Jett Sladden’s professional life has been a success and clearly wasn’t dictated by his vitiligo. He is currently 22 years old and owns a food business as well as a delivery service in Brooklyn, where he was born and raised.
Jett was a private contractor for multiple companies where he gained a reputation of getting things done and trust to receive his own contracted work. He spent 6-7 years focusing on the delivery business. Result? He now has his own Delivery service that offers same-day delivery for everything and anything. Now, that Jett has started modeling and been doing some acting, people make him not wear any makeup. But, was Jett always that confident to ditch makeup? Let’s find out.
Jett discovered his first vitiligo Patch at the age of 8. Having a rare skin condition was definitely difficult for a child because, at the time, no one really heard of it.” I went to a small private school, from Kindergarten to 8th grade. Since I had the same friends from Kindergarten, it was odd for other kids to see me change. They did not know what it was and they would call me names. Some wouldn’t want to sit with me and some were even scorned by others because they wanted to know more about it,” the young model recalls.
There were no books or songs or anything that encouraged Jett. It was the young man who encouraged himself. The New Yorker shares, “I didn’t really pay any attention to it until someone would say something rude to me. I was always an active kid. I almost had so much to do that I distracted myself to get away from rethinking all the bullying from each day.”
When Jett was 13, he went to High School, and that’s where all the bullying stopped. Everyone loved him. And, dating with vitiligo did not seem that difficult. But, this was the time when he had to spread his makeup to his entire face. It was Jett’s current girlfriend who helped him go make-up free: “When I started dating her, I would wear makeup outside but at home, she never minded the real look of who I was. She loved it and actually thought that the real beauty of who I am was being covered up. She made me want to seek more for myself along with owning my businesses.”
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Today, Jett has gone make-up free and couldn’t be happier. “People always ask me if I would want my color back or if I would try a topical cream or some sort of treatment and I always say NO. I would never want my color back, this is who I am and it may have taken me a while to get here through all the bullying but I am proud of the people I am surrounded with as well as my new look and the awesome things people have to say to me up until this day,” Jett makes a point.
It’s no secret that there are many things people often get wrong about vitiligo. Jett has found the perfect answer to satisfy their curiosity: “Some people think I was burnt, while some assume it to be a rash. Whenever someone asks me if I am wearing a cream on my face, I commonly respond – That is my skin.”
We hope Jett’s story continues to inspire many youngsters who are struggling with low self-esteem. “I want them to see and hear my story and know that it was hard to get through it all, but now I am as happy as ever with my looks and profession,” the vitiligo crusader signs off.
