Amar Latif is a dynamic, blind, 35 year old world traveller, entrepreneur, TV actor and director with a unique personal magnetism and an astonishing track record of facing up to major challenges. Through sheer determination, he has managed to turn an unpromising tale of inherited disability and loss into one of truly inspirational world achievement.

Amar’s multi-faceted career, entrepreneurial achievements and international television profile have been built against a background dominated by teenage onset of blindness due to the incurable eye condition Retinitis Pigmentosa. By the age of 20 he had sustained 95% sight loss.

He received the accolade: ‘The Outstanding Young Business Entrepreneur of the World’ (TOYP award) from the Chamber of Commerce International (JCI) at their World Congress. Previous fellow TOYP awardees have included U.S. Presidents John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton and actors Orson Welles and Christopher Reeve.

Amar is the founder and director of ‘Traveleyes’, the world’s first commercial air tour operator to specialise in serving blind as well as sighted travellers. Traveleyes is an international company with a world-wide customer base.

His inspirational public speaking engagements for major organizations and charities have included key speeches to: The United Nations (Ethiopia), The Arabian Travel Market (Dubai), World Travel Market, The Royal College of Art, and The Royal National Institute for the Blind (London).

He was the inaugural recipient of the prestigious 'Stelios Disabled Entrepreneur Award', presented by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou (Easy Jet / Leonard Cheshire Disability), the highest award of its type for entrepreneurship.

Amar has advised on inclusive design in a range of product testing situations. His diverse experience and world travel profile give him a keen insight into the global disparity that exists in provision for those who live with visual disability.

As well as directing documentary films, including work for UK’s Channel 4 TV (featured at the British Film Institute), Amar has also appeared in a number of TV productions, both as a documentary contributor and as an actor. He became known to millions through his participation in the groundbreaking BBC2 TV / Discovery Channel four-part series, “Beyond Boundaries” (series 1), a jungle endurance expedition across Central America. Screened worldwide, this was a gruelling 220 mile trek on foot across the rugged interior of Nicaragua, from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast.
The group made history by taking a route that had never previously been attempted. Amar had to ford swollen rivers, cut through dense jungle, cross waterfalls, climb a 5,000 ft. active volcano and navigate the second largest lake in Latin America. The aim was to challenge common preconceptions about disability, aspiration and achievement, and to prove that disabled people need not merely follow in the wake of the able-bodied, but can actually be the trail-blazers.

Amar’s acting roles have included parts in various BBC TV drama and comedy features, as well as theatre productionsranging from musical revue to serious drama. He has played music in various parts of the world as a guitarist and singer in a duo. His charity fundraising work has included abseiling down the side of major public buildings, dressed as Batman!

Amar speaks at a diverse range of international functions on a variety of themes: entrepreneurial, motivational, inclusive design, world travel, equality and diversity. Blindness is a challenge to which he responds on a daily basis. As a free spirit, committed to making the most of an extraordinary life in a positive, multi-cultural world, Amar has a unique story to tell that is both moving and inspirational.

- www.realbusiness.co.uk
- www.actionforblindpeople.org.uk
- www.bbc.co.uk
- www.launchlab.co.uk