David Chambers, known by his professional pseudonym Blindboy Boatclub, is an Irish satirist, musician, podcaster, author, and TV presenter. Boatclub is from Limerick and is best known as one half of the Irish comedy hip-hop group

The Rubberbandits The Rubberbandits are an Irish comedy hip-hop duo from Limerick city. They consist of Blindboy Boatclub (real name Dave Chambers) and Mr Chrome (sometimes Bobby Chrome; real name Bob McGlynn). During performances and interviews, they conceal t ...

, who wear

plastic shopping bag Plastic shopping bags, carrier bags, or plastic grocery bags are a type of plastic bag used as shopping bags and made from various kinds of plastic. In use by consumers worldwide since the 1960s, these bags are sometimes called single-use bags, r ...

s as masks to conceal their identities. He regularly discusses mental health, masculinity, and other socio-political issues. Since 2017, he has been making ''The Blindboy Podcast'', a

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

featuring interviews and coverage of social issues. He has also published two collections of short stories, and appeared on a number of television and podcast programmes. Between 2018 and 2019, he produced a

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...

documentary series, ''Blindboy Undestroys the World''.

Personal life

David Chambers was born in Limerick in 1984, where he attended secondary school in Ardscoil Rís. While at school, he met Bob McGlynn and formed the satirical comedy pairing

(performing under the pseudonyms "Blindboy Boatclub" and "Mr Chrome" respectively). Chambers later attended the

Limerick School of Art and Design The Limerick School of Art and Design (LSAD; ga, Scoil Ealaíne Agus Deartha Luimnigh) is a constituent art college of the Technological University of the Shannon, located in Limerick, Ireland. The school operates on three of TUS: Midwest's ...

and in 2015 he earned his MA in Social Practice and the Creative Environment, which he'd say "It's an MA inside in the art college, which is perfectly suited for artists who work away from galleries, and tend to focus on society". Chambers was diagnosed with

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

in his 30s following comments from ''Blindboy Podcast'' listeners.

Podcast

Originally touring and performing as part of a duo, Chambers (under the name Blindboy Boatclub) has produced a number of "solo" works, including a podcast which covers topics such as mental health, politics, culture, music, and history. In the ''Blindboy Podcast'', Boatclub sometimes provides "

hot take In journalism, a hot take is a "piece of deliberately provocative opinion piece, commentary that is based almost entirely on shallow moralizing" in response to a news story, "usually written on tight deadlines with little research or reporting, and ...

s" and social commentary alongside personal stories and "absurdist riffs". The podcast has also included interviews with people such as

Bernadette Devlin McAliskey Josephine Bernadette McAliskey (née Devlin; born 23 April 1947), usually known as Bernadette Devlin or Bernadette McAliskey, is an Irish civil rights leader, and former politician. She served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Ulster in North ...

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

Emma Dabiri Emma Dabiri is an Irish author, academic, and broadcaster. Her debut book, ''Don't Touch My Hair'', was published in 2019. Biography Dabiri was born in Dublin to an Irish mother and a Nigerian Yoruba father. After spending her early years i ...

Colm O'Gorman Colm O'Gorman (born 15 July 1966) is the executive director of Amnesty International Ireland. He is founder and former director of One in Four. He is a survivor of clerical sexual abuse, and first came to public attention by speaking out agains ...

Cillian Murphy Cillian Murphy (; born 25 May 1976) is an Irish actor. Originally the lead singer, guitarist, and lyricist of the rock band The Sons of Mr. Green Genes, he turned down a record deal in the late 1990s and began acting on stage and in short and ...

and other comedians, activists and academics. The podcast reportedly has 250,000 weekly listeners in Ireland and over a million worldwide listeners monthly. Boatclub has also played live tours of the podcast around Ireland and the UK, also touring in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.

Twitch stream

Beginning in 2020, Boatclub began a regular Twitch stream, which to date has featured him playing Red Dead Redemption II, while also creating live music using a combination of guitars, keyboard, drums, cowbell and his own ad-libbed vocals, and interacting with fans. From January 2021, he reduced the stream to just Thursday evenings, in order to concentrate on other work.

Television

Boatclub made a five-part documentary series called ''Blindboy Undestroys the World'' for BBC Three which explored contemporary issues in the UK. The 2018 pilot episode, which covered the housing system in the UK, was long-listed for a BAFTA award. This was followed by a four-part series in 2019 which looked at precarious employment, anxiety, the internet, and modern slavery. Boatclub has also appeared on several Irish programmes, including '' The Late Late Show'' and ''

The Tommy Tiernan Show ''The Tommy Tiernan Show'' is an Irish chat show presented by Tommy Tiernan. It was first broadcast on RTÉ One on 5 January 2017. The first two series aired on Thursday evenings, with the third series moving to a Saturday evening slot. The premi ...

''. He has also appeared on

Russell Brand Russell Edward Brand (born 4 June 1975) is an English comedian and actor known for his flamboyant, loquacious style and manner. Brand has received three British Comedy Awards: Best Newcomer (2006), Best Live Stand-Up (2008), and the award for ...

's ''

Under the Skin with Russell Brand ''Under the Skin with Russell Brand'' is a podcast hosted by comedian, actor, radio host, author, and activist Russell Brand. Format Interviews In the podcast Russell Brand interviews a variety of guests from "the world of academia, popular ...

'' and ''

The Trews The Trews are a Canadian rock band from Antigonish, Nova Scotia, consisting of vocalist Colin MacDonald, guitarist John-Angus MacDonald, bassist Jack Syperek, and drummer Chris Gormley. The band is currently based in Hamilton, Ontario. From thei ...

'' web series.

Books

He has published two collections of satirical short stories: * ''The Gospel According to Blindboy,'' Gill Books, 2017 * ''Boulevard Wren and other Stories'', Gill Books, 2019

References

{{reflist

External links

The Blindboy Podcast

The Blindboy Twitch Stream
1984 births Living people Irish male singers Irish male musicians Irish satirists Irish male comedians Twitch (service) streamers Masked musicians People on the autism spectrum Date of birth missing (living people)