23 Blast, based on the true story of Travis Freeman, is a film of tragedy and hope,
darkness and light.
When Travis Freeman a
high-school football player, became blind from a football accident, his world,
his hope and future looked to have come to an end. How could such a tragedy hit
someone so young and so talented?
Freeman, played by Mark Hapka (Day of Our Lives, Criminal Minds),
has not only lost his sight but his ability to live out his passion and
continue playing football. But that passion will not quit and he finds himself
dreaming football every time the game is played without him.
Friends, family and
therapists help push Freeman along to a life worth living in spite of
blindness.
The characters—played
by Mark Hapka, Stephen Lang (Avatar, Terra Nova), Alexa Vega (Spy Kids, Machete Kills),
, Max Adler (Glee), Bram
Hoover, Kim Zimmer (Guiding Light, One
Life to Live), Becky Ann Baker (Men
in Black, Freaks and Geeks, A Simple Plan) Timothy Busfield (Field of Dreams, thirtysomething), Dylan
Baker, and Fred D. Thompson (Sinister,
Law & Order, Die Hard 2)—are convincing and believable.
23 Blast tells Freeman’s story—a story packed with raw emotion, fear, hopelessness,
humor and the unexpected. An inspiring story the world should know.
Coming to theaters on
October 24th, you don’t want to miss this film. Ocean Avenue
Entertainment and K-Love/AIR1 radio have teen up to support this
family-friendly feature film, 23 Blast.
So, what does Travis
Freeman think of the movie inspired by his story? Check out my interview below.
JD—HI Travis, good to
meet you. Were you a strong believer before losing your sight?
TF—Yes. I professed
faith at age eleven, the summer before I lost my site. (I lost my site at
12-years-old.) Thank God, I was grounded in the faith by a strong family.
JD—How did the film
affect you? Did you find yourself reliving that period of your life?
TF—Yes, definitely.
But the film is not the Travis Freeman story. It is only loosely inspired by my
story. But the film does a good job and gets the message across.
JD—What was it lie to
play football blind?
TF—Disability is not
equal to inability. When we have strong faith, we can overcome obstacles. When
I became blind, my life was turned upside down. It took me a year to learn to live
life again. And by the end of 7th Grade, I’d assimilated back into
normal life.
When my mom asked the
coach if I could just be an extra part of the team, he said, “No. If Travis is
to be part of the team, I want him to play.”
So in August 1994, I became
the first blind football player. It wasn’t anything special to me. I was living
my life. It seemed normal. It wasn’t spectacular to me.
JD—When did you feel
the call to serve God and what are you doing now?
TF—When I was a
sophomore in college. I then graduated from the University of Kentucky, then
got my Masters of Theology and a Ph.D. from the Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary. I’m presently an adjunct professor at the University of Cumberland.
In the future I’d like
to teach full-time as a college professor and, at some point, to travel, write
and speak. Also to focus more on the Travis Freeman Foundation: http://www.travisfreeman.org.
Travis has also
written his autobiography, Lights Out,
Living in a Dark World. Find it on his website.
This story will also appear in Assist News Service.
Janey DeMeo M.A.
Copyright © October 2014
JaneyDeMeo.com
