Samuel Silva was born in Bahia, Brazil, with white streaks in his hair and light patches on his skin.
He has piebaldism, a rare genetic condition in which some areas of the body do not produce melanin. It does not affect his health. Even so, his family did what many would have done: they shaved his head so the marks would go unnoticed.
Later, they changed their minds. They realized that what mattered was for Samuel to grow up proud of his skin.
His mother, Nivianei, and his grandmother have the same mark on their foreheads, and his uncle Julio Sanchez Velo says they raised him to accept himself and his differences. They let his hair grow into an afro and created an Instagram account to share his photos.
The account caught the attention of the children’s modeling agency Sugar Kids.
His face appeared in magazines such as Junior Style London and Bazaar Kids, and he made his runway debut at fashion weeks in Toronto, Paris, and London.
At 7 years old, the boy they had first tried to hide was already known in the fashion world.
