Man with vitiligo who was suicidal after being bullied becomes a model

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.





Darius said as a teenager, he was always bullied and made fun of because of his skin condition and that he even considered killing himself at one point.


Darius first showed symptoms of vitiligo when he was just 12 years old.
Vitiligo can be caused by stress and after the death of his grandmother, Darius started losing the pigmentation in his hands and then it traveled to the rest of his body.
He said:

'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.


Fortunately, he got discovered by model scouts on Instagram and has since been modeling for different brands. Now he is looking to find a partner who is willing to love him with his flaws.

He said:
'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."