silentgrapevine
0
0
Traveling the world alone can be a daunting prospect for anyone, but deaf activist Nyle DiMarco didn’t see his hearing as an issue when he set off to backpack solo around Europe and North and South America for a year, making new friends, trying new foods (like spiders, eek), and sometimes even sleeping in parks or on the street. After traveling, he became a participant on—and eventually won—the final season of America’s Next Top Model. Now, he has graduated to a role as a contestant on Dancing With the Stars, disproving the myth that deaf people can’t dance.
Conde Nast Traveler had the opportunity to meet and interview DiMarco last week, the same day he scored the first perfect ten of the season on DWTS. In addition to being an exciting story to report, I had personal reasons for wanting to meet DiMarco—although I’m hearing, I grew up with a deaf father and a hard-of-hearing mother, so American Sign Language is also my native language. The chance to conduct an interview in ASL with someone whose life’s work is to celebrate and advocate for the language was a special opportunity, both personally and professionally.
The March 2016 issue of Condé Nast Traveler was dedicated to the reasons why we travel, and why travel is an important, brave act in our quickly changing world. Some people could see deafness as a reason to stay close to home, but DiMarco refused to pass up opportunities to see the world. Hearing or deaf, that’s inspiration for us all.
Dancing With the Stars’ Nyle DiMarco on Waltzing Deaf and Traveling Solo
