Justin Bachman

Justin Bachman

In elementary school, Justin was a scared, insecure and lost kid with nothing close to an identity. He wasn't good at making friends, and I never seemed to fit in. He told himself he was worthless, and he started to believe it. He thought that his life didn't matter and that the world was better without him. It got so bad that he attempted suicide three times before he was 11 years old.

At age 12, he was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome (TS), and he finally knew what was making him so different. He became more confident, and learned to embrace the differences he had instead of running away from them.  

In 8th grade, he was disqualified from a cross-country meet because the officials didn’t understand his tics.  They saw these movements and noises as purposeful disrespect, and refused to listen when he tried to explain it to them.  At that point, I had 2 choices: be a victim of intolerance or take action.

In 2010, I founded a non-profit that he called Honor Good Deeds(HGD). Today, they are known as Different Like You.  The organization empowers people to embrace their differences and “live loud” through an online outlet, interactive events, in-school and corporate programming, and social media campaigns.

Through Different Like You, he wrote a speech called “Living Loud” and he has been able to perform it during full school assemblies to over 75,000 people in 15 states. His message is very relatable to students because it comes from someone their own age.   Justin has been honored with countless awards and also serves on the leadership team for the National Tourette Syndrome Association. He joins us today to share his message and his mission.


Justin Bachman has appeared in the following PEACE Fund Radio episodes: