A blind man who grew up touching his family's cars has developed the ability to identify almost any model by feel alone
Published on Apr 24, 2026 at 8:56 AM (UTC+4)
by Ben Thompson
Last updated on Apr 24, 2026 at 8:56 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Mason Jones
We all know somebody who is an ace when it comes to identifying a car just by looking at it – but this blind man can do so just by feeling the car with his hands.
Mike, who lives in New Mexico, grew up in a car-loving family.
That’s served him well over the years, as he’s become something of a car aficionado.
Alongside his wife Jenn, he’s built an audience online by identifying cars through touching them, making him something of a minor celebrity in his town.
This blind man has become an internet sensation
Mike’s knowledge of cars developed from an early age.
“I grew up around cars, my family is really into cars,” he told Supercar Blondie.
“I would touch their cars, I just had a natural curiosity towards Chevy pick-ups and stuff like that.
“Over the years, I developed a memory bank of what every car feels like – the shapes of the cars, the doors, the fenders.”
In adulthood, he and his wife Jen turned it into TikTok content.
Videos across their channel show the process in full.
The two will approach a stranger out in public and ask if Mike can try his hand – literally – at identifying their car.
“We get different reactions out in public. Some people are like ‘Wow, that’s crazy!’ Some people think it’s fake, they don’t think I’m really blind,” Mike admitted.
“We had just started TikTok, and it started off when people found out Mike was totally blind.
“They were curious about what his experience was like.
“It naturally became something that came up when we started on TikTok.
“Lately he can’t go out without being recognized since going viral. People will say ‘You’re the blind car guy’.
Which cars are hardest to identify
“Even when we go out into the big cities, people will ask him to come and touch their car.
“We didn’t expect anything out of it, we were so new to TikTok.
When it comes to specific model types, he has a preference for the older cars.
“I’m a classic car guy, so the 1957 Chevy Bel Air clicks in my mind,” he admitted.
“The 68 and 69 Chevelle Sports…the GTOs…Corvettes…those are the ones that stick with me most.
“The hardest ones to identify are the newer ones, especially the newest Corvette.”
Mike shows that loving cars shouldn’t be limited to sight
A lot of times, you’ll hear people talk about cars purely in visual terms.
You need only recall how many cars have been branded the ‘most beautiful’ – from the Alfa Romeo to the Ferrari 330 P4 – to know that’s true.
But Mike’s incredible ability demonstrates that loving cars is about something deeper than aesthetics.
“I think people have this idea that Mike doesn’t do much,” Jenn said.
“They’re surprised he likes cars so much because they’re often associated with sight – being able to see the beauty of the car or being able to drive it around.
“Mike can’t do either of those things, but he has an appreciation for the craftmanship behind it.
“It surprises a lot of sighted people, I guess they think he’s just into braille and food. People forget that there’s other senses that are stimulated through other means.”
When asked if his content had an underlying message, Mike gave us a heartwarming answer.
“You can have a passion for something even if you’re blind, whatever it is,” he said.
“If you set your mind to it and move forward with it, you’ll succeed it.”
Blind people are getting more and more opportunities to enjoy cars – you need only look at this Canadian charity race for proof of that.
Following stints at LadBible, The Sun, The New York Post, and the Daily Mail, Ben joined the team full-time in February 2025. In his role as Senior Content Writer, his sparkling copy, the ability to sniff out a good story at 100 paces, and a GSOH quickly led to him becoming an integral and invaluable member of the writing staff.
