Nyle DiMarco always “wants to see how far I can go.” The America’s Next Top Model AND Dancing With the Stars winner is now sharing his life story in his new memoir Deaf Utopia which will be released on April 19th, 2022. The 32-year-old model, actor, producer, and deaf activist sat down with People magazine to discuss how he is using his platform to change the world.
As to why DiMarco decided to write a memoir, “Growing up, I rarely saw anyone like me on TV. My goal is to share untold stories about deaf culture, community, and language.” The ANTM cycle 22 winner has been sharing these untold stories for years on screen. According to People Magazine,
“DiMarco produced Deaf U – a Netflix reality series that follows the lives of deaf and hard of hearing students at Gallaudet University, his D.C. alma mater – and the documentary short Audible he produced was just nominated for an Oscar.”
The DWTS champion started his own production company in 2020 explaining,Â
“I wanted to make deaf and disabled stories and to see members of my community in production roles and in director’s chairs.”
It hasn’t been an easy road for DiMarco, and there are still barriers to break,
“The entertainment industry has a way of reminding me every day that I’m deaf. So many hearing people don’t really see me as woven into the fabric of hearing society. They still have that distance with me, even now.”
The future does seem bright for DiMarco and the openly queer and single hunk sees marriage and kids as a distinct possibility,Â
“I thought I’d have kids by 27. I’m still very open but I’m good either way. Obviously the most important thing is a healthy child, but if they were deaf I’d celebrate twice as hard.”
In his memoir, DiMarco opens up about being deaf and the first impressions on people. Here, in an excerpt from Deaf Utopia he elaborates on those impressions,Â
“Anytime I meet someone new, I know the first fact that registers in their heads is that I’m Deaf. Sometimes it puts me behind the eight ball and I have to work a hundred times harder to overcome – ans change – the negative stereotypes and stigma surrounding that fact. And other times people think it’s nothing short of amazing, and it’s all I can do to prove that I’m just an ordinary person who happens to communicate primarily using their hands.”
Deaf Utopia will be released on April 19, 2022. We leave you with DiMarco and DWTS partner Peta Murgatroyd performing a now-iconic dance to The Sound of Silence.Â
Sources: People
