In this episode of our podcast, we talk with John Austin, a sound and film expert who possesses the rare ability to speak backwards fluently. John has made appearances on TV shows like America's Got Talent, Germany's Got Talent, and the Right This Minute. He also runs a popular YouTube channel called Backwords Dude, where he takes requests to say words backwards and posts videos.
In our conversation, John shares his journey of discovering his unique talent, and how he has been able to embrace it and make a career out of it. He also talks about his latest film, Almost Normal, which tells the story of a man with autism trying to find his place in the world. John provides insights into the making of the film, the challenges he faced, and the important message it conveys.
We also discuss John's own journey with autism, and how he copes with the challenges that come with it. He shares his thoughts on the misconceptions surrounding autism, and how he hopes to raise awareness and understanding about the condition through his work.
If you're interested in learning more about John Austin's unique talent and his new film Almost Normal, tune in to this episode. You can also check out his YouTube channel, Backwords Dude, to watch his impressive backwards-speaking skills. Finally, don't forget to check out Almost Normal, available now on YouTube.
Check out Almost Normal -> https://youtu.be/LKI28BHxv2c
youtube.com/backwordsdude
https://twitter.com/Backwordsdude
https://www.facebook.com/backwordsdude/
In this episode of our podcast, we talk with John Austin, a sound and film expert who possesses the rare ability to speak backwards fluently. John has made appearances on TV shows like America's Got Talent, Germany's Got Talent, and the Right This Minute. He also runs a popular YouTube channel called Backwords Dude, where he takes requests to say words backwards and posts videos.
In our conversation, John shares his journey of discovering his unique talent, and how he has been able to embrace it and make a career out of it. He also talks about his latest film, Almost Normal, which tells the story of a man with autism trying to find his place in the world. John provides insights into the making of the film, the challenges he faced, and the important message it conveys.
We also discuss John's own journey with autism, and how he copes with the challenges that come with it. He shares his thoughts on the misconceptions surrounding autism, and how he hopes to raise awareness and understanding about the condition through his work.
If you're interested in learning more about John Austin's unique talent and his new film Almost Normal, tune in to this episode. You can also check out his YouTube channel, Backwords Dude, to watch his impressive backwards-speaking skills. Finally, don't forget to check out Almost Normal, available now on YouTube.
Check out Almost Normal -> https://youtu.be/LKI28BHxv2c
youtube.com/backwordsdude
https://twitter.com/Backwordsdude
https://www.facebook.com/backwordsdude/
Amelia: [00:00:38] Welcome to Voices of Inspiration. I'm your host, Amelia Old. Thank you for joining me today. If you are new here, I share stories of people in my everyday life and those I meet along the way. I think we all have a story to tell, and it's my desire to give as many people as I can that platform so that we can connect and inspire each other on a deeper level.
So last week I saw this [00:01:00] incredible film on a friend's Facebook page called Almost Normal, and I'm not going to really get into the details of it right now, because I want you to hear straight from the guy, but I'll be honest with you I've watched it multiple times and it's just really inspirational. And today's guest is the man behind the short film. John Austin is right here from Charlotte. He has been working with sound and film all his life. John is one of the few people in the world who can speak backwards fluently. He has been featured on America's Got Talent. Germany's Got Talent, The TV show, Right this Minute, is a regular on the morning radio with Woody and Wilcox and Charlotte, and he hosts a YouTube channel called Backwords Dude, where he takes requests from people to say words backwards and post it on his channel. Thank you for being with me today, John.
John Austin: [00:01:47] Well, thank you for having me Amelia.
Amelia: [00:01:49] I definitely want to get into your talent later in the show, but I really want to just start from the beginning and start from when you were a younger. And you [00:02:00] received a lot of criticism early on as a child, not just from your teachers, but your parents as well. You made a comment in your film that no one believed in you at that age. Can you just kind of walk me through that?
John Austin: [00:02:15] Sure. Well, I was very hyper and very belligerent as a kid. And Had a, had a different kind of mind and with the whole backwards thing, what happened was my record player stopped spinning, and I really loved music.
So, I thought I'm going to spin it with my finger. If I can't get the thing to work, that was how I fixed it and keep in mind I'm five. And so, I decided, you know, what. If I can spin it one way what's to keep me from going the other way, is that a different song? And so I spun it the other way and heard my music backwards and I thought it was the most bizarre and, and most wonderful thing I'd ever heard, even though it sounded bad, I could still find some beauty in it.
And I did find another song. My parents didn't see it that way and [00:03:00] I was horrible in school. They would've much rather see me be book smart and smart, like all the other kids, as opposed to being silly, bouncing off the walls, ADHD, playing my records backwards, trying to figure out how to mimic the songs.
But through doing that, I taught my myself how to talk backwards. So. Some years went by. I learned how to make tapes go backwards. So , I was able to record my voice onto a tape and then play the tape backwards. And that, that furthermore solidified me being able to say things backwards. And of course my parents were just beside themselves, worried to death.
School was getting worse and worse. I was labeled as possibly autistic. And then they said, well, no, John is not autistic. He's learning disabled. They kept me in special needs classes. Occasionally, would put me in normal classes, not wouldn't give me any kind of grounding to be in those classes.
And, you know, [00:04:00] they were just constantly worried about me. I was told I would never make it. Told I wasn't smart and those things hurt, you know? And finally had to drop out of high school. It got so bad and finished high school through community college, but then decided I did not want to go to college because I didn't like people my age.
I didn't like how they treated me, how they berated me, how they teased me. And I think the worst thing really happened is, you know, I was allowed to retreat. I think it's important that you not retreat. You know, I found a career within film, first of all, working in the movie theaters as a projectionist.
And that happened very early in life. Through a mentor who was a projectionist at a theater. I just happened to meet him and he let me and my mother up and it got me my feet set on the path to a new career, but it was a very lonely one. And thank goodness that way of showing films was on its way out.
And it basically forced me out of the business and into [00:05:00] television. So, you know, I think that if I had had early interaction and been forced to do the things that I was a little uncomfortable with, but then did them with acceptance. You know, the things would have been a little bit better for me, but as it is, it, it turned out the way that it did.
And I'm a late bloomer and that's okay.
Amelia: [00:05:18] Well, you talked about kids being cruel back then and they can, kids can be cruel when they aren't taught that different is not a bad thing. What were your friends like when you were young, when you were a child and pre preteen?
John Austin: [00:05:36] Well, preteen yeah, I really liked my friends, preteen and for the most part they liked me, but it was hard for them.
To deal with my rambunctiousness and my fascination with technology and music, because back then kids were not technologically savvy and they didn't want to fool with something like that. They wanted to be outside, [00:06:00] you know, as opposed to now kids are just constantly like on their phones or in front of their computers all the time.
You know, should have more of a balance for sure. But yeah, they got really tired of it. With me being the way that I was and I would get really angry with them if they did not play my games and I would get very frustrated and hurt if I would play their games because I, I was not athletic at all.
And didn't like card games and things like that, all the things that all the other little boys and girls like to do that were my age. And it was just a complete disconnect. And I'm not needless to say I had a very bad temper at that time and it ran them off. So they were gone. And then I had my projectionist friend.
And then it was mostly older people. And I should add that all of my siblings were a good 16 and one was 23 years older than me. So, I grew up with older people, learn to, you know, socialize and be around older [00:07:00] people. And that, that through another Wrinkle in the whole thing. So, it was difficult all the way around, you know, I definitely could have been different and things could have been handled different, but we just, I was talking to my mom about this the other day and she said, you know, we just did not know what to do with you.
We tried, but we just didn't know. And, and I have a very good memory, a very good long-term memory. And I remember how difficult I was. And you know, I think I'm trying to say through my film, is this is what it's like. To be this way and we need to intervene for kids and even adults, you know, this isn't just for kids, it's for adults too, but we need to catch them when they're young.
I think I really do think that it's easier if you do it that way.
Amelia: [00:07:45] Well, and also when we were younger, I don't feel that Autism was even really talked about in general you know. Tell me about the day that you and your mom went to the projection room at the movies.
[00:08:00] John Austin: [00:08:01] Well I had been trying for some time to get into the projection booths.
And back then we didn't have the Hector flexes that we have now. So, the projection brooms were more manual back then and they had union operators up there. And because of that, there were strict rules that kept just random people from going up there, plus, you know, it's like going into a restaurant, they're just not going to let you into the kitchen for insurance purposes.
So, it was doubly hard back then is what I'm saying to get in. And one day, me and my mother, we were at the movies and I thought, there's this really cool looking young guy working in the box office, I'm going to ask him. And he said, well, let me call up there. And sure enough, This other hip young dude, he comes down the steps and he meets me in my mom and he asks me my name and my age.
And I said, well, I'm John I'm eight. And it turned out that this guy was named John too. And he was 26 and he had on a cowboy hat and a flannel [00:09:00] shirt and he took us up and I had never seen anything like it before. I mean, those machines. We're like furnaces with gigantic sewing machines on the front end with a great big lens coming out.
And it was shining into this box, which then redirected it onto the screen. I had never seen anything like that before. And the film was just like this wide, you know, and I was used to seeing the little home movies, which were about this wide on and on real is about this big, and these rails were as big as the world and I just went crazy. And I think boys especially will go crazy over anything, mechanical, you know, anything with a motor on it. And that was me, anything with a motor on it, but this played picture and sound and it put a picture as large as life on the screen. And. That was it. I was sold, you know, I was going to be a projectionist for the rest of my life and I would have done it.
But that's how that started. And John believed in me and he told [00:10:00] my mother that I was smarter than what my teacher said, and my mom would not believe that. I would not believe it. I had been conditioned to think that, and as time went on and I became a teenager, John would get really cross with me and he would say, do not ever let anybody put you down.
He said, you have no idea how smart you are. He said, you learned this stuff within less than a day. And he said, college kids take longer than that. He said, you just get it. He said, you've got common sense. And a lot of people don't have that. And he said, and you can talk backwards. And he said, John, He said, that's all gonna come together for you one day and, and you're going to be fine.
And he said, somebody that can do this, it's not about talking backwards. It's just the fact that your mind can do that and work that way. He said you have no idea what you're capable of. Don't you ever give up on yourself? So it was really him that steered me in the right direction.
Amelia: [00:10:55] He really changed her life.
He did. And then you got your first job in a [00:11:00] movie theater at the age of 16. Can you tell me about Ralph?
John Austin: [00:11:05] Ralph. Well Ralph came two years in to, to my working in the theater business. He came in the second place that I worked first place that I worked was in Charlotte, was at the Manor theater.
And the people there remembered me from when I was a kid. That's not where I met John. But. They would let me go in and thread the projectors, but it was all because John had led me up in another theater and I went and dropped his name, you know? And I said, I know John Evans, you know, you can let me into your projection booth.
And they taught me how to run their equipment, which was different from the equipment John worked. And so I started becoming familiar with different types of equipment. And by the time I got to my second job, It was one of Charlotte's first multiplex cinemas, and it was out in Matthews and it was state of the art.
And it turned out that the engineer was this 85 year old man who had been working in the [00:12:00] business since the 1920s. And he would tell me these stories about when they first started playing records with the movies and how they forgot to play the record with the jazz singer. And everyone laughed at him for doing it.
And I mean, there, this man was working with THX sound systems and Newer versions of the equipment. And we became fast friends and he retired, I don't know, two, two or three years after that, we remained friends and we would go out and eat and everything. And he encouraged me to go to art school and I wouldn't believe in myself still.
But, and I could tell it, frustrated him. I could tell he couldn't figure out what was wrong with this young man here. And And I, I really felt that frustration from him and it kinda made me feel rejected, but it was good that he was doing that because it's like, you know, you, you got more than this.
And he said, it's, this is going away. He said, and, and, and its day is done. He said, there's something else for you, John. And you need to go and [00:13:00] get that. And of course he passed away, you know, a few years after that. But having that friendship was great as well as having John.
Amelia: [00:13:08] How did during this time, how did your family as specifically, or your parents react to your fascination with film and projection?
John Austin: [00:13:16] Well, they were not happy. I wound up getting discarded parts from a movie theater that I worked at and built my own projection system in our den. And the theaters would throw out, would throw away the old film trailers, instead of sending them back to the company, they just toss them in the trash.
And so what I did was I grabbed a bunch of them, spliced them all together, and we would just have movie trailer night here. And it was cool. I mean, to have that stuff showing, you know, in your, your den back then, you know, it's just like, wow, it's like, it feels like you go into the movies. And my parents did not like that because you know, those were the years that I should have been in college.
And I just wasn't and it looked like I wasn't going anywhere. [00:14:00] And I'm really, truly somebody that's able to, to put a 35 millimeter projection system together from parts that are from the freakin 1930s, and I guess the sixties and make it work. That's somebody that could go far within the film industry, you know, somebody that can, Jerry rig things together, make it work. You know, you, you have solutions and you have resources. And even when there doesn't seem like there is a way you, you make it happen. For example, I had a bunch of people coming over to watch those trailers and one of the parts stripped a gear out. In the back of this, like 80 year old projector and I called it theater supply and they said, well, you're going to have to contact this one person.
And it was someone that was way the heck out in the country that had a ton of old film projector equipment. And I went out there and [00:15:00] lo and behold, it took about an hour or two, but we found the thing that had the exact part. And I was able to have the screening. So, you know, you, you need people like that too, to work in film and television.
And I couldn't see that. And, you know, I didn't think anything of it just like, I never thought anything of, of talking backwards. It just seemed like a moot point. It's like, you know, this is a means to an end, that's it? This is just a test. This is not really important in the large scheme of things, but it does go to show you, you know, looking back on it, that things like that are…. I had a great uncle who I never met and he was a famous inventor for Westinghouse.
He has many patents to his name and I found his obituary. And I started reading over what he was like as a boy. And as a boy, he would take motors apart and play with them. And I thought that's very funny. That sounds like me, you know? [00:16:00] And I remember asking my mom, I said, mom, did you ever meet him?
She said, yes. And I said, well, what was he like? She's like, well, he didn't say much, you know, he kind of sat back in the corner and was to himself. And she said, you know, people who are brilliant are like that. I'm like, you mean, like I always was crying. I mean, I basically, and I hate to say that because I've been conditioned that I'm not smart most of my life and because of my backward speech.
And so being doing so well with that, when I did Backwords Dude, a doctor in Charlotte contacted me and told me that I was like Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla, that my mind works like theirs. And I couldn't believe it. I said, you gotta be kidding me. This is a joke. And he said, no, I'm not kidding you. And he said, you need to start giving yourself more credit right now.
And so here I am. Mr. Who knows? Maybe I'll just invent something that's going to end world pollution or something. I don't know. I mean, why not? I mean I [00:17:00] don't know. It, you never know about these things, right?
Amelia: [00:17:05] And you, you were diagnosed later in life. Had you gone to the doctor prior to this? Or was it this, this person just calling you after seeing some of your videos?
John Austin: [00:17:16] Yeah, but it was this person contacting me. It was actually through someone in the film industry, this particular place in Charlotte they're called Southeast Psych. They have a video production department. That a friend of mine I was in film school with knew we got him involved on a set for a commercial and he saw my talent of talking backwards.
I set it into my phone and my little reverse app and it blew his mind. And so he went and told his boss who specializes with I think young boys on the autism spectrum. And he wanted me to do a video with them and that's when he sat me down. And he said, you know, you are Wonderfully brilliant. And I laughed and I said, no, I'm not.
I [00:18:00] said, you're mistaken on that. And he said, no, I am not mistaken. He said, you're on the the Asperger's spectrum. And I said, isn't that autism? And he said, well, yeah, yeah. He said, but hear me out. He said, don't, don't get worried. He said, you know, you're like Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison and even Mozart, he said, we know from looking back in history, that they were on the spectrum, like you are because of, of their mannerisms and, and the oddities about them.
And he said, it's a gift. And he said, all we need to do is equip you with some skills, some life skills, so you can go on. And he said, you're going to be fine. You know, once you get that down and I was 40, almost 47. When that happened. And so I had just kind of been limping along and not knowing how to socialize, not always knowing how to communicate, because that's how it manifests.
You know, you don't always know what to say, or you say the wrong thing, or you say it in the wrong tone of voice and it upset somebody. And then [00:19:00] you're all of a sudden wondering, wonder why, why does this person not like me? What what's going on now? I have the answers. If anything, I am grateful for this silly little talent.
That's amazing, you know, a backwards talking that seems pointless because it pinpointed something that's very important in my life. It's, you know, it's told me in my life story
Amelia: [00:19:23] and you've been on some major shows across the world for your talent. What was the moment you decided to share that talent with other people?
John Austin: [00:19:34] I decided to share that talent with other people back in 2013, 2012 or 2013, I had prior to that, gone to film school in Los Angeles. And I was just going to stay out there, but because of an injury to my shoulder, I was forced to come back and I wound up with a new group of friends. And I should mention most, most of my friends are very young.
[00:20:00] They're a lot younger than me. And we were all sitting around. And they were trying to get to know me. And they said, is there kind of any kind of strange talent that you have? And I said, well, yes. And I told them, and one of them worked for Apple and he said, I have an app on my phone. And he said, I can record stuff and play it backwards.
I don't believe you prove it. And so I said, Oh, this is cool. And so I said, all this stuff backwards for them. And they just fell out of their chairs. I mean, they couldn't believe it. And they said, man, you got to do something with this. You you've got to go make money with it. You're going to be famous. And I thought, Oh yeah.
Right. So I downloaded the app and started practicing with it. And went on a ski trip. And some more friends found out about it and they flipped out and you can actually see that video on my YouTube channel. One guy says, man, you need to go on the road and make some money with that. That's when I started my [00:21:00] YouTube channel.
And it was awkward at first I had this really long drive into work. So what I did was I put a GoPro up on my windshield and got a nice microphone to record my voice. And I just said, Hey, I'm John Austin. And I can say things backwards. You can send a request in to me to have something set backwards.
And I felt foolish doing it, but the whole trick of the driving in the car was I would say whatever it was backwards. And then I would reverse the video. It would come out forward, but then I'm driving down the highway backwards and I thought that's silly and it's, you know, but it's motion, you know, it's kind of cool.
And Lo and behold, I started getting more and more followers, you know, not a ton, but you know, you could tell they were young kids and they would say, say this, say that, you know, and it got to the point, it's like way too much just stop. You're wearing me out when I'm driving to work and coming home, you know?
But I did that for like consistently for a [00:22:00] good two, two and a half years. And then started to back off a little bit when I wanted to change things up and make it a little more compelling. And that's when I got the idea for my documentary and kind of left. Didn't abandon my YouTube channel, left everything up and occasionally would check in.
But yeah. It just consumed me so much such a challenge to do that, but kind of feel like I've come back around, you know, full circle, but that's, that's how the YouTube channel started. What,
Amelia: [00:22:30] what was your most memorable experience with all of the appearances that you've had?
John Austin: [00:22:41] Germany's Got Talent. I got a standing ovation.
Amelia: [00:22:46] And how did you feel in that moment?
John Austin: [00:22:48] I couldn't believe it. You know three judges there and one of them was a very powerful record producer. And I sang a song that he made popular back in the eighties cause he's a singer and he sang this [00:23:00] song.
It's called Sherry, Sherry lady. I'd never heard of it, but it's a huge hit over in Germany and it's sung in English originally. So it was perfect for me. And he jumped up and put a star around my neck and everyone stood up clapping for me. And he just said, I, you know, that's amazing. I've never seen anything like that.
You for me, or a super talent. And I mean, so much acceptance. And all of a sudden I felt like I went from was a Cinderella moment. It, it really was. I mean, I, I went from being in rags to riches, you know, as far as how I felt about myself and how other people thought about me, because at first, when I started singing the songs backwards for them, everyone started laughing at me and the judges were laughing at me.
They weren't buying it until they did the playback in reverse. And that is the most [00:24:00] memorable time. It's even better than America's Got Talent. America's Got Talent was during COVID. Simon didn't like it, but the other two judges liked it. And I mean, you know, it's just, it's, it's amazing to see how it affects different people.
Amelia: [00:24:16] Yeah absolutely. What does it mean to be different to you?
John Austin: [00:24:22] Well, that's a good question. I think that to be different in a lot of ways means to be freer than other people. You get judged for it ridiculed, but at the end of the day, I think I would rather be different and just be my own self, because really we are all different.
If you stop and think about it, I think a lot of us imitate and try to be like everyone else. The way we dress the way we act, the kind of music we listen to. I've I've never been that way. I've kind of done my own thing. You know, that's what it means to be different, to embrace yourself.
Amelia: [00:24:57] I like that. Do you have any advice [00:25:00] to parents with children who have been diagnosed on the autism spectrum?
John Austin: [00:25:05] Sure, absolutely. I think that, and I say it in my film, you know, we are considered superheroes, those of us who are on the spectrum and it's it's superheroes because we have, and it's this isn't always true, but a lot of times you will find that we have incredible focus in an area that is somewhat odd.
And that's what makes us superheroes. You know, if you take that and you apply it to something, you can do great things. So my encouragement for parents would be, this is to believe in their kids and to do what they can to help them. I think sometimes you might think, well, you're just making up an excuse.
You don't want to go hang out with everybody else. And so we're going to punish you. I think it's important that. Their kids not be allowed to just run and retreat, [00:26:00] but also realize that you're going to have to take some of these social activities and doing things within doses, because it really does wear us out and to have understanding, have compassion, but at the same time, you know, having expectations like, Hey, you know, you need to get out there and, and, and be a part of life because that's the only way you're going to grow.
If we have that with, with the compassion and the understanding makes all the difference in the world.
Amelia: [00:26:32] If you could say anything to John and Ralph now, what would you say?
John Austin: [00:26:36] Well I said it to John just last week when I showed him the film, he said, you he's like, why would you put me in there? Why would you dedicate this to me?
He's like, what did I do? And I said, John, you know, very well, what you did. I said, you gave a kid a chance to, to run the big show. And I S I said, you know, you did not have to do that. And it [00:27:00] made a big difference in my life. And I said, and not only that you encouraged me to move on and to Ralph, what I would just say to Ralph is thank you so much for being my friend and, and for all the stories, because see, from someone that old, you know, you, you get so much wisdom from them. And, and, you know, he was just a window into the past, you know, and he just told me what he went through to get to where he was. And it just all sounded so like glorious, like something out of a movie. And you know, it was just a gift and a gift and, and, you know, he, he did believe in me. So I would just say thank you for believing in me and pushing me to go on.
Amelia Old (Host): [00:27:43] In the film. You said something that I really related to personally, you said, no matter how old I get, I will always be growing and I will always be learning. That's better sometimes because life will never get dull. And that is where creativity comes from. And I really loved that. And I really related to that.
[00:28:00] In many ways, do you have a favorite quote or any other words of wisdom that you would like to leave with our listeners?
John Austin: [00:28:10] Yes. That's you, you asked me and I can't think what it is because I was coming up with several of them. That one I came up with pretty much on my own. And yes. Yes. There is one quote.
It's kind of fun to do the impossible and that's Walt Disney.
Amelia: [00:28:29] That's a good one. And I guess we cannot end this without you showing a little bit of your talent.
John Austin: [00:28:36] Okay. Sure. Okay. I kind of have to keep them short. Like what's something short that you would like for me to say.
Amelia: [00:28:45] How about everyone has a story to tell?
John Austin: [00:28:46] everyone has a story to tell everyone has a story to tell
Amelia: [00:29:02] that's so incredible. That's amazing.. Thank you. And where can our listeners find you and your incredible film?
John Austin: [00:29:11] So if you go on YouTube, it is backwords, dude. And that's spelled with an O. So it's B a C K w O R D S back words. And I think a lot of people have a hard time finding it.
But I've gotten so much stuff on the internet that if you just type in backwards, like regular dude, you'll find my channel. It should just come up.
Amelia: [00:29:34] And I will also include that in the notes of the episode of, VoicesofInspirationPodcast.com. Thank you for joining me and being willing to share your story and being an advocate for so many who need that voice in their corner. I am really grateful that you took your time to be with me today.
John Austin: [00:29:53] Oh, well, thank you so much. I'm very grateful that you are allowing me to be on your podcast.
Amelia: [00:29:59] Thank you to our listeners. [00:30:00] There are hundreds of thousands of podcasts out there, and I'm so grateful you have chosen to be with me today. My name is Amelia and I'm the host of Voices of Inspiration. Everyone has a story to tell. What's yours?