Today we’d like to introduce you to Joseph Burke
Hi Joseph, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was born with a rare bleeding disorder called hemophilia in 1979. To treat my hemophilia, I required infusions of plasma in order to be able to clot normally. These infusions during the late 70’s and early 80’s came from human blood donor banks, which weren’t regulated at the time for blood borne pathogens. By age two, I had contracted both Hepatitis C and HIV from the infusion medication I needed in order to survive which came from the unregulated blood blank plasma supply. As a result of contracting both viruses at such an early age, I spent a great deal of my childhood, adolescence and adult life in hospital settings pondering my own quality of life and morbidity.
Hemophilia’s biggest side effect is joint damage that occurs when tiny blood vessels that supply nutrients to your joints for mobility and joint health, rupture internally, causing blood to flow inside the joint cavity itself. This episode is called a “joint bleed.” This is a common symptom of living with the disease, and the effects of these events takes it’s toll on the body over time. Joints become fused, and “locked” into position, which limits my range of movement on target joints like my right elbow, right knee and both ankles. Though my arms are permanently bent, and my knee causes me to have a permanent limp, I’m thankful that recent advancements in drug therapy has now essentially reduced my bleeding episodes to %5 risk for a whole year of the onset of a joint bleed. Of course, there is also the muscle atrophy that accompanies severely compromised joints and their range of movements.
Through personal struggles, physical and irreversible damage to my body, joints and muscles as a direct result of living with a severe bleeding disorder, I have found purpose in pain as a now middle aged man. In 2014, I was cured of Hepatitis C on a breakthrough drug regimen called “Sovaldi.” Today, my HIV remains suppressed with daily anti-viral medication therapy, and keep an undetected viral status in my routine lab visits. My hemophilia is treated with a now once a week infusion into the tummy, or “Sub-cu” injection, much like an insulin shot. This is a huge leap forward from the previous form of infusing directly into the vein, which causes tissue damage and scarring.
I have found purpose in pain and live by the motto, “I’m not defined by my illness.” I’ve overcome so many obstacles health wise, and just recently celebrated my 45th birthday, which also means I’ve been HIV+ for 43 of those 45 years. It’s nothing short of miraculous to conceive such an idea that someone can live so long with a virus that is meant to destroy one’s own body. This year, I also will celebrate 15 years of marriage to my amazing wife Alexandra, who also is a Registered Nurse at Orlando Health here in Central Florida. Those odds of me finding a wife to love me… for me were very slim. But factor in the odds of finding a wife to love me and be a nurse… that’s divine influence.
I’m a product of science, and a product of my faith. Today, I use my story and proudly share my testimony of overcoming insurmountable odds at local bleeding disorder conferences. I also speak regularly to the graduating classes of hematology/oncology at Shand’s Hospital and University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. By educating future physicians on the unique experience of patient perspective, I help to influence these young minds as they venture out in their own fields to practice medicine. It’s truly a blessing, and one that only comes from allowing myself to be present, vulnerable and willing to step up when asked to do so. I’m a product of faith as well, and serve at my local church at The Lakeside Church in Oakland, Florida. I use my gifts in leadership and creative arts to help lead my church in several areas, drawing from my own unique perspectives and creative arts background.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Because I was different in school, I was bullied pretty extensively. Every day brought forth a new challenge of dodging certain individuals, and/or just submitting to their onslaught of verbal insults and constant picking. I grew up in a very small rural town back in Appalachia, southeast Kentucky to be more specific. My parents did their best to protect me, but once I stepped through the doors of my school, it was up to me to dodge, deflect and steer clear of those who brought me more pain. One student even made the nasty habit of flicking my arms repeatedly throughout the day to see if he could bruise me. Everyone knew me as the bleeder, so it made hiding my limps, swollen bandaged joints almost impossible. Many evenings after school, I would just come home and bury my face in a pillow to hide my screams and crying so my folks wouldn’t hear me. This was a norm for me.
The biggest hurdle I face is not in treating myself with my conditions, but actually acquiring the medications themselves. Hemophilia is among the most expensive disorders to treat in North America. My monthly costs alone total from $45-49K a month in just infusion medications alone. Navigating the medical system in terms of insurance coverage in this country can be a bit daunting. I’ve lived every spectrum of the medical coverage system in this country from being classified disabled by the state, to being forced to switch insurance coverage plans that do not cover hemophilia infusion medications. As some may not know, Medicare does not cover hemophilia medication costs, which leave many suffering with my condition, caught in limbo of sorts between state, government and pharmaceutical assistance programs.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Growing up an only child, I found solace in comic books. I would read for hours, and collect them every time my folks went to the grocery store. I would get lose in the spinner rack at all the covers and varieties of comics on display. Throughout my school years, I began to teach myself how to draw and illustrate portraits. I would mimic some of my favorite comic book artists of the time like Jim Lee, Jack Kirby, Todd McFarlane and Neal Adams. I would lose myself for hours on end, drawing characters and creating my own.
I graduated college with an AS in The Arts. And used this to help land some pretty awesome opportunities working for a non-profit organization in Whitesburg, Kentucky called Appalshop. Right out of college in 2002, I began working as an on-air radio disc jockey for the non-profits community radio station WMMT 88.7 FM. For the next 7 years, I hosted a show called “Crossroads” that blended genres and musical styles with every track. Listeners would have Ah-Ha one minute, Blue Man Group the next and Coldplay all in one set, hence the title of my show. I also worked at Appalshop as a web developer and assisted many of their programs with content creation. Appalshop is short for “Appalachian Film Workshop.” It’s mission was to preserve, document and perpetuate the rich cultural heritage of Appalachian mountains and it’s people.
In 2012, I bought my first iPad. A few months later, I found the app called “ProCreate.” It’s an app that is designed to allow artists to create their own masterpieces on a digital canvas. The app in modern day, has become the largest, most downloaded content creation app in IOS history, winning multiple awards for intuitive design and ease of creative flow. Today, I use the app to bring back to life an art style that is very near and dear to my heart, the 80’s. I’m most noted for creating my own spin on 80’s IP’s and creating by hand, the metallic word style of airbrush 80’s chrome lettering. It’s a process done all by hand, and takes hours to complete, but one I have refined over the past 10 years to what it has become today. The terms Synthwave, Vaporwave or Retrowave became well known around 2015-2016, and during a time when pop culture was shifting back to the 80’s flare, many found my art online and immediately was reminded of their favorite Trapper Keeper or poster from the era.
Sure, many artists out there create 80’s style Synthwave art, but not many tackle the airbrush chrome aspect. I think as of late, I’m most proud of the pop culture portrait style that I have invented for myself using the IOS app ProCreate. I recreate iconic faces from my childhood, and those who influenced my art styles today. I’ve painted portraits including Lon Chaney’s Phantom, Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein, Christopher Reeve’s Superman and Lou Ferrigno’s Hulk. It’s a art style that many don’t venture down, but one that brings me so much joy in the bright vivid neon’s, purples, pinks, teals and electric greens.
When I’m not drawing or painting, I also create music, and have released 4 studio albums under my own name on whatever streaming platform you subscribe to. My music is often described as moody, mellow, lo-fi and ambient. I play piano, and my collection of vintage synthesizers help convey the soundscapes and moods I’m feeling whenever I compose a new piece of music. Many of my songs have a deep rooted spiritual overtone, surrounded by deep synths, and atmospheric environments.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was definitely an introvert growing up. Typically the kid in the back of the class with a comic book on one side of the desk and a drawing pad on the other. My teachers always would talk to my parents for not paying much attention in school because I always wanted to draw. The fact is, school bored me. Mr. Rogers taught me pretty much everything I needed to know about life, so everything else was boring, HAHA!
In college and at Appalshop, I really began to hone in on my own spiritual journey and finding myself of sorts. I deep dived into lots of musical styles and genres, and watched a lot of movies. I found my calling and footing as a creative in the sleepless nights listening to Vangelis’ “BladeRunner Soundtrack” on my Sony Discman.
But, it wasn’t until I found the theatrical company Blue Man Group, that my life literally took the 180 directional change I needed to help catapult me to the next level of my personal journey.
It was around late 1999 that I caught a glimpse of something on Late Night Television that would literally alter the next 25 years of my life. Being a fan of “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” I caught glimpse of something that I could not quite explain, yet was intrigued with childlike innocence. What appeared to be clowns or mimes completely covered in blue paint with black apparel were advertised on the local news segment with Jay announcing the nightly show ahead. Kind of like teasers to tune in after the late night news. I didn’t catch their name at first, but stayed awake that night to see what these guys would do as a musical act on Jay’s show. I was immediately amazed, mesmerized and captivated at the trio of men who were making these melodic tones, and the tribal essence of the show carried my mind away. Blue Man Group was their name, and immediately after the show was over, I logged online to search who these guys were. I found their web site, but no video content or footage to keep my inspired brain going. I must have stayed awake until 4AM that night searching the web for scouring the web for more clips resulted in no hits. This was an era long before YouTube had risen to the scene, so video content was not only more rare to find online, it was impossible to find more clips of Blue Man Group particularly. A few months later in Summer 2000, I registered the username ‘rotcav’ on the official blueman.com message boards [BMMB] and dove into their their fan world conversations.
In the weeks to come, I watched more live performances of Blue Man Group on the Tonight Show including a Christmas performance of their piece titled “Rods and Cones.” The music, the energy, the mystique, the tribal percussion and nuance blew me away into another dimension of creativity. I was so inspired that on February 14th, 2001 I registered the domain name www.bluemanlibrary.com to start archiving these recordings on VHS I was collecting from February 2001’s 43rd Annual Grammy Awards all the way up to random performances on other late night talk shows, daytime television and beyond. Their message board community became the centralized hub for all things Blue Man Group related, and that’s where we found out when their next television performance were going to be. Remember, we had no YouTube and no archival footage yet to revisit these moments other than our own personal VHS home recordings from television.
In 2001, The [BML] or Blue Man Library became the official fan base for Blue Man Group. It was called “Library” for a reason, housing freely downloadable video content at a time before streaming video networks like YouTube, Vimeo and UStream were even accessible online. The web site not only become fan central for downloadable content, but a message board and live chat room were available which allowed fans a more live and “in the moment” way of connecting and sharing their own experiences with Blue Man Group. It was the highlight of my day logging online every morning and seeing what’s new in the world of blue, updating the BML and interacting with the fans. In many ways, the fans became an extended family, allowing me to reach further beyond the 4-walls of my bedroom, and eventually to major cities across the United States. With planned late night chat room sessions, fans expressively talked about their passions, and opened up to new friends and new avenues. At a time before the Blue Man fan could watch streaming video online, there was BML.
In July 2001, I had planned my first gathering of fans in Chicago for what would in later years be called a “fan meet.” Fans from the online community would meet in a Blue Man venue city, (at the time NYC, Boston, Chicago and Las Vegas), and do meet ups. It was around this time that a blue man actor with the nickname “Boomer” reached out to me from Chicago and congratulated me on my success at the BML. It was the first time I had heard from someone from the “inside” of the company, and I felt so honored. For over a year and a half, I had been sitting at home watching television and dreaming of seeing my first show. Now, for the first time in my life, I got to do just that and make a memory that would last me a lifetime of joy. Small town Kentucky boy had finally branched out, traveled on a plane for the first time, and went to a major metropolitan city. It became an awakening experience, and something I knew later in life would bring me great joy.
What was it about these blue guys that captivated me so well? Was it the fact they never spoke? Was it the incredible musicianship they carried, or was it the tribal mystique and their almost shaman like quality that allowed us as spectators to be swept away for 2 hours in their world? I think it was a little of everything honestly, and the fan base fueled my drive even more to plan more events, charities, contests, giveaways, fan meets and eventually snowball events into my life that would change me forever. One of the greatest gifts Blue Man Group gave me was the escapism from my complex and difficult life living with Hemophilia, Hepatitis C and HIV. Coming from a world of spending half of my life in hospitals and surrounded by fear and uncertainty, they gave me that outlet of allowing me to escape my life, and became the shaman in my life to usher in creativity, artistic mindsets, vivid imaginative thinking and an era of my life that I still feel was my most creative period. For that, I’ll be eternally grateful.
Now 25 years later, over 250 blue man shows under my belt, over 120 Switchback Podcasts later, having visited over a dozen cities on my many travels to see Blue Man Group, events were about to unfold that would be life changing. By 2008, I had formed a friendship with a fan from the online community from Atlanta, GA. Mike Ippolito connected with me through my radio program on WMMT-FM every week known locally as Crossroads. He and I had talked back and forth for over a year and a half online and one day he visited me in Kentucky and joined me on the radio show. I never realized that visit would change my path forever and that God was using Mike to help make a change in one man’s life that no one could have imagined. Mike’s father had recently passed, so he found solace in my radio show each week and called me regularly on the show to request some 80’s songs. Mike and I grown as very close friends through the time of his family’s loss, and hence why the visit to Kentucky to see me, and get away from his own struggles at the time. Before Mike left Kentucky, he handed me an envelope and a framed artwork with a letter. As I was reading, it was all I could do to keep it together. It was very touching and very sincere. After Mike had left Kentucky and was making his way back to Atlanta, I opened the envelope and in it was a free ticket to see Blue Man Group Orlando, the newest and latest venue at the time here in the US. I was bewildered, dumbstruck and at a loss for words but storming with emotion. I called Mike on his cell phone, and explained he didn’t have to do that, but his reply, “Please, it’s my gift to you, for being the gift to me through your friendship.” Yet again I was at a loss for words. Weeks later, I began planning a July 2008 Orlando Summer fan meet and using Mike’s ticket. Planning was well under way, and yet again, Joe was traveling to a new city, the theme park capital of the world.
They say that love often comes from the unexpected and a surprise when you least expect it, hits home. This is true for me on so many accounts, I can’t begin to delve into it’s madness of logic. It was at this fan meet, through BML, from Mike’s friendship, by his tickets and my planning of this Orlando Fan Meet, I met Alexandra Irick. Not only was it love at first sight, but it was one of those moments in life that knocks you flat on your face and rocks you to your very core. Even though we fell madly in love that weekend in Orlando, fear of when we could see each other again echoed in the back of both our minds. Alexandra lived in Cape Coral, Florida and I still lived with my parents back in Kentucky. We did manage to plan other blue man fan meets together, and after only one month of dating, I placed a promise ring on her finger at the August, 2008 Chicago Fan Meet just one month after Orlando. 2 months later, our love grew even more and it was time for me as a man to make a stand and propose to Alexandra as my wife. We were engaged on October 23rd, 2008. I did what everyone in my life thought impossible, I became engaged to the soul mate of my life. By 2009, we both relocated to Orlando together and began planning our wedding on 10-10-10.
My friend Mike became the best man at my own wedding and his two wonderful children were a part of it as well. Fate, destiny and God’s plan is a force to be reckoned with sometimes, and looking back through the past 25 years, would I have a wife, be living in paradise and thriving had not I made the BML or fell in love with Blue Man Group in 1999? It’s almost like the movie “The Butterfly Effect,” what would have happened if I didn’t pursue Blue Man Group like I had? Life long friendships, a wife, a home outside Orlando, an amazing group of friends, and a life I only could dream of back in Kentucky would have never been taken place. It’s funny sometimes how life delivers to you avenues, intersections and open doors. You either walk through them, or am left wondering “what if” for the rest of your life. Some would look at the events of my life and call it luck, predestination or just chance. Being a strong man of faith, I know beyond any doubt these events have been masterminded by God from the very beginning. I needed to connect with people outside of Kentucky, so he gave me BML. I needed to be adventurous and travel the nation, so he gave me means to do that. I needed a way to forget my complicated medical lifestyle, and for a short time focus on pure bliss and wonder, so he gave me Blue Man Group and all the many friends that come along with it. What was said to be impossible was made possible by God’s own Handiwork. I did marry, I did start my own life away from my prison of the 4-walled bedroom and now in my mid-40’s, am given the opportunity to thrive in Central Florida. I’m not a success story, I’m God’s Testimony that He molded within me many years ago.
Today, the show has forever changed my outlook and perception of what it truly means to feel blessed inside. With several of the original Blue Man Group now closed as of 2025, we set our sites on the shows and new opportunities we have. We get wonderful snapshots in life to meet new fans of the show, as well as rejoice in the kinship of familiar faces throughout the years. I’m truly thankful for every hardship, every battle and every single moment that has shaped my life to what it is today. Blue Man Group has not only been a catalyst for me to find my purpose and footing in life, but instilled in me that ‘creative spark’ to continue to push boundaries and defy the odds day after day. I deeply feel my life in many ways by the creating of this new fan base has come full circle. What started out as my way to show love and appreciation, has now, since sparked communities and friends – whom may be online – have become my family. This web site, “Blue Man Fans,” is exactly what the fan base of Blue Man Group need right now. Part nostalgia, part being there for each other and partly a home base for a new era of fans to fall in love with the production much like we did some 25 years ago. That’s why this site will always say, “For the Fans, By the Fans of Blue Man Group!” In the words of co-founder Phil Stanton, “Follow your bliss!”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://josephburke.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/josephburkearts
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- Twitter: https://x.com/JosephBurkeArts
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/popxcast
- Other: https://josephburkearts.com
Image Credits
All images hand drawn by me, and are reserved for their respective IP rights.
