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- How Long Have You Had Diabetes?
- How Did You Become Involved with Type 1 Advocacy?
- Tell Us How You Came to Be Diagnosed with Hidradenitis Suppurativa.
- Does Having HS Affect Your Diabetes Management?
- Why Did You Decide to Get Involved with HS Advocacy?
- How Old Were You When You Started Performing Live?
- Tell Us About Your Experience on American Idol.
- Where Do You See Yourself 15 Years from Now?
I was diagnosed at 3 years old. The story involves my mom, who taught kindergarten, and my babysitter, Gail. One day, Gail said I was drinking a lot of water and “peeing like a diabetic.” Ironically, they’d just been having a conversation about a young girl we knew who’d been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and my mom said, “I could never give my ch...
It was almost by accident, funnily enough. Our JDRF NYC Chapter friend was doing a photoshoot in the city for JDRF’s annual financial report cover. I was 5 or 6 at the time. Turns out the boy who was supposed to do the shoot got scared and backed out, so they asked my mom to see if I was interested. Me being me, I said absolutely—any opportunity to...
At age 14, I got an abscess on my forehead, which grew over two or three months to be about the size of a ping-pong ball. I named it Bob, which I talk about in my TED talk.And that was sort of a testament to my having type 1—I didn’t care about being different. It was almost like a strength for me. I found a way to make it interesting and people wo...
Actually, it’s helped. With HS I can only eat really, really clean, healthy foods—pretty much a paleo diet, only what a caveman could eat. I eat grass-fed meat, salad/greens, vegetables and that’s pretty much it. No starches. No grains. No dairy. No sugars of any kind except honey. My numbers flatlined as soon as I really stuck to that diet. And I’...
JDRF advocacy launched me into HS advocacy. When I got the condition I thought, “All right, where are the billboards? Where are the commercials about this thing?” I was used to the amazing support system around type 1. It just seemed natural to talk to people about it. In Florida, I came back to school after being bedridden for two months with all ...
After moving to Santa Barbara, I competed in my high school talent show called Royals Got Talent. That was the first time I’d ever played guitar in front of people, and it was in front of my entire school, 1,400 people in my school auditorium. I don’t get nervous much on stage, but that was kind of nerve-wracking. After that was the local Santa Bar...
You know, anytime anyone hears you sing, if you’re a good singer, they say, “You should do ‘The Voice.’ You should do ‘American Idol.’” My idols are people who didn’t do talent shows to get famous. They worked on their character and songwriting and becoming incredible musicians. So I always found the idea somewhat disingenuous; I didn’t really see ...
I’d love to be a touring and recording musician. I’d like to be a household name for music and for type 1 and HS advocacy, and inspire people to chase their dreams. I see myself speaking to Congress someday on behalf of T1D and HS and connecting with amazing people from all walks of life worldwide, as I enjoy acting too. The sky’s the limit.
Apr 15, 2019 · Santa Barbara’s Jackson Gillies Says ‘American Idol’ Was Stepping Stone to Greater Things. Local singer-songwriter says exit from ‘American Idol’ drove him to write more songs,...
Jackson Gillies was a contestant on Season 17 of American Idol. Jackson auditioned in Los Angeles. He sang "Make It Rain" by Foy Vance. All three judges voted "yes", sending him to the next round. Jackson's stay in Hollywood wasn't shown much, but after his untelevised final solo performance, he...
You saw him on American Idol, now Jackson Gillies is using his spotlight to educate not only about type 1 diabetes but about another, more rare condition he’...
Mar 18, 2019 · Jackson Gillies auditioned for Season 17 of American Idol. American Idol will conclude its audition episodes Monday night. And among the singers we’ll meet is Jackson Gillies, a 19-year-old from the Santa Barbara area of California.
