If you're familiar with vitiligo, then you know how hard it is for those who have it to really embrace their changing bodies.
One of the people at the forefront of vitiligo awareness is Roger Monte, a model and activist from Brazil. He went from hating his skin to absolutely adoring it!
The 37-year-old male model from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil has vitiligo, a skin condition that causes pigment loss. Vitiligo is an autoimmune condition that usually develops under the age of 40.
People began looking at him differently, and went as far as flat-out avoiding him in public.
"I had people avoid sitting next to me on public transport, thinking that my vitiligo was something that they could catch by being close to me," he told the Daily Mail.
"I didn't like what I saw in the mirror and I wore makeup to cover my vitiligo for ten long years. It felt like I was being held hostage."
Their support and encouragement helped him see his skin as something unique and beautiful.
"'One day, I just woke up, took out my cell phone, took a picture and posted it to Instagram."
Suddenly, he had a whole new audience to interact with who all loved his skin! People immediately began reaching out to share their own experiences with vitiligo, which helped him feel less alone.
"I had never had a photo of me get so many comments and likes. People I hadn't seen in years were praising my skin and saying that they had never noticed that I had the disease."
"I even had a boy who had also been hiding his own vitiligo with makeup contact me to say that my posts had inspired him to stop hiding his skin. Another girl even got in touch to say that my story had helped cure her depression."
Roger has over 34,000 followers on Instagram now, and all of them just adore him. He tries his best to spread love and acceptance to every single one of them.
"If my photos are able to help other people embrace their true selves, then I am happy. I made the camera my ally as opposed to my enemy and I can't wait to see what the future holds."
h/t Bored Panda
