Mystic Mairi meets Liam Malone

At the August Club night there was a guest celebrity. How was your interaction with Paralympic gold medalist, Liam Malone?

I saw a young man, an athlete, who was extremely brave and humble, coming to a public place and I was excited to meet him and seeing who he is! He is a fine young man, who just enjoys life. He is very sociable and is definitely going to go out there and do more amazing things, I could read it in his palms! Such a warm person, very sociable and confident, he is young and he never forgot who he was and where he came from, which really struck me.

He was so personal and so gentle with his manner and very respectful towards me, I can tell he was brought up well. Fantastic manners, and absolutely inspiring – he spoke very clearly, which also helped me to have a good conversation with him! It was a whole conversation that we had when he came along to Mystic Mairi – Palm reading, and it was great!

Were you not shy?

I just knew that this person is a normal person. A young man, who happens to be a Paralympian and for me it was fantastic, because we both saw beyond our disabilities and we didn’t have to explain our medical history. It was a moment where two of us were just two people – meeting, talking, interacting and coming to common ground. Just talking to him was really good fun.
I thought to myself “Oh wow, if that person can do that, for me that is an inspiration!” but at the same time, we are all celebrities in our way!

Have you got a tip for people that might be shy?

Just be yourself! Say also you help them as well! You can follow them on social media, you interact with hem or watch them in the Paralympics and cheer for them – it is thanks to you that you are a celebrity!

You have to know that you are interesting yourself! Just introduce yourself and tell them about your story, tell them about how you started coming to get2gether at the ATIK, just be informal! Make it relaxed, keep the eye contact, the conversation will flow a bit better when you are both relaxed. They are there because they want to meet you as well, they are interested in hearing what you are about.

What you can also do is wait for a celebrity and then ask for a photograph or an autograph, it’s a bit more polite. Don’t be shy to ask for your needs, especially if they have mobility and sensory problem. Just be polite and ask for the contact. The best place to talk to them is to talk to them in the quiet area, when you can hear each other.

You can explain, like I did, to Liam, I need to read your lips, I am lip reader. Just to say this is an opportunity to promote yourself, like I said, you are also a celebrity, you can tell your story – bring out positivity and I am sure this will bring out your best story top share with the world!

You will also have a good story to tell top your friends – you can say ”I met this amazing guy, Paralympian from New Zealand and he achieved this and that!” or “he is disciplined himself, that is amazing.” In this way you can use achievements and help them to promote their good work.

You should be proud of yourself to interview someone that is very famous.

Is there anything else you want get2gether members to know?

I realize that what I need to do, and maybe we all need to do is this – very important to note as well is that celebrities are expecting people to come up and see them and what we need to do is to just say to people – why not to have a conversation, especially people two have disability to interact with celebrities and promote our own greatness!

This is important that we realized as disabled people that we are important, that we count as well, that we contribute, that we are there!