Entrepreneur and model Sultan shares his vitiligo journey – discussing how he developed a positive mental outlook and giving advice to our community on how to build your confidence and self-belief.

“I run my own business, and that led me to become involved in a mentorship programme. One of the people on the programme also has vitiligo, and he sent me a message after one of our sessions. He said, “Hey man, I’ve got vitiligo. You’ve got it too, and I just wondered how are you so confident?”

I really connected with him in that moment, as we had both been on similar paths. We were both diagnosed as teens – he at 13, me at 12 – and had tried various treatments to “fix” our vitiligo when we were younger.

He seemed really concerned about how people perceived him and whether or not they were pitying him. I had to say to him, “You’re not your thoughts, you are your actions. You had the confidence to message me, and that was your action.”

Talking to him made me reflect on my own journey and the mindset shift I’ve undergone over time. I used to be overwhelmed with anxiety, but I forced myself to overcome that by putting myself in situations where I felt uncomfortable. I wouldn’t even call what I have confidence. It’s just me.

No matter what cards you’re dealt, I believe you have to find a way to play the hand you have. Visualisation has been a key tool in helping me maintain this perspective.

It’s definitely been a process to fully accept myself and my skin. Vitiligo first appeared as a small patch on my chest when I was 8 or 9 years old, and by 10 or 11 it had started to spread. My family took me to countless doctors because they were worried that I would get bullied.

As I got older, I started to realise that people were asking me about my skin. I was quite confused, and I didn’t know how to feel about it because I didn’t really understand what was happening to me.

When I reached my teens, I started to notice that people’s eyes were on me – everywhere I was. I became convinced that my skin was an issue, and I felt like I needed to be fixed.

I love my parents so much, and they just wanted me to feel like a normal kid, so they put all this time and effort into going through all these treatments. Some of them were super dangerous and have affected me to this day.

One day, I went to play football with my mates. I was in the sun for six hours, and I’d taken some tablets. They were prescribed by one of the doctors, who said I needed to take them to react better to the UV light therapy.

I woke up the next morning at 5am. My skin was burning, stinging, and my hands felt really weird. Everything was aching. I switched on the light, and I looked in the mirror and screamed because I was covered in blisters. It left scars on me for a year. It was really traumatic. I was ashamed and started wearing makeup to cover it up, feeling a deep sense of self-hatred.

Even after that, I kept pursuing treatment because I wanted so bad to be “fixed.” We were coming towards the end of school, and I would always be telling my mates, “I’m going to be normal soon. I’m going to be one colour.”

But one day, a close friend said something that shifted my perspective: “But you wouldn’t be you anymore.” In that moment, it clicked – this is who I truly am. I was 17 years of age at the time. I just gained this whole new perspective and began to see the good things. I started to not care about my vitiligo, and I think that’s what really drew people towards me.

It’s not always been easy. Growing up, there was no one I could look up to. I didn’t have Winnie Harlow or anyone else. There really were no vitiligo role models. Nowadays, I’m the person I needed back then. I get messages from people young and old who say to me, “Thank you. You helped me leave my house today.”

I don’t get happy that easily, but I feel really happy when I hear that I’ve positively impacted someone. That’s the only thing I care about, helping people.

Of course, there will be bad days, days when you feel like giving up, days when you feel hopeless. But your life is made up of lots of little decisions, so make those decisions count, make them take you closer to where you want to be.

If you have vitiligo and are struggling with your self-confidence, just remember that your thoughts do not define you. The more you push yourself, the more you become comfortable in uncomfortable places, you won’t just reach the place where you feel confident, you’ll exude confidence in ways you could never imagine. It all starts with those small decisions.”