My name is Whitaker Ellsworth Redgate
Artist, Survivor, Dreamer
I am an artist, I can create anything. I build, sculpt, paint, design and make.
I am a survivor, I have been conditioned with the worst of situations to overcome. I survive and adapt despite the obstacle.
I am a dreamer, I imagine a better world better than this one that can be. A world that will be with me in it, a world that will bring light to eradicate the darkness.
I am Whitaker Redgate, I am many things, but most people call me Whit. I laugh and cry and live a life just like most people. I exist and thrive because I choose to. I hang out with friends and participate in University, I call my grandparents and family members often. My strongest skill is connection and organizing based on who and what I know. I theorize, learn & do ignorant things at times but what separates me from most my age is that I bleed and am in level 10 pain every single day.
I have lost a lot in life, but I carry on. Today I live in agony, I live in a torn world of uncertainty.
I am 23 now and I cannot sit down without bleeding or being in pain. I have 23 non closing wounds all over my body and I struggle every day due to a chronic disease known as Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS). This is a disease not many people are aware of but it plagues millions of lives.
I have lived seeing blood on my hands every day for the past 5 years. It can break you. It can destroy you if you let it. It is a battle; a daily war within my own system. My central nervous system is targeted by the electric sensation of destructive pain that this world can create. I have been destroyed by the pain sometimes. There were times that I couldn’t move, walk, or talk. There were times where my madness controlled me, where my anger dictated my decisions. Where I was alone in the ravenous state of despair. Alone in a world of suffering that developed the worst levels of hatred and fear stemming from the anger I had at life. The ship going into the abyss without a helm or heading. I persevered by creating a better world that I had to build from the oasis of light within my imagination. The special kingdom of heaven in my mind that was constructed from the endless love and support given to me by my loving tribe. I am very attached to my friends, family, teachers, mentors and people who strive for accomplishing the impossible. My obstacles do not define me. Situations I have been in do not define me. I will not let anything hinder the process of allowing me to move forward in my life.
I learned from a mother who witnessed her daughter killed in front of her. I was there. My mother is no longer here, the pain of loss was too much for her to bear. I watched a single mother build an empire with her pain. I learned from my environment by reciprocating the same work ethic. That work ethic in a small town of that which got me to where I am today. When my mother was lost, I was also lost in the labyrinth of pain and suffering. It was the light of the souls around me and my family that led me to victory. I learned how to take the worst of pain and use it to change lives. I am here now, a victor. I have overcome endless battles against an unstoppable force known as pain. We will overcome and strive for triumph again and again, as long as it takes.
I would love to share this Kickstarter and develop a global community for people to know they are not alone. For people to know they do not have to be afraid. I have gone through the darkest realms of being in pain from contemplating suicide or suffering from depression. My outlet is creativity. Without pushing past the pain and being creative I would not be here. To make a film about the triumph of overcoming pain is my destiny. Pain for me is deeply rooted in HS and loss. I want those who have HS to have a voice and be an instrument to bring light to the film industry. We sit in the shadows and suffer with these horrible physical self destructive eruptions created by our own bodies. It is a tremendous challenge to have the very body you've been in your entire existence betray you by breaking out in the most painfully electric swollen infections. It can make you want to die. This will be a film to show the nations what we endure.
For the survivors of loss, whether it is suicide, anxiety, PTSD, depression, addiction or disease, I am with you. I have fallen victim to experiencing the loss of family members and friends to all of those. It is a challenge to keep going while suffering from your own demons and losing those so close to you. My heart goes out to you.
This film is worth sacrificing my ego and private personal life for, because in order to attain something you must be willing to sacrifice it all. This film will make you feel good, this film will make you laugh and cry, this film will echo in the eternity of your immortal soul and make you realize YOU CAN DO ANYTHING. This is my triumph, this is my reality, I am going to build cities and companies and nothing will stop me on my road to developing my destiny. I have experienced the hardest times of life. I have learned how to climb mountains on my own as a child and now I am a man. I will do this for the millions and millions of those lost, of those who survive, those who suffer and those who will come face to face with the destruction that pain can cause.
My strength and blessings go out to all of you fighting the battle against the universal enemy of pain, HS & mental health. I will make this film to remind the world that pain kills, pain suffocates and pain can ruin lives. We need all the help we can get to make this documentary possible so WE ARE HEARD. I would appreciate any donation or sponsorship for this film to make it happen and to establish connection.
I am an artist, I can create anything. I build, sculpt, paint, design and make.
I am a survivor, I have been conditioned with the worst of situations to overcome. I survive and adapt despite the obstacle.
I am a dreamer, I imagine a better world better than this one that can be. A world that will be with me in it, a world that will bring light to eradicate the darkness.
Feel free to reach out to me personally and let me know what I can do for you.
With much love, grace and admiration
Whit Redgate.