Becoming Borderless – A dyslexic filmmaker travels the world
My name is Adam Clayton and I grew up with Dyslexia. My mother and grandmother had the same learning difference and thankfully knew the signs and I got diagnosed early. I had an IEP all the way through high school and even received financial assistance in college due to my severe dyslexia.
It took me many years to find an outlet in school. Like many dyslexics, I gravitated to the arts and sports. After a successful collegiate wrestling career in high school and two years of college, I took an off-year. After working for a minimum wage for a year, I decided I needed an education. I decided to take school seriously and apply the discipline that wrestling taught me and apply it to academics and finishing college. I rediscovered the arts and got a film degree from a community college.
A lot has happened since I finished college in 2011. I traveled around the world, landed my first full time 9-5 job, bought a house, got married, got our first dog, built a tiny home in an old bus, started our own photo and video company, and then sold everything we owned to chase our dream of traveling the world.
At some point, a TV network found our youtube videos and offered us a spot on their network!
Our TV show (free to watch) – https://www.tdn.tv/becoming-borderless
After one year on the road, I made the short documentary about our journey featured on this page. I submitted it to National Geographic and was selected as a finalist. (For more information, see my interview at Submittable.)
Growing up school was a nightmare and I truly believed my learning difference was a curse. I felt slow and stupid. Now I realize I have a gift.
I hope my story and my experiences can be an inspiration to others.
Season 2 now available!
It’s streaming on Samsung TV+, The Roku Channel, Fubo TV and Pluto TV, and soon it will be on Hulu. My final episode deals with my dyslexia and how I use cameras to communicate with a visual language.
