Seeing clearer: Karan’s journey
January 2026
When Karan Nagrani tries to describe what he does, he stops and laughs. It’s not a simple question to answer.
He’s a disability advocate, influencer, comedian and content creator. He uses his background in marketing and graphic design to sell a product that didn’t previously exist: helping people understand blindness.
Two years running, he’s been ranked among the world’s top blind influencers.
‘I normally despise the word influencer,’ he admits. ‘But I realised I’m trying to influence how people look at blind people like me.’
With nearly 23,000 Instagram followers and content that has been viewed millions of times, he’s challenging misconceptions one post at a time.
‘I use comedy because people can get scared when you talk about something serious, particularly disability,’ Karan explains. ‘Using humour makes it lighter. More people want to come into the room and ask questions.’
At 11, Karan was diagnosed with Usher Syndrome, a rare degenerative condition leading to blindness and hearing loss. His vision loss is now more than 97%.
When Karan felt forced to give up his marketing career, he channelled his professional skills into something more personal. Using his design expertise, he created graphics showing what different types of vision loss looks like, challenging the assumption that blindness means seeing complete darkness.
‘I feel like the product I had to market was understanding blind people,’ he says. ‘What started off as a little way for me to heal myself turned into something much bigger when the ABC contacted me, then SBS, then media around the world.’
One of his reels explaining vision loss has been watched over 5 million times.
The ‘you don’t look blind’ comment is something Karan still hears constantly.
‘Society has built these little characters for different disabilities,’ he explains. ‘Films and TV made people believe that blindness means white cloudy eyes or dark glasses. If you don’t fit that mould, people think you’re faking it.’
Karan’s daily life involves navigating constant misconceptions. He prefers online shopping – not because he’s a hermit, but because it’s practical and reduces stress.
‘I can’t tell the difference between greens, blues and blacks. They all look the same. But shopping online tells me: this is green, this is black. I don’t have to worry about people staring or asking a mannequin for directions.’
He’s also struggled with some friendships as the way he navigates the world and what he enjoys has changed.
His advice for resilience is practical: ‘I give myself 3 days to feel sorry for myself. Cry in bed, eat ice cream, watch movies. But after 3 days, you’ve got to make a conscious effort.’
‘Eventually, only you can lift yourself up. Learn to hold your own hand. Be your own best friend.’
Karan continues to use every platform available to challenge perceptions. In February 2026, he’s stepping into stand-up comedy with his solo show at Midsumma Festival: From Grindr to Blindr.
When asked why International Day of People with Disability matters, he’s pragmatic. ‘Unfortunately, we still live in a world where no one really wants to hear a story about disability.’
‘This day starts the conversation and reignites it when things fizzle out.’
For now, Karan continues doing what he does best: making people laugh while making them think about inclusion, one post, speech and story at a time.