Darius Vernon who grew up shy, spent the past 14 years avoiding women after a chronic skin condition reduced his self esteem. Darius who is from Willesden, North London, suffers from vitiligo – a condition that causes the skin to lose its pigmentation creating white patches on the body. We’ve seen women who have vitiligo who have become models, Darius has also become a model after being able to overcome his insecurities.
‘I went to the doctors in 2000 and they diagnosed me with vitiligo. ‘I remember holding my mum’s hands and squeezing them because the name just sounded so scary.’
He said he was offered cream and makeup to cover the patches but he preferred to hide them with clothes.
‘I was handed this physical difference and there were no instructions to go with it – you don’t know how to deal with vitiligo.
‘I spent years hating myself and the way I looked because of the ignorance of other people – but now I’m proud of who I am.”
Source: Daily Mail