Ismael Collazo is a woodworker. He’s also blind.
He has a business called Blind Guy Boards where he sells handcrafted cutting boards online.
Collazo lost his sight almost eight years ago due to type I diabetes, which he's had since he was a child. He worked as a chef all through his twenties and couldn’t seek proper treatment.
“There's not good insurance. You don't have enough insulin to cover what you’re eating so you don’t eat good," he said. "Then when I finally got a job that had good insurance, it was too late already.”
Collazo said there was no good time to go blind, but he lost his sight just two months after getting married.
"I even offered my wife a divorce at the time. Like, you didn't sign up for this. And she's like, no, I stood up there and I said 'til death do us part,'" he said. "Just because you got sick, doesn't mean I'm gonna leave. And this February we'll be married eight years."
His wife stood by his side, but still, Collazo said that first year was tough.
“My wife got home one day, and I was trying to cook Hamburger Helper. I opened the bag, and the bag flew everywhere, and I was just on the floor, like a mess," he said. "My wife comes in, gives me a hug, and was like, people live blind, you’re not the only blind person.”
She suggested they find some resources to help him transition and they eventually found the South Dakota Rehabilitation Center for the Blind in Sioux Falls. Collazo began to learn how to navigate the world again. It was also where he learned woodworking.
Collazo loved it. Woodworking taught him to rely on his other senses, and he enjoyed being able to feel every part of what he was making. Eventually, he decided to turn it into a business, which also boosted his self-esteem.
“Because the blindness took a toll on my confidence at the beginning. But I wanted to show that blind people still could do stuff. It's not, oh, you should just be home and not do anything," he said. "Because you're going to get hurt. And I'm like, everything is dangerous, even sighted.”
Collazo loves rock climbing, shotgun shooting, and cooking for his family. He said the only thing he can’t do is drive.
“And even driving is coming to where the car drives itself,” he laughed.
Collazo sells his cutting boards at the Brookings Farmers Market and on Facebook at Blind Guy Boards LLC.
