Beachwear Company Features Model With Down’s Syndrome
In this day and age, we witness how mankind has grown. One of the best examples is the fashion industry. This is often critiqued for being the cause of body image issues. However, the industry has somehow seen the root of the problem and slowly turned to become more diverse and practice inclusivity.
One of them is a Florida-based beachwear company, Surf Style. This company started to make a difference when they introduced their latest model, Ethan Holt.
16-year-old Ethan is an aspiring model who has Down’s Syndrome. He is in his junior year of high school and his accomplishments are way bigger than others who are his age. He loves soccer, basketball, and wrestling. He is involved in sports both inside and outside of school.
Despite his challenges, his incredible charisma on camera and his passion for his craft made him the first-ever face of Surf Style’s latest ad with Down’s Syndrome. The company is hoping to spread the message of inclusivity in this industry.
Fox News reported that since this young St. Petersburg model recently modeled for the clothing and souvenir retail chain, it brought so much attention tot he company’s new digital and social campaign. During his interview, Holt expressed how pleased he was for this given opportunity. He said, “I am very excited. It’s cool and I like it.”
Holt’s mom, Phoy, is equally overwhelmed by the support and attention that her son is getting. She said, “It’s definitely a mama’s proud moment.” She also shared how her son loves the water which is why the Surf Style gig was perfect for him.
For her, this was a match made in heaven. She also revealed that Holt has been on the Special Olympics paddleboard team as well as the swim team.
Now you might wonder how he got this modeling gig?
It was through the efforts of a nonprofit organization, Help Us Gather (HUG). Their main goal is to provide every individual with a sense of inclusion, confidence, and most importantly – friendship. The organization reached out to Surf Style and introduced Holt. Since HUG is helping work towards breaking the barriers for those who are living with disabilities, they knew that Holt would be the perfect person to set an example of inclusion.
If you visit Surf Style’s website, you will be able to truly understand how this campaign came to fruition. They wrote:
They added, “We jumped on the opportunity to include Ethan in our marketing, not only because of his incredible charismatic personality and love of the camera but also to set an example of inclusion… What makes Ethan a great representation of our brand is in his commitment to water sports.”
According to his mom, Ethan has a lot of things that he wanted to accomplish in his life. He wants to be a YouTuber and a social media influencer. We are sure that no matter what Ethan wants to achieve in his life, Phoy will always be there to support him and be his number one fan!
According to his mom, Ethan has a lot of things that he wanted to accomplish in his life. He wants to be a YouTuber and a social media influencer. We are sure that no matter what Ethan wants to achieve in his life, Phoy will always be there to support him and be his number one fan!
