Man bullied for being overweight becomes plus-size model: 'Being fat is not a bad thing'
The 31-year-old is on a mission to promote body positivity
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Your support makes all the difference.A man who considered himself a “fat ugly loser” after years of being bullied for his weight has become a male model.
John Savoia, 31, from Boston, Massachusetts, says he has been overweight all his life and was mercilessly teased because of his size throughout school.
So much so, that by adulthood Savoia, who weighs around 250lbs and wears an XL, was stuck in a cycle of self-loathing and convinced himself he was destined to lead a lonely, loveless existence.
However, after finding a passion in photography and companionship with his wife, Lucy Valena, his life quickly took an unexpected turn.
“My size was always a source of low self worth and low self confidence,” Savoia said.
”When I was a child, I was bullied for my weight or inability to do physical things. That was when I realised I was different in this way.
“I always felt I was never meant to be in love or no one would find me attractive.
”The longer it went the more cemented in my heart it seemed that this was my future - to be a lonely, fat, ugly loser.”
In 2006, Savoia was left bed-bound after breaking his leg and it was while recovering from this injury that he began experimenting with a point-and-shoot camera.
As he recovered, he took pictures of the outside world before experimenting portraiture and eventually turning the lens on himself.
He says the experience was the first time he was forced to face his body and it led to him learning to love his true self.
“Photography helped a lot. It gave me something I felt I was good at,” Savoia explained.
"Not just the portraiture or exposure therapy of seeing myself but a way I could connect to people. From behind the lens it didn't seem so intense.
“That was really the first time I confronted my own image in a way that was deeper than just seeing my reflection.”
Now, Savoia is one of only a handful of plus-sized male models in the fine art world and is on a mission to promote body positivity and the message that it’s okay to be fat.
“For years, rather than restrict or diet or exercise to excess, I would eat my feelings in sadness," he said.
"Now I'm in a place where I can see it's totally fine to eat whatever I want because being fat is not bad."
The photographer and male model admits that people often accuse him of promoting unhealthiness with his trademark magenta-tinged portraits.
But, he insists that what he’s really promoting is happiness.
“Being fat is not a bad thing. My body does what I want it to do and I treat it well. I am so much happier in myself," he explained.
”There are shades of grey and moments when I feel shame and self loathing, but I know on the whole I am so much more comfortable in my skin.
“I love who I am and what I'm doing.”
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