VISION IN MOTION

VISION IN MOTION
'Growing Through Sport & Leading with Purpose'
Exclusive Interview with Lex Gillette
​Conducted by Allié McGuire

​Lex Gillette is living proof that limitations are often just invitations to see differently. A five-time Paralympic medalist, world champion, and powerful voice for possibility, Lex uses sport not only to compete—but to connect, uplift, and lead. In this conversation, we sit down not just as fans of his journey, but as friends talking through the moments that shape us.

ALLIÉ: For those who are not familiar with your story—especially for them—what was the moment, Lex, when you first realized that sports was going to be something bigger than just competition for you?

LEX: Yeah, I think in high school I had a teacher who was what we call a teacher of the visually impaired, who makes sure that you have everything that you need from an accommodation and accessibility standpoint—making sure that you know how to get from history to English, English to math, math to the cafeteria. So, just making sure that the academic experience is the best possible. He also was accompanying me to physical education class (PE), and he noticed that I had some really cool jumping abilities. He told me about the Paralympics and how we could adapt the long jump, where you run and jump as far as you can. And yeah, we worked on it and eventually figured out a way to have some success in it.

ALLIÉ: Yeah. And isn’t that interesting—that it just takes that one person to see something in you that you don’t see yourself yet? But you—I feel like you’ve always had this clarity of purpose. Your line that I love so very much, “No need for sight when you have a vision.” Love that, always. How has that vision changed or deepened over time, both on and off the track?

LEX: So, for the listeners, “No need for sight when you have a vision”—that basically means it’s not our eyes that ultimately determine success; it’s our ability to see beyond our current reality and what our eyes currently see, and to bring that vision to fruition. Over the years, the vision has encompassed a lot for me. I want to do this, I want to win medals, I want to get on the podium, I want to break records, I want to do this, that, and the third. As time has evolved and I’ve been able to achieve a lot of the things that I thought about when I started my career, you get to that point later on down the road and it’s like, okay, I’ve achieved those things—now I want to be a beacon for the generation that comes behind me, because they’re going to experience different challenges, different issues, and they’re going to need a mentor, an ally, or somebody to help them get through those situations. That’s what really keeps me in the sport. I just want to make sure that they have the wherewithal to understand what it is to say, to do, how to act—you know, the type of thinking that they need to have as they maneuver forward, not only in their athletic career, but in that entrepreneurial, business career as well.

ALLIÉ: Yeah, absolutely. Well, kind of to that point—to this next generation—in track terms, it’s like passing the baton, right? You’ve got to have a solid handoff. You and I, Lex—we’ve both lived enough to know that sports doesn’t just build muscle; it builds character. For you, what part of who you are today came from your journey as an athlete?

​LEX: I’ll just keep it simple and say the word Play. And I say that word because I’m a parent myself. My son will be three in September. Standing on the sidelines and listening to him play—he’s running around, he’s jumping off things, he’s climbing up stairs and going down slides and doing all of that—I think about my own journey in doing a lot of those same things. Even as a track and field athlete, at the end of the day, it’s play. And play cares nothing about what color you are, what your gender is, what your sexuality is—whatever—play does not care. The only thing it cares about is us coming together as human beings, learning the rules to a game, and having a good time. That’s the evolution that I’ve seen over the years, and it’s just beautiful.

ALLIÉ: Yeah. Well, you bring up a good point that Play—it’s really about being in the moment, too, right? It’s not tethered to the outcome, that we ended in a loss. It’s just being present for it and being in it.

LEX: Exactly.

ALLIÉ: So, over the course of your career, it’s not just breaking records; you’ve been opening doors for others. Was there a moment, Lex, that made you think, okay, my story might actually help someone else? Was there a specific story, a particular moment where you said, okay, this is something bigger than me?

LEX: Yeah, I think it was probably—I had a speech that I needed to do for my alma mater, East Carolina University, and I just remember being super nervous—you know, my stomach had butterflies and things like that. Something within me told me, all right, when you get out here, as much as you might feel a certain type of way about people looking at you or saying this, that, and the third—it’s not about you. It’s about the people who you are talking to, and if you can connect with at least one person in that crowd, then you’ve done your job. That provided a really good guide for me, and it’s helped me not only to step on that stage but subsequent stages beyond that, and it gave me the confidence to know that, all right, it is about the people who are sitting in the seats in front of me.

ALLIÉ: Yeah. And what an incredible lesson that is, because then that takes all the stress off of you, and it makes it not about you at all—that you’re just this conduit for the message. As many times as I’ve watched you on stage—different filmed engagements that you’ve had—you truly have a gift of being able to step on a stage and deliver something that is so much bigger.

LEX: I appreciate that, for sure.

ALLIÉ: And you’ve got one hell of a singing voice. Okay, one more question for you today, Lex. I know life is busy and hectic and all the things, but last question is: if you were mentoring a younger version of yourself, what would you tell that kid about using sports as a way to grow, to lead, and ultimately to make a difference?

LEX: That’s a good question. I think that I would tell them to stay focused and do everything in your power to ignore the distractions. Ultimately, at the end of the day, I think back to my journey—and you have those naysayers, outsiders, people who are just like, “Oh, he’s never going to be able to do this,” or, “He can’t do this.” Don’t listen to that. If it’s something that you truly believe in, you do everything in your power to get to that destination—that vision. You’ll have mentors. They’ll come in the form of teachers, hopefully your family members, administrators in school, or friends. It comes in so many forms. Just listen to that advice. Take it in, be receptive, and use those things to get closer to your vision. ∎

Learn more about Lex's story as an AwareNow Official Ambassador:
www.awarenowmedia.com/lexgillette
Find & follow Lex on Instagram:
​@lexgillette