Scars are beautiful
Rory McGuire, 25.
BO D
“NO
A
A
mbassador for UK charity
Changing Faces, Rory, was
born with a venous malformation
birthmark and has overcome
adversity to campaigning for
awareness and equality for all,
with a visible difference or
condition. As a child growing
up, he experienced prejudice
and bullying because of how
others reacted to his birthmark.
This had a major impact on his
teenage years which caused him
to have little to no self-esteem
and started to take a severe
toll on his mental health as he
would have to deal with cruel
comments. Rory has now evolved
in confidence since he has begun
publicly sharing his story.
“Nobody should ever judge a
book by its cover.”
Y SH O U L
“THER
E I
C
rowing up, Raphael
struggled to understand
how he was able to have a
girlfriend despite having a
birthmark on his face. “My
mum tried to tell me I could
model, but models didn’t
have birthmarks on their
face.” It took a while for
Raphael to find and accept
himself but once he took
his mother and girlfriend’s
words on board, he realised
“there’s no such thing as a
normal face.”
S
ING
G
O
Raphael, 19
S N
Picture credit: Sophie Mayanne For Behind the Scars. Instagram:
@behindthescars_ & @sophiemayanne – Behind the Scars is a
photography campaign that celebrates scars of all shapes and sizes,
and the incredible stories behind them. Rory McGuire’s Instagram:
@vmrory1993
Birthmarks are beautiful
Issue 01 | W I P E D | 15