Ken Stix Ray doesn’t allow his lifelong battle with Cerebral Palsy get in the way of his love for Pro Wrestling, especially attending live events. Although he has willed himself to use Walking Sticks and Canes as often as possible, Stix utilizes a Wheelchair at Live events in order to make mobility less challenging. In this exclusive interview, hear Stix detail his how his experience at AEW Fight For The Fallen was a disappointment, thoughts on the lack of thought put into the live event experience of those within the Handicap Community plus an offer to assist companies with finding solutions to these issues. (1:35 Mark):
On Having Cerebral Palsy (3:52)
I went to Fight For the Fallen in Jacksonville with a couple of friends and it was an interesting experience. I have a mild case of Cerebral Palsy which forces me to walk with my canes, affects my balance and coordination. When I go to live events and shows, anything that requires a lot of walking, I use my wheelchair. I keep one in my trunk at all times because you never know when you need a set of wheels. A lot of folks out there feel like we’re a minority, but disabled folks love wrestling especially here in the State of Florida.
Poor Venue Design (18:00)
The Fight For The Fallen Event was held at Daily’s Place Amphitheater which is attached to the Jacksonville Jaguars Stadium, which is owned by the Khan Family who also own AEW. There are a lot of stairs at the Amphitheater and two ramp access points for people like myself. The tickets that I bought were general admission tickets which happens a lot in my case. What you do is when you get to the event you go to an attendant and say I need a Handicap Accessible Seat and they get your tickets adjusted accordingly. The way the accessible seating is at the Amphitheater is you have your floor seats and then your first incline to the upper level which really isn’t much of an incline. That’s where the Accessible Seating is. It was designed as such that when everyone stood on the floor level, you couldn’t see anything from the Accessible Seating. I missed 60% to 70% of the show. You know how Wrestling fans are, somebody comes out and makes an entrance or hits a high spot; you’re going to stand up. For me that’s not a good thing because I say the back of their head and tee-shirts.
The Worst Experience (11:20)
You have a poorly designed venue for people like me who have to watch the show differently than those that can just walk up to their seat and you have the Khan Family who own the Venue and own AEW. They’re responsible for fixing these issues. I understand we are a fraction of a fraction of people who buy tickets, but we buy tickets. Our money spends just like yours. If I’m going to a show at an Amphitheater designed like that and have an experience like I did, why should I buy another ticket if that’s how I’m going to be treated? My experience was such I can’t enjoy the show, and I really wanted to. I tried to be as positive as I could be, but by the third and fourth match I wondered why didn’t I just stay home where I could have watched the show for free and not have to deal with this. This is not me knocking AEW, but this is the worst experience I’ve ever had as a Wrestling Fan.
Willing Help AEW And Others Fix Accessibility Issues (14:31)
It’s not something that’s thought about. Sure they build a ramp and have so many handicapped parking spaces, but the experience of said handicap patrons is never considered. This is where we’re going to put you, this is your designated area, sit here and be happy. That’s how we’re treated. I don’t have all of the answers, but I have some ideas on how to make improvements. I encourage folks from AEW, if their willing, let’s sit down and have a conversation. Social Media is how we do things these days so my Facebook is Ken Stix Ray and my Instagram and Twitter is @Stixman92. If you need help figuring out accessibility for Wrestling and Live Events period reach out. I’m not bashing AEW or here to pick a fight with anybody, but there is a problem and it needs to be addressed!
This is a very serious issue that requires a lot of thought and action. Hopefully someone from AEW reaches out to Stix. Hear the rest of this interview, plus an excellent conversation on the latest in Pro Wrestling with Lovell Porter of the website #BlaqueRabbit on the latest edition of the Duke Loves Rasslin Podcast on Soundcloud, Itunes, Youtube and other leading Podcast Apps!