Brooke talks to Nirjeet - otherwise known as The Vitiligo Sikh - who's here this week to talk about his journey of self-acceptance and empowerment. Nirjeet shares his experiences with vitiligo, a skin condition that has led to myths, stigma, and judgment throughout his life.

He talks about the importance of self-love, embracing differences, and challenging societal norms, as well as his unexpected journey into modelling, where he found a community of like-minded individuals with vitiligo. Through his initiative, Vitiligo Allies, Nirjeet aims to raise awareness, provide support, and debunk myths surrounding vitiligo. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Understanding the real you and what makes you happy is essential for self-love and acceptance.
• Embracing differences and being proud of who you are can lead to empowerment and confidence.
• Vitiligo is not contagious and is not passed on to children, debunking common myths associated with the condition.
• Building a supportive community and raising awareness can help individuals with vitiligo feel less alone and more empowered.
• Self-love and self-acceptance are key to overcoming societal judgments and embracing one's uniqueness.

BEST MOMENTS

"I'd say I'm the same as anyone else, right? We all are. But obviously the society or the people that ask the judgment and comments make you feel that you're different"

"I feel like it's very important that the amazing work we continue to give, for example, video podcasts, you're giving back to the community, you're raising more and more awareness, you're talking about these subjects, you're breaking that society norms. It's very important"

"I absolutely love my vitiligo. And on that initiative, we've started an initiative called Vitiligo Allies. And Vitiligo Allies is all about raising awareness, creating support groups, meet-ups, events, partnering with pharmaceutical companies, clinics." 

"It's a big thing to put yourself out there and to do that and embrace your differences and accept your differences and I think that's really brilliant."

VALUABLE RESOURCES

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/disabled-and-proud/id1621152878

HOST BIO

Disabled and Proud is the show that brings listeners a different perspective on disability. Each week this podcast highlights an awesome disabled guest speaking about their own disability; why they are proud to be disabled and why they are proud to be themselves. 

The conversations in this show will look at what challenges these amazing people face socially, mentally, physically and life in general. This show is raw, open, honest, funny, welcoming and educational. 

Disabled & Proud does exactly what it says on the tin! And whilst we are creating this space for disabled people to be unashamedly themselves, without the need to conform to society, this is also not about toxic positivity. This show will be shining a big, bright light on disability without it being “Paralympic or pity”. 

As you will hear disability is WHOLE, COMPLETE & PERFECT and whilst the topic of disability can be quite heavy - and we definitely don't shy away from the bad days - this podcast is also about having fun too! Our aim is to play a part in reclaiming the word disability - turning it from inadequacy to perfection!