Day 2 - Sparsh Shah
Sparsh Shah a.k.a. “Purhythm” is a 15-year-old child prodigy, singer, songwriter, rapper and an inspirational speaker. He was born with an incurable disease called Osteogenesis Imperfecta, which makes his bones extremely fragile/brittle, due to which even a hard hand shake can break his bones. He cannot bear weight on his hands and legs; and hence cannot walk or run like other normal kids. He had more than 135 fractures and multiple rod surgeries (8 rods and 22 screws in his body) so far in 15 years of his life and God knows how many more are yet to come. But God has gifted him with a divine voice and a brilliant mind. He has been training in Indian classical music for last nine years and American vocal music for over five years.
Sparsh is a Pi Champion of his school, has memorized 347 digits of Pi, Woodbridge District Spelling Bee Champion, can speak some of the 12 longest words in English dictionary in less than 18 seconds, can speak in 4 different accents in English, written 35+ original songs (4 songs released), several poems, short stories, inspirational/motivational/funny speeches ("We Are Disabled", “Environmental Protection”, “Three Lessons of Life”, “3W’s of Winning”, “How to get rid of fear and build self-confidence”, “Self-Responsibility and Social-Responsibility in Advertising”, “Driven for Entrepreneurs”, “Passion and Purpose for Higher Education”, “7 Habits of I’M Possible People”, “Service to Humanity is the Service to God”).
Sparsh has won prizes in seven music competitions including "Young Voice of NYC;" whereby he became the Youth Ambassador for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. He is also a Youth Ambassador for Voice of Specially Abled People (VOSAP), Mission Possible-Never Start.
Sparsh became a worldwide internet sensation with the launch of Eminem’s cover song, “Not Afraid” with over 75 million views on all social media sites combined. He was recognized and applauded by Eminem's Shady Records, Chris Brown, Akon, Jay Sean, Salman Khan, Shiamak Davar, Vikas Khanna, Brooke Lewis, Vinny Paz on their social media/websites.
Sparsh delivered an inspirational speech: “My Disability Does not Define Me” on #WEDAY UN organized by WE.org to inspire 19,000 world-changers that came together at Barclays Center. Sparsh was featured by GOALCAST and received over 3.2 million views in just the first 24 hours.
Sparsh delivered an amazingly inspirational TED Talk: “How a 13 year old turned Impossible to I'M Possible" at Asia's largest TEDx event: TEDx Gateway. Sparsh received a standing ovation and this speech became the most viewed TEDx Gateway speech on all social media platforms with over 25 million views. He has been featured by some of the biggest news publications of India such as Mumbai Mirror, India Times, DNA, Free Press Journal, Mumbai Samachar, Chitralekha, Gujarat Mitra, Gujarat Samachar, Sandesh, Lokmat, OHeraldo Goa, AdGully, NavGujarat Samay, Navbharat Times, Dainik Jagaran, Republic TV, Bombay Times, etc.
Sparsh was featured in an amazing cover of Michael Jackson’s song: Heal The World by Maati Baani, which went viral with over 70 million views. Spars has now garnered over 150 million views and is followed in 100+ countries on all social media.
Sparsh was featured in three documentary films on his life story:
1) ESPN E:60
2) Galileo (Wonder Kids), a GERMAN Television Show
3) Brittle Bone Rapper-Inspirational World of Sparsh by Real Stories
Sparsh been a catalyst in helping raise over a million dollars by performing and participating in fundraisers for various philanthropic organizations such as Literacy Drive for orphanages in Guyana, St. Jude's, Nepal earthquake victims, Chennai flood victims, The Heart and Hand for Handicapped, Share and Care Foundation, Sankara Eye Foundation, 5K Charity event for New Jersey Institute for Disabilities, March of Dimes, South Asian American Community Outreach, Enable Inc, FOP, CRY America Inc., Garden of Dreams Foundation, Encourage Kids Foundation, Joey Logano Foundation, VOSAP, NeverStart, etc.
Awards Received:
• “20 Under 20 Global Indian-Male Award” by YONO SBI.
• “Best Motivational Speaker and Youth Singer Award” by Shiamak USA.
• “Global Indian Award” by Canada India Foundation.
• “JL Kids Crew” by Joey Logano Foundation.
• “Special Achievements Award” by GOPIO & citation certificate by The State of NJ Senate and General Assembly.
• “Global Inspiration Award" from The Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SGCCI).
• “Best Male Singer-Most Popular Vote Award” at IFAB Music Awards.
• “2017 RARE Champion of Hope Award” by Global Genes.
• “Champion of Inclusion Award” by National Inclusion Project.
• “Special Achievements Award” from Glorious India Expo at NJ Expo Center, NJ.
• “Junior Phenom Award” by Harlem Globetrotters.
• "Inspiration Award of Excellence" by South Asian American Community Outreach (SACO) organization.
• “Most Inspiring Individual Award” at the International Children’s Advisory Network (ICAN) Research and Advocacy Summit in Barcelona, Spain.
• “Inspiration Award of Excellence" by the prestigious South Asian American Community Outreach (SACO) organization.
• “Shoorveer Award" by Ample Mission in India.
Despite all the challenges in life, Sparsh’s spirit is unbreakable, and he aspires to inspire billions of people all over the world with his musical talent.