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After Battling Depression For A Decade, This Brazilian Model With Vitiligo Learnt To Accept Himself
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Roger Monter is a 37-year-old model based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The special feature that makes him stand out in the crowd and has also caused major life challenges is vitiligo. It’s a rare skin disease that causes pigment loss, leaving large white patches all over the body.After the first white patch appeared on Roger’s skin at the age of 23, the world as he knew it shattered into pieces. It took a decade to accept who he really is and stop hiding behind makeup and avoiding any situation that would reveal his secret. He kept blaming himself for his skin condition after learning it can be aggravated by stress. Strangers avoided getting too close to him as they believed it was contagious, while others showered him in ill-mannered remarks about his appearance to the point that he couldn’t stand looking at himself in the mirror and was suffering from s
When’s the last time you played a card game? Did you notice anything unusual with your card deck? Indy Mellink, from the Netherlands, certainly thought that something was strange. Last summer, the 23-year-old card fan realized that traditional playing cards were, in her opinion, sexist and racist, so she created a new deck of cards that would be fully inclusive by completely removing “gender hierarchy and race differences” altogether.
Indy, spurred on by her supportive dad, founded ‘GSB Playing Cards’ where, instead of Kings, Queens, and Jacks, the cards feature Gold, Silver, and Bronze. She had a lot of time on her hands because of the Covid-19 lockdown, so she put her graphic design skills to use.
After the first corona mask project in spring, I didn t want to design any new masks. But the second lockdown in Austria, the experiences in my own environment with the coronavirus, and the events of the first days of November prompted and motivated me to continue the mask series.
In spring, it was the motivation to keep my surroundings happy; since this lockdown, the primary goal has been to motivate people to wear the mask, not by warning, but with humor and charm.
The motifs often use current global events, political decisions, or simply my experiences as an artist. The templates are often film characters, pop art motifs, and heroic figures that I embed in these days current events. Each mask is unique, and behind each, there is a message. They are not supposed to warn; they are supposed to entertain, but above all, to motivate. And not only to take the mask requirement seriously, but with humor, but also to critically question the world and current developments and decisions.
“When I was a child, I suffered a lot of bullying because of my looks and marks on the body. I spent all my childhood and adolescence hiding behind clothes and makeup. Around my early 20s, I realized that I was unique. That it made me special.”
Because she has it too and apparently it runs in the family
“Since Mayah was born, she has carried a wave of love wherever she goes. The same characteristic that caused me pain causes tenderness. What makes me happier with all this is that she is an instrument to share love, tenderness, and that being different is cool. Many people come to me to talk about hiding until they see Mayah. That before, they had something strange, and that today, they have the same as the ‘white fringe girl.’ They even know the name, piebaldism. Mayah is growing up learning to respect people and I try to teach her to be a person of values. This is my mission as a mom.”