"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try one more time." Thomas Eddison

 

Stephen White from Whitedog Racing has just recently opened up about his hearing loss. He shared with us why he felt it was important to do this now. Stephen also shared how he overcame the low self-esteem he felt as a child to achieve success and live his dream in motorsports. Stephen wants to encourage other children and young people who are deaf or hard of hearing to pursue their dreams as well. Stephen is helping us promote the work of Deaf Children Australia and would like to work with us more closely in the future.


Stephen’s journey to racing success

Stephen’s incredible career and ability to adapt has seen him finish in the top four of every full championship he has competed in. This incredible feat has recently seen Stephen selected as one of Australia’s Top 100 drivers of all time.

 “I think my hearing loss has helped my racing because my other senses have compensated so I can feel and understand the car better".

Stephen has done almost everything there is to do in racing. He has just taken his first win in the Australian V8 Ute Racing Series in Townsville and he finished runner up in the Australian Formula Ford Championship. Stephen has previously won in everything from Formula Ford, Formula Holden and Formula Renault in Europe and tested with the leading teams in F3000, the final stepping stone to Formula 1. He has represented Australia twice in the Nations Cup, now known as A1 GP. Stephen has raced in the V8 Supercar Series with the Holden Racing Team and competed on every major race track throughout Australia. He has raced in Sportscars, Production Cars, Gold Class for Australia’s fastest racing cars and the Fujitsu V8 Supercars.


Stephen explained that while he found it tough at times during his childhood, he believes his hearing loss has given him an advantage in his chosen career.

I was five when I lost all hearing in my left ear following a case of mumps or measles. We found out when I came home from school and tried to speak to my Grandfather on the phone. I kept telling my Mum he wasn’t there but my Mum could hear him perfectly. They told me to try the other ear and then I could hear my Grandfather without a problem. They took me to the hospital immediately but I have been completely deaf in my left ear since that day. My right ear is fine though.Mum took me to speech therapy to help me speak clearly and expand my vocabulary. But life changed in the classroom after my hearing loss. My Mum would tell me I had to always sit up the front and on the left. She told me I had to tell the teacher at the beginning of every year but it was really hard. I would try to speak to my teachers at the start of the first day of school when they were stressed. They wouldn’t listen properly and they often became annoyed with me. I would feel hurt and give up, sitting down the back of the classroom where I couldn’t hear properly. My Mum would only explain my hearing loss directly to the teacher at parent-teacher interviews or when she was called in because the teacher thought I hadn’t been making much effort or I was misbehaving. I just gave up a bit sometimes.

At high school, I was always down the back of the class as well. I was reserved and scared, hoping I could fudge my way through. I didn’t want people to pick on me. Sometimes I would ask my Mum and Dad whether I should go to a different school but I seemed to get by. Hardly any of the kids knew I was not like them - that I was deaf in one ear. Even most of my friends did not know. 

I can definitely understand what other kids like me go through. I had low self-esteem and thought, ‘Why me? Why aren’t I normal?’ I had problems with miscommunication quite a bit. I would just say ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t get it’ but there are only so many times you can expect people to repeat themselves. I would sometimes give up and feel like, ‘I’ll just go back in my hole now’.

I got bullied a few times but I felt sorry for others who got picked on a lot. I was scared that one day, I could become a real target so I tried to fly under the radar in the classroom. I was lucky that things turned around for me when I got into racing. My Dad used to race at Bathurst so I was born into motor sports in a sense and I always wanted to race.  When I was eleven, I was suddenly kind of cool when I got into go-karts. Then I became a racing car driver in high school. I had become my own success. I wasn’t just the kid at the back of the classroom any more. I continued to struggle with English and Maths but I was always good at sports and I had found my niche in motors sports. I received a lot of sports awards and appeared on television.

I was away racing a lot during high school but I had good friends and we hung out together all the way through. I managed to get my VCE even though I failed on attendance.

I only told everyone about my hearing loss this year. Most of my close friends didn’t even know. But I have lived my dream and now, telling people is a big step for me to move forward.  

I would like to tell the kids out there that having a mentor - someone who supports you and believes in you - makes all the difference. I have been lucky to have great mentors.

I have chosen one of the toughest professions. It’s really competitive and ‘dog eat dog’ but everything I have done in my life - including my goals in motor sports - I have had a really big desire for. I was fortunate to get into a sport I was good at and to be treated differently because of it. Find something you really want in life rather than just going through the motions. If you’re pursuing a goal, it’s much more motivating.”

                                              http://www.deafchildrenaustralia.org.au/event/meet-driver-stephen-white-sandown