About Ferry

The fog that never lifted

I have aniridia, an eye condition that has affected my sight all my life. I used to have about eight per cent vision.

In the winter of 2010, I went on holiday to Sweden. When I arrived, everything seemed to be covered in thick fog. I thought it was caused by the cold or the dry air. But when I returned to the Netherlands, the fog didn't lift.

It marked the beginning of a period in which my sight gradually deteriorated. Over roughly five years, I had to say goodbye to the little vision I had left. I've been completely blind since I was 25.

It was difficult, but it also brought something unexpected: a sense of freedom. For years, I'd tried to keep doing as much as possible with my eyes. When that was no longer an option, I discovered there were other ways of doing things. Sometimes they were even easier and took less effort.

Seeing With Your Ears

Being blind influences the way I listen to the world. Since losing my sight, I've become much more aware of the sounds around me.

Perhaps that explains why I'm not particularly fond of silent, sterile podcast studios. You probably know the kind of podcast I mean: nothing but voices, with what I always call 'black in the background'.

Technically, they can sound excellent. But to me, something is missing.

I want to hear the space where a conversation takes place. The atmosphere, the distance and the sounds that give a place its character. That's why I love recording on location. A conversation should be allowed to sound as though it's happening somewhere.

Being blind also influences the way I conduct interviews. I sometimes miss facial expressions and gestures that a sighted interviewer might pick up on. But that means I follow a conversation in much the same way as my listeners do: through voices, silences and sounds.

That doesn't automatically make me a better interviewer, but it certainly shapes the way I tell stories.

Things I can lose myself in

Even when I'm not working, I can completely lose myself in sound. I love classical music, and piano music in particular can sweep me away. With Chopin, Debussy or Schubert playing through my headphones, I can forget about the world around me for a while.

Making music myself is another story. I have a guitar and a keyboard at home, but I've never really had the patience to practise endlessly. Still, every now and then I manage to get a few notes out of my keyboard that eventually find their way into a production.

I have that same tendency to get completely absorbed in books. I prefer reading in English and can happily disappear into a good fantasy or spy novel for hours. Once a book has captured my imagination, I can easily go back and read it ten times. Some stories are simply too good to let go.

And when I've had enough of listening or reading, I enjoy spending time in the kitchen. I particularly love experimenting with curries. I try to eat healthily too, although that doesn't always go quite as planned. ;)

Always looking for stories

Perhaps what I love most about my work is the people I meet and the stories I discover along the way.

A good story doesn't have to be spectacular. It just has to make you feel something. Spark your curiosity, make you laugh, move you or give you something to think about.

And that old love of transport? It never completely disappeared.

But these days, I'd rather take people on a journey through fascinating places and stories. Not from A to B, but into a world they can discover with their ears.