Blind content creator Nikolas Quest is breaking boundaries on TikTok, where he shares his often-chaotic confessions with his 272K followers.
At 24, Quest has made a name for himself on social media thanks to his hot takes, truly wild cruising stories, and candid insight into life as a gay, blind man. He amassed his platform in just two years time, showing off his daily fits, roping his mother and grandmother into his videos, and even making headlines for his misadventures using dating and cruising apps like Sniffies and Grindr.
While his tales may veer on the NSFW side, that’s the point—as Quest is on a, well, quest to break a common stigma about the blind community. One form of ableism that many with a disability face is infantilization—or treating adults like children, devoid of sexuality—and it’s an act Nikolas hopes to combat with his content.
We spoke with Quest about using his platform to show off an unsanitized version of himself, how his content has connected with his followers, and his plans for the future.
So.Gay: You recently said you started TikTok two years ago, kind of as a joke, but now it’s a full-time job for you. What got you into the creator world, at what point did you realize you might be able to make content that would resonate with people?
Nikolas Quest: So, 80% of blind people are unemployed, and I was on Social Security since I was 18 years old. The majority of work for blind people is inaccessible, so I started posting online, kind of just as a way to cope with my disability. I’ve lost a lot of sight, within the past 2 years, especially. I am completely blind in my left eye. My right eye, I can only see 2 inches away. I’ve been losing my sight since I was a little boy.
What I’m going to say might sound a little controversial, but I feel like every blind creator on the internet, or a lot of them, are like, “I’m blind and here’s how I cross the street,” “I’m blind and here’s how I do this,” “Here’s how I do that,” and there’s nothing wrong with that, we need educational content, you know? But I feel like I am one of the first people who is both queer and blind to not be a sanitized version of myself. You can be blind and live a life just like anybody else.
Like, I was a go-go boy at a gay club, I was very open about that. I was involved at one point in hookup culture, cruising culture. And I feel like I would look up to someone like me when I was younger. Not like I’m a saint, because I’m definitely not perfect, but I’ve gotten a lot of messages from blind, queer people specifically, who are like, “I love what you’re doing, keep it up,” because there’s really not much representation.
There is no person online who is both blind and a part of the gay community, or just blind in general, that is talking authentically about dating, sex, partying, being part of the gay scene with a disability. Yeah, there are people with disabilities who are part of the gay scene and who have opened up about it, but to have a blind person do it, I haven’t seen it done before.
So.Gay: And like you mentioned, it’s this non-sanitized version of yourself. You are a sexual being, you’re allowed to talk about it.
Nikolas Quest: I’ve even been shamed for it, too. I’ve had a lot of nasty messages. I don’t really get nasty comments, but behind closed doors, I’ve gotten people to be like, “You’re disgusting, you make the blind community look bad,” and these are people who are able-bodied, so it’s just wild to me that they’re trying to tell me what I can and can’t do. I do think that people with disabilities are infantilized. We’re supposed to be clean, in a box.
So.Gay: Have you been surprised with how your content has connected with people on the positive side of things?
Nikolas Quest: It’s been overwhelmingly positive. I’ve been really happy about it. This sounds kind of weird to say, but I almost feel like I have more of a home in the gay community, because a decent amount of blind people are very sheltered, and from a young age, you’re kind of told to stay in this box.
I think that I dealt with a lot of discrimination within the blind community. People in the blind community shame me for what I was doing, how I’m so out there. My parents made sure to not shelter me. My mom, she’s been supportive, but I definitely had to fight to go out and just be normal.
So.Gay: Your mom, your nana, fans love them and they’re very much part of your content. Can you talk about getting them involved in this as well, and were they hesitant at first, or have they pushed back on some of the videos that you’ve done?
Nikolas Quest: No, they’re fully supportive. My family’s very progressive. But I think my disability has played a part in that. To have a son like me has definitely opened up their minds.
So.Gay: And you mentioned that your family has gotten some backlash from other family members, too. Just how do you navigate that criticism?
Nikolas Quest: I would say I’m the black sheep of the family. I feel like it’s very empowering to make content with them. And they don’t pay my bills. I was able to get off of Social Security income because of my platform. I’m making like minimum wage, but proud of myself. To be a disabled person, and to beat the statistic that 80% of blind people are unemployed, and to be welcomed with open arms by my own community, and have them support me, and because of my community, I was able to get off of it, it’s really cool.
For it to be a place for me to cope with my disability, and then to almost, in a way, save me. It gave me a job, literally. I don’t know if it’s gonna be forever, but I’m really proud of myself.
So.Gay: As you should be. You talk about this a lot in a lot of your videos, the difficulties when it comes to either cruising or hookup culture and being on the apps as a blind person. What are some of the challenges that you have faced, and what do you think others can do to make it more accommodating, or accessible, or welcoming?
Nikolas Quest: Most people are pretty understanding and the apps are pretty user-friendly. But I was really nervous to put myself out there, and be transparent about my disability. I think having my platform has definitely helped me do that. I wouldn’t tell people right away that I was blind, because I was really embarrassed for a while. Before I accepted my disability. Now, I feel like there’s not as many challenges, I feel like I had to just love myself before I could meet new people.
I’m not necessarily going on the apps looking for love. I want to find my person one day, but I feel like you find authentic connections when you’re your authentic self. But the apps are fun!
So.Gay: And are you finding more and more guys on there know you from your videos, are more aware of you now?
Nikolas Quest: I mean this in the most humble way but over half of my messages—I think it’s because there’s something local about the For You page—but a lot of people swipe on me just say that they watch me on TikTok, or they want to hang out. It’s cool. It’s definitely changed my reach. I’ve made so many new connections because of my social media. Sometimes I can feel really isolated, or I used to because of my disability, but I’ve opened up a whole new world. They say your net worth is your network, so I’ve just got to meet so many cool people.
So.Gay: I saw you even saying that Grindr is a good way to even meet people and you’ve changed your profile to tell people to come up to you, because you don’t get some of those visual cues.
Nikolas Quest: I’ll literally tell people, even if I’m on the apps, I will literally tell people on Grindr and Sniffies, ”Please come up to me, because I won’t see you.”
So.Gay: And now you have shared your fair share of horror stories as well, including going on a trip with someone to Los Angeles after talking to them for just four days.
Nikolas Quest: Yeah, I think that it was scary. I haven’t encountered it too much, but sometimes you do encounter people who are predatory and they use my disability to their advantage.
So.Gay: How do you navigate that, then? How do you, like, try and suss out who is there for the right reasons?
Nikolas Quest: I try to get a good sense for them, but, this will be the last time I meet someone, and then four days later, let them fly me halfway across the country. It was really scary, seriously.
So.Gay: What have been some of the more meaningful comments you’ve gotten from people about your videos?
Nikolas Quest: The private messages, they’re all really heartfelt. A lot of blind queer people, or disabled queer people reach out to me, which is really cool. Because, like I said earlier, there has never been someone who has been so open to be queer and blind and talking about sex, dating. I would have looked up to someone like me, because how do you navigate that?
There have been a lot of hard lessons, but I think that there should be more voices like me. I would encourage other blind and queer people to share their experiences openly. Because there shouldn’t be a stigma about it.
So.Gay: No there shouldn’t! All the other gay guys are out there having fun.
Nikolas Quest: Literally, and no one questions it, but when you have a disability, people tend to do a double take. Sometimes it’s out of curiosity, sometimes because they do infantilize you, even if it’s subconsciously.
So.Gay: What would you say is the biggest misconception when it does come to being a blind man in the gay community?
Nikolas Quest: People think that you’re innocent, or they infantilize you a little bit, that you’re cookie cutter clean. A lot of them think you can’t do anything, you know? But once they meet me … I’ll jump on that dick, girl, I’ll rock their fucking world.
So.Gay: As. You. Should. And, looking ahead, as you keep building this platform, what are you hoping to achieve from here? What does the next act look like for you?
Nikolas Quest: I want to move to a major city. I wanna go fuck around in the city. It’s time that this blind diva hits the city. My dream, though, I’ve been called to California since I was a little boy. I want to go to LA so bad. But maybe New York? But definitely a major city. I want to move out of Michigan, for sure.
So.Gay: And lastly, is there anything else that you want to plug, or want to get out there, or, you know, a message that you’d like to share?
Nikolas Quest: I recently did expand to Instagram. I will say, I think blind queer people should be in the mainstream media. Like, I want it to be mainstream. I’m surprised more people haven’t reached out—and I mean this in a humble way—but I’m surprised more people haven’t reached out to me, because I’m marketable.
