‘America’s Next Top Model’ Speaks to URI About Deafness in His Life

Nyle DiMarco signs to the audience about how he went from “the deaf kid” to a successful model, actor, and starting his own production company. |Photo by Anna Meassick

Model and actor Nyle DiMarco, spoke last Sunday about deaf activism, deaf education and his own experiences as a deaf man.

‘An Evening With Nyle DiMarco,’ was put on by the Student Entertainment Committee (SEC) and featured DiMarco, who rose to fame as the first deaf model to win “America’s Next Top Model,” in 2015. This was followed by him winning the Mirrorball trophy on “Dancing With The Stars” the next year.

Sophomore Naleen Camara, president of the SEC VIP Committee, had been looking for a speaker to come to the University of Rhode Island between Demetrius Harmon, who spoke on Feb. 5, and SpringFest 2019, which begins Sunday, April 14.

“Nyle [DiMarco] ultimately jumped out because of who he is and what he would present,” Camara said. “Especially for the fact that he’s a deaf activist and that’s really cool because that’s touching on other areas that we usually don’t touch upon within SEC.”

Many students in attendance knew him from the shows he was on, but hadn’t known much of his story and were able to learn a lot about him and his experiences.

“He’s such an inspiration and he really doesn’t let his disability stop him from anything,” senior Shanice Cranston said. “It shows that even if you have a disability, you shouldn’t let that stop you.”

One thing DiMarco wanted to be clear was that he is happy to be deaf.

“I never once wished that I could hear,” DiMarco said. “I really cherish my identity as a deaf man.”

DiMarco recognized that he has a unique experience. He is part of the 2 percent of deaf people with access to a signed education. He knows nothing else apart from deafness. All 25 members of his family are deaf.

As a child, he was fortunate enough to have been afforded an education at a deaf school. However, when he was in the fifth grade, he became curious and asked his mother to enroll him in public school. She was shocked but agreed that he would spend his mornings at public school and his afternoons at a deaf school. After a week, he was begging to leave, but his mother made him stick it out.

“The reality is, the world is hearing,” DiMarco’s mother had told him. “You’re going to have to learn how to interact with hearing people in some way.”

“It was a really insightful experience,” DiMarco said. “At the same time, it was hell. It wasn’t easy. I was very limited in my language. They never really knew who I was as Nyle, they just knew me as the deaf boy.”

While he did learn and got used to being the only deaf person amongst hearing people, he still compares some of his later experiences to fifth grade. This includes his time of “America’s Next Top Model” where he felt very excluded and isolated from the other models. Still, he did not let that hurt and anger stop him and went on to win the whole season.

Before entering the entertainment world, DiMarco had taken time for himself and travelled the world. In doing so, he realized just how poor deaf education is around the world and how lucky he is to be a part of that small 2 percent.

After that experience, he had planned on becoming a math teacher and giving deaf children the education they deserve, but ended up taking a different route.

However, he realized that by being on television shows broadcast to millions of viewers, he had an opportunity to reach a large hearing community that he hadn’t been able to, particularly while he was on “Dancing With The Stars.”

“I was on the show in the first place because I wanted to invite the hearing world in and I did,” DiMarco said of his time competing and eventually winning.

First-year student Sara Gallagher was in agreement. She had been following him even longer and is currently in the process of teaching herself to sign. “I just loved the advice he gave on being inclusive and not turning your back to the deaf community,” she said.

During his time on the show, he also created the Nyle DiMarco Foundation that eventually partnered with Deaf Focus. Together, they created a bill at the state-level designed to provide deaf children with the language they need starting from birth so that the 2 percent of people with access to sign language will grow.

Just recently, DiMarco formed his own production company, Amplify Entertainment Company, which is designed to give more representation for people with disabilities both in front of and behind the camera. Still, he sees himself as a teacher, just not in the way he had planned.

“I’m just teaching in a much bigger classroom,” DiMarco said. It’s about the journey more than the path and to me, living an authentic life brought me to the right destination.”