PDC

'I want to try and raise awareness and hopefully help get closer to a cure' - Ryan Searle opens up on struggles with genetic eye disease

Originally posted on Dartsnews.com | Last updated Jul 8, 2025 9:52 AM ET

One of the PDC's rising stars, Ryan Searle is sponsored by manufacturer Harrows Darts. Recently, 'Heavy Metal" sat down to tackle some of the internet’s most searched questions about himself.

Appearimg in a light-hearted video on Harrows' YouTube channel, alongside fellow PDC pros Luke Woodhouse and Damon Heta, Searle mixes humour with some more personal insight — from favourite darts setups to family life and health challenges.

Known for throwing some of the heaviest darts on tour, Ryan Searle was asked about his unique setup. “I use my own 32g Harrows darts,” said Searle, a former major finalist at the 2021 Players Championship Finals. “Pretty easy, pretty simple.”

Searle also addressed a topic that’s long intrigued darts fans — his eyesight. He lives with a rare condition called dominant optic atrophy, a genetic eye disease that affects vision.

“It’s getting there — pretty close,” he joked when asked if he was legally blind. “But no, not quite. I can still legally drive, just about.”

“I wear contact lenses now, so it’s not as bad. My vision’s not as blurry anymore. I don’t have to keep stopping to ask what I’ve scored or what’s left, and that’s helped my game a lot.”

Searle only discovered he had the condition in the past couple of years — after his daughter was diagnosed.“It comes in different severities — mine’s fairly bad, but hers is really bad. She’s registered as visually impaired and she’ll probably never be able to drive."

"I’ve been speaking with a charity who are trying to raise money to find a cure because there isn’t one," he concludes. "Whatever vision you’re born with, that’s what you’re stuck with. I’m going to have a patch on my shirt soon for the charity, to try and raise awareness and hopefully help get closer to a cure.”