LEANNE ITALIE, of The Associated Press, reports on how two New York-based Bradford and Bryan Manning are helping to fund research into retinal eye ailments…
New York City, US
AP
Would you buy something you can’t see?
That’s the question posed by two New York brothers who’ve lost much of their vision to a rare degenerative eye disorder and have dedicated their lives – and livelihoods – to raising money for a cure.
Brothers, Bryan, left, and Bradford Manning, laugh as they tell the origin story of their clothing company, Two Blind Brothers, in their New York City loft on Friday, 23rd October. The brothers, who’ve lost much of their vision to a rare degenerative eye disorder, began their company in 2016 and have donated all of their profits, more than $US700,000, to preclinical research trials to help cure blindness. PICTURE: AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski.
Bradford Manning, 35, and his 30-year-old brother, Bryan, are the founders of the clothing brand Two Blind Brothers. They’ve hit on a strategy that’s helped raise more than $US700,000 for the cause: selling mystery boxes full of an assortment of their ultra-soft shirts, cosy socks, knit beanies and sunglasses.
The two turn over all profits from the boxes and their other sales to groups like the Foundation Fighting Blindness, funding research on retinal eye ailments like the one they’ve suffered from since they were five, Stargardt disease. It’s an inherited form of macular degeneration that causes central vision loss over time.
“We just wanted to try and help and raise awareness, and just do something good.”
– Bryan Manning.
“We just wanted to try and help and raise awareness, and just do something good,” said Bryan.
Since 2016, when they left their previous careers – Brad worked for an investment firm and Bryan sold software – they’ve picked up celebrity supporters like Ice-T and entrepreneur Richard Branson. Ellen DeGeneres helped with one of her famous Shutterfly checks for $30,000.
And the sale of their mystery boxes, costing from $US30 to $US200, is now a social media phenomenon.
Customers have included relatives of the blind, among them parents with vision impaired children; some have posted unboxing videos on TikTok, Facebook and Instagram, with a few opening boxes blindfolded.
The brothers hit on the idea in 2015, when a gene therapy discovered by an underfunded researcher for an unrelated juvenile eye disease was about to hit the market.
“It was mind boggling to us,” Bryan said. “Our whole lives they were like, `Oh, a cure is down the line, a cure is down the line.’ This one isn’t for us, but it is happening, and the Foundation Fighting Blindness kicked this off with just a tiny charitable gift to this brilliant researcher.”
Soon after, they were separated while shopping at Bloomingdale’s. When they reconnected, they found that they had purchased the same soft shirt.
“It was the feel of it. It felt so soft and comfortable that we both keyed upon it, and then we had this idea, well what if we could take this sense of touch to a different place, make super comfortable clothing” and turn over the profits to researchers at work on eye diseases, Bryan said.
With advice from friends in the fashion industry, two blind brothers became Two Blind Brothers.
A pair of Two Blind Brothers sunglasses rest on a counter in the Manning brother’s New York City loft, on Friday, 23rd October. PICTURE: AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski.
The casual line of super soft Henleys, hoodies, polos and T-shirts for men and women, along with offerings for kids, are made of sustainable bamboo mixed with cotton and spandex. They’ve incorporated Braille indicating the color of each garment into some of the designs they sell online at Twoblindbrothers.com.
The goods were originally manufactured in Texas, mostly by visually impaired people. But as they’ve grown, most of the operation moved to Los Angeles.
Brad was diagnosed at seven after their mother, a nurse, found a doctor who determined that Stargardt disease was the cause of his declining vision.
The doctor told her to “take him home, get him a magnifier and maybe teach him Braille, and good luck,” Bryan recalled. But they would not give up on their sons. Today, their condition has slowed, leaving both with peripheral vision.
The brothers include their story in every mystery box, with some special thanks.
“When someone shops blind, they prove something remarkable,” they write. “They prove that genuine trust is real.”
– With JESSIE WARDARSKI in New York.
