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Life, Music and Accessibility with Tyler Russell

Posted in General News on Tuesday, June 10th, 2025

The podcaster and music lover, Tyler Russell shared a few stories with us about his experiences of getting out and about as a disabled person. He also shared some views on accessibility

Tyler has been an avid music fan for a long time, and he now hosts his own music podcast with a friend of his, focusing on heavy rock and metal bands like slipknot. The podcast is available through the Mix Radio app which can be downloaded either from GooglePlay or the App Store.

Wembley Stadium Access Woes

As you might expect for someone who hosts his own radio show, Tyler likes to attend a few gigs when he can. However, as a powerchair user, he doesn’t always find this an easy task. He shared with us an unfortunate experience he had while attending a show at Wembley Stadium. Tyler and his carers left his house in West London to travel to the stadium at 2.30pm in the afternoon and didn’t arrive until 7pm. Tyler decided to use public transport for this journey, and he said that “in hindsight this was a terrible mistake.” They began the journey by taking the bus before switching to the train and then finally embarking on a tube journey. The delays caused by a lack of communication between staff at the stations and changes to scheduling meant that he missed the first 2 hours of the show which was quite upsetting for him. 

One of the greatest challenges occurred right near the stadium itself, where the lifts were out of order at the final exit of the train station. The only solution was to take an unexpected additional tube journey just to access the stadium from a different station. His route home also showed great challenges, due to a combination of the size of the crowds, the lift still being closed at the required station and limited taxi options; he didn't return home until 4am despite the performance finishing at 10pm. This is a rare occurrence, but it shows that an issue like this that might be considered a small in convenience fora non-disabled person can ruin the experience for someone with a disability.

The Benefits of a Standing Wheelchair

That said, Tyler is not one to let these kinds of issues deter him and as someone who is socially active, he recommends the acquisition of a standing wheelchair. Tyler finds that having the opportunity to assume a standing position in his wheelchair really helps him when he is in group conversations and in other situations such as visiting supermarkets.

Tyler’s Motoring Experiences

Tyler has a rear passenger WAV that is driven by his carers on rotation and generally, he has a positive opinion on disabled parking provision. However, despite having a generally positive outlook, he did raise a couple of significant issues he’s come across. One was the lack of consistent quality of service and accessibility at service stations. He said, “some are great and then you can go to another, and it can be awful.” He also expressed a sensitivity to road surfaces commenting, “some of the potholes can be terrible. I actually find it quite dangerous.” Negative Ideologies and Accessibility Issues Tyler closed our conversation by stating that in his experience some negative ideologies relating to disability still exist within today's society and that he wishes that disabled people were generally taken more seriously, and not so often talked above and spoken for by others. This unfortunately isn't the first time we’ve heard disabled people expressing this concern, at DMUK we long to see attitudes and stigma quickly change for the better. Furthermore, many businesses do not yet fully understand the needs of disabled people and provide the correct support. Tyler also went on to express the need for ‘true’ accessibility in hotel rooms. In his experience many hotels do not offer any mobility equipment such as bathroom hoists to aid him with bathing because their thoughts often do not go beyond the use of a wheelchair. 

Tyler raised some important points and societal observations in his interview with us, and we hope to be able to work with him in the future.

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