What's My Story?
About Sulaiman R. Khan — سلیمان راشد خان
- My (current, moreish, experimental) Disability Identity is: Disabled1/wheelchair user.
- My (current, moreish, experimental) pronouns are: they/them/their.
Multiple Award-Winning Disabled AF: Founder, Writer, and Storyliving Designer. Adventurer and continual WIP (Work in Progress). Creating relationships, stories, and joy.
Image Description: A smiling, joyful Sulaiman (wholeheartedly Disabled AF, rich-brown with buzz-cut black hair), sits in his power wheelchair for a portrait by the Brand By Me team. They wear a rainbow mesh jacket and a black shirt with bright pink flamingos underneath, and a yellow "Black Disabled Lives Matter" badge, courtesy of their dear friend Jennifer White-Johnson. They also wear a pure silver chain pendant made by his late Nanaji (maternal grandfather) when Sulaiman was 15. It says “Raja Sulaiman” in Urdu after Nanaji's name for him. Sulaiman wears this pendant to remember and honour their late Nanaji, ancestors, and descendants. Sulaiman understands (and respects) that they are the link from their ancestors to their descendants.
Daringly integrating Disability. I radically always centre Disability (and Disabled people, especially Global Majority Disabled or colloquially “people of colour” like me), daringly. I believe in the imagination of Disability and always doing everything in service of Disabled people for our collective liberation.
A Regenerative Leadership and Regenerative Being Custodian, I'm a socially conscious Disabled Entrepreneur and a Disabled Oracle. The anti-ableist and Disability liberation maestro, I’m the radical, badass Disabled friend and lover you wish you had.
Through my infinite imagination within limitations, I use my intersectional, anti-ableist, and Disability Justice lens, as Founder and Chief Radical Officer of ThisAbility® Limited. ThisAbility® Limited works with socially conscious brands to tackle deep-rooted ableist systems to enact Disability Justice. We are driven to help these brands divest from ableism to become anti-ableist ecosystems and shift from socially conscious to socially impactful by integrating Disability culture. In doing so, ThisAbility® Limited helps to reset cultural standards (values, beliefs, and narratives) and catalyse a fundamental paradigm shift toward Disability liberation.
We (re)envision creativity through an anti-ableist lens. We help socially conscious brands become socially impactful ecosystems. Our business may be limited in name, but we are unlimited in imagination.
The igniter of hearts creatively, a rich-brown Disabled wheelchair user adventurer, I love to create relationships, stories, and joy. As a Storyliving Designer, I’m a highly acclaimed, sought-after radical speaker and writer — I'm a joyful activist from my first heartbeat, with every heartbeat until my last heartbeat.
With over four decades of lived experience of Disability and over a decade and a half of experience with the creative industries, I'm fierce in working to daringly integrate Disability (and, in turn, Disabled people) in everything I create.
I'm infinitely a radical with Adrak (ادرک), Haldi (ہلدی), Zafran (زعفران), and Chambeli (چمیلی) badassery. Sexy, spicy, and sacred existence. Always.
My life goals are to design interdependent ecosystems of care that centre access intimacy, and to commit daily acts of Revolutionary LOVE® that create radical systemic change, towards collective liberation.
Read the Full Bio (Google Doc)Footnote 1
I use Disabled as I’m done making my Disability palatable for an ableist world. I don’t wish to erase my Disability or Disabled identity nor be a part of the “overcoming Disability” and “Disability Paradox” narratives — I haven’t “overcome” my Disability; I have overcome ableism and ableists.
I prefer not to use problematical person-first language such as “person with a Disability”, and I am not keen on using ableist language such as “differently-abled,” “handicapped,” “wheelchair-bound”, or “special needs” that worsens my internalised ableism. This is my personal choice and may not reflect all Disabled people nor the whole Disability community across the world. We are all on different journeys in our Disabled identity journey, and that’s okay. If in doubt, ask the Disabled person directly.
Footnote 2
People of the Global Majority: coined by Rosemary M. Campbell-Stephens MBE is [Open Quote] “a collective term that first and foremost speaks to and encourages those so-called, to think of themselves as belonging to the majority on planet earth. It refers to people who are Black, African, Asian, Brown, dual-heritage, indigenous to the global south, and or, have been racialised as 'ethnic minorities'. Globally, these groups currently represent approximately eighty per cent (80%) of the world's population, making them the global majority now, and with current growth rates, notwithstanding the COVID-19 pandemic, they are set to remain so for the foreseeable future. Understanding that singular truth may shift the dial, it certainly should permanently disrupt and relocate the conversation on race.” [End Quote] (R. Campbell-Stephens, 2020). This term aligns wholeheartedly with my Disabled AF Oracle wisdom, rich-brown (non-binary male) existence, and Queer-creative energy.
Footnote 3
I’m wheeling away with zero tolerance from all systems of oppression, as well as all ecosystems (human and more-than-human) that don’t align with my values, integrity, and Revolutionary LOVE®. And I also am wheeling away from everything that doesn’t allow me to always work, live, lead, exist, play, and love in my infinite imagination within limitation. My wholehearted energies and existence must thrive, not merely survive, as I continually hold myself in grace, gratitude, and trust through consent, communication, community, care, curiosity, compassion, and courage with my Bodymind. Oppressors, you can put your oppression deep beyond where the sun doesn’t shine. Additionally, I have never been able to walk and don’t want to start walking. So, as a power wheelchair user, ‘wheeling away’ is my cheeky way of saying ‘walking away.’ Walking is overrated! Xx”
Do not follow the path. Go where there is no path to begin the trail.
— Ashanti proverb (Ghana)
Beyond Work
Sulaiman. Graduate BA (Honours) in Advertising & Brand Communication at UCA Farnham. Creative Collaborator: An Exploratory Storyteller and Adventurer. A multiple award-winning mind. Ignited by creativity, technology, regeneration (beyond sustainability), design, justice, collective/community care, collective/community healing, activism (even before it became a hashtag, primarily Disability Justice and Funga Justice), storytelling, rest, interdependence, love, and collective liberation.
Some examples of subjects that I have come across and become fascinated in include:
- Neuroplasticity in creativity.
- Cyborg anthropology.
- Accessible (and equitable) mycology/funga justice.
- Mobile creativity (my undergraduate dissertation topic).
- Disfluency.
- Post-digital creation.
- Documentary film.
- Travel/new cultures.
- Creativity For Good (communications, art, design, and tech).
- South Asian slow fashion.
- Revolutionary LOVE®.
- Science/medicine.
- Wildflowers of Pakistan and wheeling in nature.
- Human stories/storytelling.
- funi/Mycology
- More-Than-Human wisdom.
I firmly believe that the more input you collect, the more output you can connect. That's the core of having original and innovative ideas. Being Disabled, I have a sixth sense of observation and, as such, an obligation to explore topics that aren’t just safe and cosy but things that are uncomfortable and sometimes scary. "I want to discourage you from choosing anything or making any decision simply because it is safe. Things of value seldom are." — Toni Morrison
Get in touch if you're interested in chatting and sharing an adventure.
Onwards and Upwards!
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Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.
— Maya Angelou