Shaun Ross : A Muse

A few days ago, I asked my mom, "Any ideas for a new blogpost?" and she told me to write about this beautiful person, Shaun Ross. When talking about models, a vast majority of the "mainstream" audience would only recognize famous faces; like Cara Delevigne, Kendall Jenner & Gigi Hadid. But none of them would even know about Albino models which I feel should be given more exposure, especially in the fashion industry.

I once did a presentation about Shaun Ross, (a name not many are fully aware of) who was the first ever international male model with albinism. Ross was born in Bronx, May 10, 1991 is an African American professional model, actor and dancer. Growing up as an Albino person was rough according to Ross. He was bullied, he was called horrible names like, Powder, Bread, Paper and Casper. Most people think he's just ugly and a mess. In 2008, his life completely changed. At the age of sixteen, Ross was discovered on Youtube and was approached to pursue modelling. Ross was signed by a model agency later on.

"After becoming a model and being accepted slowly, very slowly, I saw a shift which in turn inspired me. I felt I had a duty, that I needed to do something, that I could make a difference. I completely changed my perspective."

Shaun Ross have been featured in numerous fashion publications such as Vogue, British GQ and I.D Magazine. Ross has modeled for McQueen, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week and also the New York Fashion Week. Ross has also appeared in music videos including Katy Perry's "Extraterrestrial" (E.T), Beyonce's "Party" and "Pretty Hurts" as well as Lana Del Rey's short film, "Tropico".

Above, Shaun Ross poses with fellow friend, Diandra Forrest who was the first female albino model and also an African American. After such huge achievements, Ross felt that he had a duty to change our perceptions towards albinism and to a create self-encouragement movement for individuals with albinism called "In My Skin I Win". It has grown to become a phenomenon that everyone can relate to as the core idea of his foundation was to help children with albinism; to collect funds for their schools and medications. "In My Skin I Win" is to encourage everyone around the world to feel comfortable and be confident in their own skin no matter what.

The increasing number of albino models walking for runways and gracing independent magazines (Yayyy!) has made Shaun Ross a greater icon. He has opened up a platform for individuals to express themselves and to voice out their confidence. I admire and applaud him, for he has inspired many people including me and that he has also proven himself to the world despite being just a little different. I learned that we should always be proud of ourselves, be honest, be strong, be humble and never let criticism put you down. Shaun Ross has also taught me to love and respect individuals, peculiar or not. He's definitely a living A R T, an inspiration and definitely my muse.

"I don’t want people to feel sorry for me because I don’t feel sorry for myself. I am extremely proud of myself and I wish everybody would be proud of themselves."

Till then. Auf Wiedersehen!