With her charcoal-dark skin, Nyakim Gatwech is certainly a head-turner but the charming young woman has broken beauty standards and defied bullies as she becomes a professional model.
Photo credit: Twitter / @queenkim_nyakim
Nyakim hails from South Sudan but has become a fashion icon based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Photo credit: Twitter / @queenkim_nyakim
The 24-year-old Sudanese lady went viral after an Uber driver told her to bleach her skin because she is too dark. Instead of getting angry, the young lady smile and told the driver that she’s actually earning money from her very dark skin.
Photo credit: Twitter / @queenkim_nyakim
An advocate for diversity, the fashion icon has been dubbed as the “Queen of the Dark”, obviously for her skin but not for her heart. The young lady continues to champion for the rights of other dark-skinned minorities like herself.
Photo credit: Twitter / @queenkim_nyakim
“Black is beautiful, bold and can be likened to gold…. Don’t let your African soul be damaged by American standards,” Nyakim urged.
On her social media accounts, Nyakim would caption her photos with words of encouragement for other ladies. She expresses pride in her skin color and urges other ladies, whether they have light or dark skin, to embrace their colors and be proud of themselves.
Photo credit: Twitter / @queenkim_nyakim
“My chocolate skin is elegant, so is what I represent…..A nation filled with warriors,” she wrote in one of her social media posts.
As for her encounter with the Uber driver, Nyakim simply laughed off his suggestion that she bleach her skin.
Photo credit: Twitter / @queenkim_nyakim
“It will be hard for you to believe the kind of question and looks I get for having this skin,” she told the driver, referring to the modeling offers she actually gets in the fashion world.
Can Anyone Become a Model?
These days, a lot of people don’t have to wait to be ‘discovered’ by a talent or modeling scout because there are lots of ways to become a model and use this as a stepping stone to becoming a professional model.
Photo credit: Twitter / @queenkim_nyakim
Many model hopefuls contact modeling agencies with their portfolios. Others make their own social media accounts, particularly Instagram, where many talent scouts search for new talents.
Photo credit: Twitter / @queenkim_nyakim
But the bottom line is that anyone can be a model these days; however, not everyone is lucky enough to be a professional model and get paid a lot of money to represent a brand or product.