This is the incredible man who has a mind-bending ability to speak and sing backwards, stunning passersby with his amazing skill.
John Sevier Austin, from North Carolina, took to the streets to show off his talent, recording himself saying a phrase backwards, then playing it in rewind to hear the words normally.
One passerby exclaimed: ‘How does your brain work?!’ after John performed his trick during the fascinating video.
Growing up, he always knew he was different and struggled to relate to those around him, but it wasn’t until recently that he found out he had Asperger’s syndrome.
Justin Sevier Austin is able to talk and sing backwards, and credits this skill to having Asperger’s syndrome
Finding refuge among the cruel taunts and comments by listening to his music in reverse, a young John – after accidentally misusing his record player once – taught himself to sing Bert Kaempfert’s ‘Strangers in the Night’ backwards in its entirety.
Moving onto tackle difficult sayings and phrases such as ‘Antidisestablishmentarianism’, he showcased his incredible skill to the people of North Carolina, along with ‘The Wizard of Odd TV’, leaving each and every one stunned.
Crediting the source of his brilliance to Asperger’s syndrome – a form of autism – after only having been diagnosed with the condition a year ago, John has urged other people on the spectrum to celebrate their ‘uniquely gifted minds’.
John, a full-time video editor, who is completely fluent in the art of backwards talking, said: ‘People are amazed when I tell them I can talk backwards – then completely blown away when I do it.
‘When you talk backwards you have to really work on enunciating the vowels, cloves and consonants just right.
Talented John advised other people with Autism: ‘Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re stupid or that you can’t do something’
John said: ‘People are amazed when I tell them I can talk backwards – then completely blown away when I do it’
‘My brain is able to do all these functions all at once and this is what blows people’s minds – in fact it even blows mine.
‘Growing up as a child I learnt to talk backwards after accidentally playing one of my records backwards.
‘I discovered some songs sounded good that way and so I decided to learn to sing along.
‘[Growing up] I was always different. People would treat me poorly and I could never figure out why.
‘Until last year I never realised I was on the spectrum, but when they told me everything just lined up – especially my perspective on the past.
Passersby were stunned when John performed his trick for them on the street, playing his recording backwards to prove he had in face spoken in reverse
‘When you see someone who seems strange or different when you’re a kid, you just make fun of them.
‘For somebody that’s on the spectrum, don’t let anyone tell you that you’re stupid or that you can’t do something.
‘Talking backwards has allowed me to just go out and be myself – amazing people with how gifted my brain is.
‘That’s what the spectrum us like, we can do extraordinary things so don’t let people bring you down.
‘Embrace being different, find out what your gift is and then go out and blow people away.’