Nyle DiMarco considers his sudden fame as a model to be quite an accident. He once had a photo session, but nothing had happened after that.
An independent film producer encouraged him to try acting and modelling, after which he landed a guest-starring role on ABC's "Switched at Birth" and had an agent in Los Angeles.
It was in November 2014 when the casting director of "America's Next Top Model" sent him a message "to ask if he is interested in auditioning for the show." Until they got a sample video of him, the people behind the American reality television series and competition did not have the slightest idea of his real condition.
DiMarco, 26, is from Frederick, Maryland. He comes from a closely-knitted deaf family as his parents, two brothers, and two more generations before him, are all unable to hear as well. But the blue-eyed model says growing up deaf "was easy." Their family treat deafness as a unique difference, similar to an ethnic group or a minority, and not as a disability. DiMarco says he appreciates his parents' support in his pursuits.
Except for the Grade 5 level, he attended deaf school all his life. He considers his math teacher at the Maryland School for the Deaf as his biggest role model. In effect, he majored in math and once thought of becoming a math teacher for the deaf himself. He is very much interested in cryptography or the study and practice of communicating through symbols.
But it seems fate has another plan for him and brought him to the world of modelling. Nyle thinks deafness is a strength in this profession. According to him, "American Sign Language requires a lot of facial and body expression. He adds that to see with his "deaf eyes" is to get nonverbal subtleties, and this makes him more sensitive to what the photographers actually want.
He would seldom have an interpreter with him while at work. He says he wouldn't always need one as he has been successful in communicating with other people all his life through lip-reading, body gestures, and taking down notes.
