Day 003 / This Is Justin

Today I flew up to San Francisco for work.   I spent the whole day shooting at the Walt Disney Family Museum.  It was an epic day and my body is destroyed from it.  Anyways, I used to go to school out here and I decided to meet up with some old college friends.  Enter Justin. I decided to interview and profile Justin because he is one of the most amazing people that I know.
 
The first thing I should mention about Justin is that he suffers from a very rare nerve disease called CRPS, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome also known as RSD, Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy.  It’s a very under-researched disease.
 
Doctors still don’t know what causes it and there is no cure. It can be caused by something as small as a sprained ankle but could easily lead to amputation.  It’s very scary and basically, it’s slowly spreading throughout his body.  It’s a terrible condition that I hope we can find a cure for soon.
 
Justin doesn’t succumb to the disease at all though.  He uses it to push himself further into new ideas and experiences.  He’s an artist through and through and it doesn’t matter whether it’s Polaroids or painting or embroidery he goes into everything full on and head first (check out those tats!!). For example, he has an unhealthy obsession for any and all things Polaroid and a few months ago decided to start his own 365 day project in that every day he takes a polaroid of himself.
 
Justin is truly one of the most amazing and inspirational people that I know.  If your interested you can press play on the player below to hear a short 20 minute interview I did with Justin today.  Also check out his progress with the 365 days of polaroid pictures here.  Please donate to the research being done to discover a cure.  This is a great article that describes RSD or CRPS in great detail.  Please read it and learn more.