Pop artist and model Austin Halls joins Lily and Erin for a funny, candid conversation about music, face difference, and building a career that actually works. Born with Möbius syndrome (complete facial paralysis at birth), Austin talks about growing up with media that coded face differences as villainy, and how that shaped first impressions, assumptions, and everyday interactions.
Austin’s answer is art and access. His dance-pop track “Disabled” flips the script with a hook that invites everyone onto the floor, shifting from pity narratives to unapologetic confidence. He shares how fashion and stagecraft became tools of self-expression, why “success ≠ cured,” and how to handle lateral ableism when visibility rises.
From Runway of Dreams and New York Fashion Week to mentorship with RAMPD and a seat at the GRAMMYs (now a Recording Academy voting member), Austin shows what practical pathways look like: make the room workable, choose teams who get it, and insist on authentic casting rather than performances of disability.
Key Moments
02:20 Audio descriptions and why on-mic context matters
03:11 Writing “Disabled”: reclaiming a word with a dance-pop hook
08:39 Breaking the villain trope for face difference in media
11:47 “Command the room”: reframing visibility as an advantage
18:01 Beyond pity narratives: success for talent, not sympathy clicks
27:46 Runway of Dreams to NYFW: firsts and why fashion became a tool
31:08 Success doesn’t cancel disability: on lateral ableism
40:46 RAMPD mentorship to the GRAMMYs: from guest to voting member
45:45 Why empathy and perspective shape the work (and the wins)
49:51 Finding community: from resisting it to the Möbius Conference pivot
55:53 Real-world friendship and the lift of being in the same room
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