well-known model in New York circles, JP is living his best life. But despite appearances, it wasn’t always this easy. A normal, well-adjusted little boy, JP was just like his classmates up until the age of seven, when a freak accident during a rugby game left him with serious injuries in both eyes. “I woke up in the hospital and the doctor informed me that I had suffered retinal detachment and that I was going blind,” he says. The doctors performed an emergency operation, but unfortunately, they were unable to save his left eye, leaving it shrunken and deformed. “I was devastated,” he remembers. “I finally returned to school and was bullied because of what I looked like. They said I was ugly. I was called a cyclops and made to feel like an outcast.”
I was called a pirate and was constantly made fun of for being different, yet again. I realised there was nothing I could do
JP was devastated. He went home in tears and told his parents what had happened. His dad suggested he wear an eyepatch, saying that if the kids couldn’t see his eye, they would stop bullying him. The next day, he wore his eyepatch to school. “The bullying got worse. I stood out even more, which made me an even bigger target,” he says. “I was called a pirate and was constantly made fun of for being different, yet again. I realised there was nothing I could do. I would face ridicule no matter what I did, which ultimately led to me suffering from depression at an early age.”
One day, after the bullying had been especially bad, JP went home and Googled ‘one-eyed models’.
“I desperately wanted to find someone I could relate to. In hindsight, I realise what I wanted more than anything was hope. I wanted to see if there was someone like me out there who was able to seamlessly fit into society. I needed a role model, someone who could show me that I could be successful despite what I looked like. Sadly, at the time, there was no one like that.”
Thanks to my prosthetic eye, I was able to regain some of my confidence
Life continued in much the same vein. Then, at the age of 14, JP’s mum found out about a prosthetic eye that could fit over the damaged one. “I was overjoyed! This prosthetic gave me the chance to finally be normal; to fit in. I started wearing the prosthetic, and all of a sudden, people treated me differently. Now that I looked normal, I was able to make friends, I was able to get girlfriends. I worked hard and became a male model. Thanks to my prosthetic eye, I was able to regain some of my confidence,” he smiles.
But as he grew older, JP says he became tired of pretending to be normal. “As an adult, I started to realise that I wasn’t happy because I wasn’t being true to myself. So I stopped trying to fit in and stopped wearing my prosthetic eye. Rather than look normal, I chose to embrace the fact that I was different.
“I chose to wear an eyepatch. I started posting pictures on social media and telling my story. I was showing the world that I wasn’t scared to be different, and people noticed. I gained a large following, especially on TikTok and Instagram. As my reach grew, I
was able to inspire children who have also lost an eye, and in this way I was able to help them embrace their authenticity, instead of trying to fit in and be ‘normal’.”
Soon after, JP moved to New York City to pursue his modelling career. He started getting noticed, especially since many people said he resembled Thor in the movie Thor: Ragnarok. “The New York Avengers, a charity group, noticed me and asked me to join them,” he says. The New York Avengers is a group made up of remarkable people who go around children’s hospitals dressed as superheroes, inspiring children diagnosed with cancer.
Without realising it, JP, now a champion of body positivity and a beacon of
hope for many, had also become the world’s first one-eyed model. But he is quick to say that it’s about more than that. “After working with the New York Avengers, I was invited to model on stage during New York Fashion Week, an experience that opened many doors for me. I am proud to say that I am now modelling for some of the biggest eyepatch companies in the world. I’m also studying to become an orientation and mobility specialist through the Borough of Manhattan Community College and working as a personal trainer while studying. I have become the person I needed when I was a child,” he smiles. “I healed from my trauma and became the most confident, best version of myself. I went from being an insecure little boy to living my dream life.”
JP hopes that his story inspires and encourages others going through what he did, to see it as an opportunity instead of in a negative light. Somewhere in the world, he adds, someone has just been in an accident or has retinoblastoma (eye cancer) and they feel broken and alone. “You might feel like this is the worst thing to ever happen to you, but you need to know there are people out there going through the same thing, and that you can still be confident in your current situation. See it as an opportunity,” he says, “a chance to show the world just how strong you really are.”
JP advises to put your faith in God and remember that this is not where your story ends. Work hard and become the person you needed the most when you were at your lowest. “I have become the world’s first one-eyed model, I have a beautiful wife, May, who supports me, and I live in one of the most vibrant and amazing places, New York City. I hope my story inspires someone to be authentic, and more importantly, to always dream big. As long as you never give up and work hard, your dreams can come true. Anything is possible if you work hard and believe in yourself!”
