Nicky and Sanele met on the set of a TV show in Amsterdam. Now, these new faces are inseparable — brought together by personal adversity and the desire to change the world.
Modelling was not the obvious path for either of them.
Sanele: I was raised by a single mother in my hometown in Durban, Kwa-Zulu Natal, and a host of devout, praying women groomed me to be the man that I am now. The only father figure I had was my grandfather, who passed on in 2003. He taught me everything I know about jazz. He said he thought I was a Caucasian child and that my mom brought the wrong child home with her when I was born, but he was schooled by my grandmother about albinism. I wanted to become a professional swimmer growing up as a teen or have my own jazz/soul segment on a radio show cause I have a passion for jazz, the blues, and soul music. But I was scouted at the age of 15 after an exam and kind of fell in love with my job and the amount of change I could bring to the industry. I realised I wanted to use it as a vehicle to educate people about albinism through fashion.
Nicky: For me, it was kind of a fluke. When I was younger people used to tell me I really should try modeling, but I wasn’t the kind of person to just grab some pictures and head to a modeling agency. I ended up with at an agency meeting for an interview and some polaroids but was told that I wasn’t really the type that they were looking for. After that, I gave up and just kept on working in construction. I was about 21 at the time.
So here comes the funny part: after working at a new company in construction for a couple of months, I got approached by this girl from London at the construction site where I was working. She asked me if I was a model, to which I obviously answered ‘no, of course not. Otherwise I wouldn’t be standing up to my knees in dirt!’
She started laughing and asked if she could take a picture of me. About a week later when she got back to London, she made a meme out of it and posted the picture on Twitter! What happened then was kind of like out of a movie or something…
People didn’t know who I was but started searching for me on social media. At one point I literally woke up being called by the radio, newspapers, and television asking me what was happening. When I checked on my social media it was exploding, which then resulted in getting different modeling offers.
Television brought them together.
Sanele: We first met a few hours before our interview on the Jinek show and instantly connected, it was like we hadn’t seen each other for years. He’s an amazing spirit; everybody needs a Nicky in their life. He’s literally like a brother to me.
Nicky: It wasn’t until after the show that we went for a drink and started talking but I immediately noticed that there was a connection between us. Not only in our interests but also in our way of thinking… I found it quite funny when he told me he was a writer back in South Africa. It sort of completed the puzzle for me, like I immediately understood why he thought about things the way he did.
We ended up talking about all sorts of subjects for hours, like racism, religion, jealousy, hate, love… and the list goes on. We both have a very strong opinion of our own, but are also very open-minded people and like to observe, learn and listen, so I think that’s where our connection really comes from.
The struggle has been real.
Sanele: I was bullied and picked on because I was so different to everyone else. I remember I had an identity crisis growing up, as some kids didn’t think I was black and called me all sorts of really crude names like ‘Mayonnaise,’ ‘Tippex,’ ‘Milk of Magnesia,’ ‘Casper’… the list is endless. I even wanted to be addressed with a non-African name so I didn’t get all the constant questions from people. But those hard times made me everything I am today.
Nicky: When I was about 10 or 11 my dad went away for like 6 years. He had to do time in prison because of drug trafficking. My older sister really had a hard time dealing with it. She kind of always was daddy’s little girl, so when he went away she started acting out by hanging with wrong people & doing petty crimes. I noticed how hard it was for my mom stressing about my dad and my sister, and I didn’t want to create any more problems or situations. So all I did was go to school and help at home. I kind of gave up on my own youth. After my dad got out I started acting out though because I felt like I had missed out on so many things… that wasn’t good of course, but if you think about it it’s kind of a logical reaction! I started skipping school & hanging out with the wrong people. That went on for like 2 years until I saw that I wasn’t heading in any particular direction and really was standing still.
They both feel they have a calling.
Sanele: I’ve started an outreach program that collects stationery, study aids, and school shoes for kids in children’s homes, and I teach kids in preparatory school about different types of skin conditions and the beauty of diversity. I want to be an agent of change in society, change people’s mindsets regarding beauty and differences and that we all come in different shapes, sizes and shades. My mission in this game called life is to help people to love themselves in their own skin.
Nicky: The end game would definitely be to be able to help other people in the world, for example by using my name or face get attention for certain subjects… especially injustice because I feel that that is one of the biggest problems in the world right now.
Photography — Lenni Mattanja
Models — Nicky Libert & Sanele Zaba @ Elite Amsterdam ()