Marc Elliot is an American author and inspirational speaker who has been diagnosed with Tourette syndrome. Once he completed his graduation, Elliot embarked on a nationwide speaking tour outlining his experiences on growing up with Tourette's and advocating tolerance. He has given about 300 inspirational talks in roughly 40 states. He has penned a book about his condition and the importance of tolerance titled What Makes You Tic? My Journey From Tourette's To Tolerance.
He is now based in Manhattan.
Early life
Marc Elliot was born in 1985 in St. Louis. He was diagnosed with Hirschsprung's disease, a rare intestinal disease, at birth. A series of operations for the same left him with only 4 feet of small intestines. He was diagnosed at Tourette's aged nine. Elliot's case was brought into attention when he was covered by a local news channel, WTHR, for being ejected off a Greyhound. Sixteen-year-old Elliot repeatedly, and uncontrollably, shouted a racial slur. While the driver was aware of his condition, he was ejected from the bus taking him home to St. Louis as other passengers objected to his usage of the word. Elliot made his first presentation at Clayton High School.
College and career
Elliot attended Washington University in St. Louis, where he studied biology. Upon graduating in May 2008, he decided to embark upon a nationwide speaking tour, trying to raise awareness not only about his condition, but also to spread the message of tolerance which he believed was equally important. His presentation, "What Makes You Tic?", draws upon his own experiences of feeling uncomfortable and not fitting in order to discuss rudimentary messages about tolerance.
In 2011, Campus Magazine named Elliot the winner of the best speaker and best diversity artist of the year. A short documentary describing his experiences on living with Tourette's has over 500,000 views on YouTube.
Recently, Elliot has been taking human potential classes which have reportedly helped him overcome the various tics that used to affect him. His book, What Makes You Tic? My Journey From Tourette's To Tolerance, was published in January 2013. His book draws upon "...his experiences of being so different, he shares his lessons on tolerance, which have made him a wildly popular inspirational speaker. He was also recently named as an "unindicted coconspirator" in the criminal case against Keith Raniere as a part of the sex cult, NXIVM.
