Your Story Can Change Laws, Mine Did | Ep 1

How does a traumatic experience transform into a catalyst for national change? That's the powerful journey I share in this inaugural episode of The Story Lab.

After surviving a brutal hate crime in Boston where an attacker stomped on my head shouting "die, faggot, die," I faced a second blow when the perpetrator received only anger management as punishment. Walking out of that courthouse devastated, a reporter called me - and something unexpected happened. A fire ignited within me that I didn't know existed. I found my voice.

The transformation from apathy to advocacy happened almost instantly. I began sharing my story everywhere - at rallies, in newspapers, with anyone who would listen. I asked people to imagine if it was their son or daughter lying on that pavement, targeted simply for who they were. The message resonated, spreading further than I could have imagined, eventually reaching Senator Ted Kennedy's office. My personal trauma became part of his floor speech advocating for hate crimes legislation that ultimately passed, changing laws across the United States.

This experience taught me the extraordinary power of storytelling. One person's authentic narrative can literally change the world. Throughout this podcast series, I'll share techniques and insights to help you harness your own stories - for personal growth, business success, or societal change. You have everything you need to be successful and to be the story people remember. Your voice matters. Your experiences matter. And somebody needs to hear what only you can share.

Chapters

• 0:01 Welcome to the Story Lab
• 1:26 The Violent Attack
• 3:13 The Trial and Awakening
• 5:37 Changing Laws Through Storytelling
• 8:13 Your Stories Can Change Everything

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Welcome to episode one of the Story Lab. Now, the Story Lab is about helping you understand how you can better tell stories. But what kind of person would I be if I didn't introduce myself and share some stories about who I am? So that's what this first episode is about I'm going to just share a little bit about who I am. Some of you may have heard this story, some of you might not. This may be brand new to many of you, but I want to share a little bit of my story and how it led me to what I'm doing now.

Speaker 1: 0:32

I'm going to lean in for this one. My story is not one that many people experience. My story is definitely unique, but so my story? So many people would hear this story and say, oh my God, I'm so sorry that happened to you. But the thing about this story is I'm not. I'm not, and there's a few reasons. One, I believe that nothing is ever put in front of you that you can't handle. And two, if it hadn't been me, it would have been somebody else, and I wouldn't want this to happen to anybody else.

Speaker 1: 1:28

So I'm going to start from the beginning. I'm going to start from the fact that I was with my friends out in Boston because I was about to move down to DC and we were walking home when all of a sudden a car pulls up. And I don't remember any of this, but a car pulls up and somebody runs out of it and screams at us and hits one of the people I'm with and then, before I know it, I guess I'm hit. I'm hit and I am down on the pavement with somebody jumping on my head saying die, faggot die. And the next thing I knew I was waking up in the hospital. But I knew something had changed. I didn't remember any down the road, but what I was dealing with at that moment was uncertainty and darkness and an unwillingness to really face what had happened. As I recovered, I moved to DC. It was a new place. It was a new place, it was a new time. It felt better, but something was still dragging me back to Boston.

Speaker 1: 3:13

And when it was time for me to go back for the trial, I don't know that I was ready, and I was certainly not ready for what ended up happening, because I came back from the trial, I heard everything that happened to me and then I witnessed the man who had done this to me and my friends get off on anger management and to me, stomping on somebody's head saying die, faggot, die, is more than an anger issue, it's a hate issue. And I walked out of that courtroom overwhelmed, devastated, confused, and I started walking, because that's what I do when I get overwhelmed I walk. And I started walking and walking and my phone rang and it was somebody from the local news asking me how I felt about the case. Wrong time to ask that? No. But it unlocked something in me I've never experienced before. It unlocked a passion for sharing something that I knew was going to make a difference. It unlocked a connection to other people I didn't know existed, because before this I was apathetic, I did not care about what was going on. Somebody else will do the work. I don't have to.

Speaker 1: 4:41

But in that moment I realized I had to do it or nobody else was going to do it. But in that moment I realized I had to do it or nobody else was going to do it. I had to be the person that stood up and shared my story, because that is what was needed in that moment. And I started to tell that reporter what it would feel like if she got that call. If she was the one whose son was down on the pavement because somebody didn't like him, not because they knew him, not because of anything he did, just because of who he was. It was your son laying on that pavement. What would you feel like it was your son that was laying on that pavement and then the man that attacked him got off on anger management. What would you feel like?

Speaker 1: 5:26

And things started to change in that moment. That's when I learned that my voice would make a difference and I needed to share it and share it. I did over and over and over again until people started to listen and they started to listen and people started to write about it and share about it and connect with the anger that I was feeling, because the man got off on anger management and I kept talking about it at rallies, in newspapers, to anybody that wanted to talk to me about it. I spoke about it and I shared the story and I asked them what it would feel like if it were their son or daughter or they were the ones face down in the pavement. What would that feel like? And then, what would it feel like when the man that did that to him got off on anger management, walked out of the courthouse free because he didn't want you to live, simply because of who you were. And I shared and I shared and I shared.

Speaker 1: 6:39

Until one day my phone rang and it was Senator Kennedy's office calling me and asking me if they could use my story in the senator's floor speech to get the hate crimes bill passed. My story, this apathetic person who just happened to be in the wrong place when somebody was angry about how I lived my life, was used in the hate crimes bill that passed and changed laws in the United States, changed laws in the United States. My story played a role in that, because I decided it was time for me to speak up and make a difference, and I never thought I could make a difference before. Who am I? But I did, and my little story about what happened to me and my friends changed laws in the United States. And in that experience I learned that stories, when told properly, have incredible impact and they can change the world One person at a time. That's all you need.

Speaker 1: 8:03

I needed to get the ear of Ted Kennedy's office and I changed the world, and you can do the same. You have every single thing you need to do the same. You just need to get out there and start sharing your story. You just need to get out there and start sharing your story, connecting with people, and it works across the board. I'll share stories on this podcast about how it worked for my plant store that I first use for myself for other clients. I'll share ways that you can share your story so that it connects with people. All of those things are part of this podcast because I want you to be able to have those stories that people remember.

Speaker 1: 8:42

I want to be able to say that I knew this person when they changed this. I want to say that they listened to my podcast and were able to change the world because of something that I said or did, something I inspired them to do. Because I never thought I could and I know you're probably thinking I can't either, but I know you can. You have everything you need to be successful. You have everything you need to be the story that people remember. So get out there, share your story. Somebody needs to hear it and I can't wait to hear it. And with that, that's the first episode. Take care and remember your story is the one they remember. The truth that ignites the reason they stay. This is your time. You're brighter than ever. You've got something to say.