Blind Poet’, to hire at your next event.