Inspiring others with my stammering TikToks

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Sam

Sam Bagshaw talks about gaining confidence by going out of his comfort zone, and how his TikTok videos are inspiring others who stammer.

My name is Sam, I'm 27 and I'm from Sheffield. I work as a Warehouse Operative, loading and unloading lorries and vans with furniture, which is a very physical job.

I have had a stammer since I was about 4 years old, and went to speech & language therapy when I was around 7. I didn't find that it helped me much, though. I have always felt very shy and anxious when talking to people. My parents always used to speak for me, such as when ordering food or speaking on the telephone on my behalf.

I now also speak to strangers while out walking to try and push myself even further. Everyone has been so nice so far.

In 2017, I went on The McGuire Programme, an intensive stammering course which teaches breathing techniques and exercises. It makes you come out of your comfort zone by talking to strangers in the street and doing a speech in front of people in town on the last day.

The course made me want to continue to speak to random people in my local shopping centre in Sheffield. I would choose shops that weren't busy and speak to the shop assistants, explaining that I had a stammer and wanted to practise talking to people. They were always very friendly and liked to talk. They usually remember me when I return and take the time to have a chat. I now also speak to strangers while out walking to try and push myself even further. Everyone has been so nice so far.

My TikToks

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Sam's drive thru TikTok video

During the Covid lockdown, I decided to start a fitness account on TikTok and make videos, as I like to keep fit and I didn't have to talk on them. My followers didn’t even know about my stammer at the time.

I then watched other TikTok videos from people who stammer and this gave me the idea to start my own account, '@stammerexperiences'. I started to make videos about my stammer and the things people avoid doing when they have a stammer. I explained that mine is more a 'block' stammer, where I find it hard to start a sentence and say the first word. People stammer in different ways and I wanted to raise awareness of this.

I had lots of positive comments from the videos from people saying I was an inspiration to them. 

I had lots of positive comments from the videos from people saying I was an inspiration to them. This gave me the confidence to continue and I have now made over a hundred videos. I've got over 67.5k followers and one of my drive thru videos got over 4.1 million views.

I like to challenge myself more and more. I now either phone or FaceTime many of my followers from all over the world and also enjoy doing 'live' videos at home or out walking. I have never had any negative feedback, so feel lucky.

Talking to people also gave me the confidence to start street dancing classes, which I really enjoy. I probably wouldn't have started doing them without all the positive feedback I received from people on TikTok.

Watch Sam's TikToks and follow him at @stammerexperiences. The McGuire Programme is one of the options available for stammering. For a list of therapies and courses, see Adult Therapy & Courses. 

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