 So backstage Dylan, when you were introduced as an IMG model, you kind of gasped. It's like you can't believe it. What's the story? I think it's been four years now, and I'm still like, oh my god. I'm a model just the same as like every Victoria Seeker model. Like we're assigned the same agency, oh my god, that's crazy. So it's still a beautiful moment, surprise there. We're going to talk a lot about being a fashion model, how you got into fashion. First I want to start off by asking you a little bit about muscular dystrophy. Can you share with us what is it exactly, and how does it affect or not affect your life? Yeah, so I was diagnosed at a very young age that I had. My personally specific is spastic muscular dystrophy, which it varies with everyone, but for me it's just a tightening of my muscles on my tendons. So there's times where I'm nervous or at a Beyonce concert and I'm like, oh my god. And then all of a sudden my tendons get spas out that just stops me from doing regular things. But it's not that it necessarily stops me from anything. I've just been really good at meditation and yoga and relaxing and just being in the moment and letting it happen. And that's helped a lot. What are some of the misconceptions? You've done some crazy things. Yes, so many crazy things. Let's share one or two. A perspective. I've been to Burning Man. Anyone's been to Burning Man before, but my crazy self went. And that was amazing. It was a beautiful experience because if anyone doesn't know where, it's a festival really that happens in Reno, Nevada in the desert. Nothing. In the actual desert. Not a fake desert. It's a real desert that's like 120 degrees in the day and like negative 20 at night. And I was there for seven days with this exact wheelchair in the sand. That's amazing. Tell me, how did you get into fashion? I always had fashion in me. I don't know if you ever felt the feeling where you just feel like you belong in a scenario or in a place or in a community. And I've always felt that when I was younger. My mom was a seamstress, so she constantly took work home. I used to watch her embroider baby clothes. So like the little flowers on baby clothes my mom did for hours and hours and hours. And instead of watching Peppa Pig. Well, we didn't have Peppa Pig back then, but I would watch her sew. And my dad, he was a shoe salesman. So I knew a lot about crocodile and snake skin and where leather jackets actually came from and all of that thing. I'm a very young agent that always like fascinated me with the colors and the designers and the fabrics. But I didn't take it seriously until I was in college. I went to FIT in New York here for four years. I studied marketing. And I noticed then how underrepresented my community, the disability community was in the fashion industry. We were just not existing whatsoever. And knowing now that one out of five people have a disability, whether it's invisible or invisible, was very concerning. To realize there were one billion people out there in the industry that I loved so much, I did not see myself. And were you on the editorial side at first? How were you discovered? So I was working with Tumblr. I don't know if you guys remember Tumblr. It's like, oh so 2008. Yeah. Silent moment for Tumblr. But I worked at their fashion division. And we had a release party. And that's where I met at the time, the editorial director, Diesel. And he was the first one. He gave me a job as a worldwide model for the face of Diesel. And it just went from there. And it went super viral. So then I still don't understand viralness, but wow, was that viral? And I was shooketh when that happened. And it just, it blew out of the water because it was the first time that they had someone with a visible disability in an ad done non-medically, if that makes sense. Yeah, that's crazy. And there was many people who would, I didn't even know you were in the chair. My chair is super visible. If you see the ad, it's extremely visible there. But they, I guess the perception of the person looking at the advertisement, wasn't looking at like a New York Presbyterian hospital ad. It was looking at a brand that they actually wear. And they're like, whoa, this is really trippy. And I've never heard of this before. And so that's where I began. And I still had the passion of being an editor, sorry. But I knew that at that moment in time I had to take on a different journey. And, you know, keep this conversation going. And, you know, I'm the kind of person that like if the opportunity shows up, take it. And this opportunity was so golden that I was like, okay, girl, you got this. No, I mean, you can do it. Yeah. Amazing the diesel came to you and you had plenty of others Nordstrom target. I mean, ton. Was the fashion world though welcoming at first? I mean, what, what were some of the challenges? Because I'm a Dominican, by the way. And we, as women, we're very sneaky sometimes. So I took the sneaky route and I studied my butt off in college. And I did every internship you can find. So I was already in the industry, but nobody knew I was in the industry. I was like a fly on the wall stealth. Yeah, totally. Secretly wanted to be like a 007 girl from Jay's Bond. So I kind of used it in the fashion industry. And I made my way internally first so that when this happened, when the diesel thing came out, people were already used to seeing my face at Fashion Week or any party or event or whatever. But this was just like more for like the general public to see me. And it was just beautiful. And so the fashion. So yeah, so they were still going back to your questions. Yeah. So they were accepting because they already knew my face. And I do pretty great in social settings. So it's like one of my secret superpowers that it was, they were accepting that way. But there's still needs. There's so much work to be done in the street now still. Were they accommodating though? See, that's where my Latina side comes in because not so much. Thankfully, because I spoke up every Fashion Week in New York City, I can say I don't know about Milan or Paris or London. There will always be an elevator. There will always be an access because there wasn't until I spoke up about it. And I said, I'm not a chef, so I shouldn't be able to go through the back. I should be able to go through the front like everyone else. And because I did that move, they heard me and installed it. That's amazing. Thank you. So what was your favorite shoot? You've done so many cool ones. And one I think was with Beyonce. Yes. That's still, I mean, hello. It's up there. It's pretty up there. It was myself and two other models. We were on her front page two years ago, I believe. And I was just like, wow, I've made it. Okay, I can go now. I can go. This is it. My life is complete. I was her face model for her formation to our merchandise. Wow. And that was trippy. Yeah. Yeah. We've all seen homecoming, so. What kind of feedback did you get from that? Amazing. It was amazing. It was one because I was alongside pretty much the most influential artists we have in our time right now. And the fact that she herself was like, you know what? She deserves to be here as much as everyone. And because she understands that inclusivity and diversity is very crucial and important. And representation models a million percent like somebody can fight me otherwise. But she knew that and to have someone so influential and so big and so powerful give me that opportunity that just speaks for itself. How do you define your style? I mean, do you have a certain look that you like to go after in modeling? Oh, in modeling? Like my clothing? Yeah. Or just. I always like to push buttons in modeling, specifically like different editorials. I always like to push the narrative a little farther. So, you know, I just posted something on my Instagram a few days ago about disability and sexuality and how important that is and how we are very desistentized that it's not a thing when it's very much a thing. So I did a whole photo shoot with me looking very sexy. Pushing out the buttons. So I always like to do shoots or projects that are way beyond a photo. There's more of a conversation starter. It almost seems like you go for a very mod look. I mean, I don't know. Oh, yeah. I mean, my style changes all the time. I have pink hair, purple hair, you know, rock star, grunge, whatever. What are you doing next? I mean, are you working on any other campaigns? There's a lot of cool projects coming. I'm not sure I can say that. Can you share a few? But I am. It's very, very, very, very, very beginning stages. But I am writing a book, which I'm really excited about because it's pretty much me and a book and talking about how I got to where I got spiritually, mentally, and physically. Wow. Yeah. So what is it like being a trailblazer? I mean, I don't know. It's a little pressure. Do you feel pressure? It's a responsibility. I think that we're all given things that we can handle even if we don't feel like we can handle it. They're there for a reason. And I think I was given this journey because it was bigger than itself and I am able to talk about it and do it in its full potential. But it's a huge responsibility to take because you want to make it right for the one billion people out there who have always been invited to the kick-up but never had a chance to eat. And what does it feel like being first? And do you have peers now? I mean, has the new face of fashion grown? Yeah, so much. I mean, we live in a beautiful time where social media connects us with everyone and we're able to shout our differences and we're able to make it known that we are here and we are present and our opinions matter. It's not about the corporations. It's not about the CEOs. It's about the people who are actually going out there and buying. We are the narrative and we should be able to speak on it. And it's beautiful that I'm able to talk to people around the world who may have differences but we can all come together that we all live in one planet and we should act like we do. Yeah. So what else is going on? Do you think that you'd get into entertainment at all? Like some models make that. Oh, totally. Oh, I'm here. Astronaut, let's go. Oh, yeah. I'm here to do anything. Movies, TV. Oh, yeah, absolutely. I mean, that's another big issue. I think that the media has a really interesting tendency of hiring non-disabled actors to play disabled roles and just kind of screwing up our whole narrative to the point that we're so brainwashed about what it is to live with a disability without asking a person who is actually living a disability. Are there any shows or any movies that have done it right? There's actually, yeah. I actually met the person who, in this show, it's a Netflix show called Special and it's so good. It's so good. It's so funny. Yeah. And it's done so perfectly. And the main character actually has CP. The new place, the person who has CP, which is amazing. And until we don't get that right, I think no one's allowed to play a role if you're not that person. So on the activism front, what are you, are you literally active on the activism front? 100%. Okay, what are you doing? It's the point where I post so many things on my Instagram and I'm like, oh my God, now I've become this person. Like, I'm AOC now. But I think it's crucial. I always say when you have a big platform, when you have audiences staring at the screen at what you're going to do next, I think it's important to take that opportunity and talk about the things that actually matter that can affect thousands of people. So I'm very vocal. Like, I will fight you. I will fight you on social media if you come after me. No, I tend not to fight people. But I am. I am very active on social media when it comes to activism and especially women's rights, disability rights and being Latin in this country. And what kind of advice would you give to women here that are blazing trails in different ways? Any good advice that you got that you want to share? Yeah, I think the best advice I've ever received is to be very patient and very persistent because if you're not patient, you will lose yourself. And if you're not persistent, you'll never get there. So that's the biggest advice I can give anybody and that has worked for me as well because I am the most patient person you can ever, ever meet. Ever. And it's gotten me to where I am today. Excellent. Well, enough from me asking questions. I want to open it up to the audience for a few minutes. Would anyone like to ask a question? Anyone? Okay. Please. We're going to get you a mic. Oh, I'm going to ask you a mic. Yeah. We want you to hurry. I'm not going to take her. Was there a time when you felt something had happened and you just felt so challenged in what you were trying to do that you thought there's an easier path. You just do that instead of constantly bashing my head against a wall. Yes. I mean, I think we all have those moments when you're trying to do something so apparently out of the norm that you get hit with these walls and you're like, oh man, if I just turn to the left, I'll get there quicker, but my story won't be told in the way that I want it to be told. But if you turn to the right, that's going to take me a bus ride, a bike ride, a ferry, a plane ride to Ting Book 2 until I get there. Honestly, I always choose that route because at least my story is being told through me and not through someone else. But yeah, those challenges come every single day. You just have to be persistent in knowing that you're going the right path through what your heart says to do, if that makes sense. Anyone else? Hi there. I follow you on Instagram. It's gorgeous. I'm obsessed. Thank you so much for being here. One question I had is, I would assume for every Jillian Mercado there's a million more that we don't know about in this room. I would love to hear who else, from an advocacy perspective, from a modeling perspective, from an IG perspective, who else should we be following and engaging with? The first person that came into my mind because I'm obsessed with her and now we're friends, so yay, is this girl named Nora, N-O-R, and she gives me such a perspective of what it is living as a journalist and being Muslim as well. And, oh my gosh, she's literally not only gorgeous, scary gorgeous, and you're like, are you an alien? What's going on here? But she's very informative as far as what it is being her and living, her truth and her journey. There's also another amazing disability activist called Mama Cox. Literally, M-A-M-A-C-A-X. She's amazing. She's an amputee and she's my sister because I love her so much. But she also gives a narrative and a storyline of what it is being her. And she's from Haiti, so she's like my sister country, which makes it kind of cooler. I'm Dominican, she's Haitian, so it's like... But she's somebody else that I follow. Pretty much, honestly, everyone that I follow on my Instagram is somewhere another activist or a good activist in their own field. And you have to follow people that will uplift you because if you keep following people that don't, you'll just end up in a whole trap. You don't want to get there. So, yeah. That's a good question. Anyone else? I think we're... Good. Oh, wait. One in the back. Hello. I'm also a huge fan. How has your background, because I'm a black girl, so I know how it is, especially with families of color, how has your background definitely helped to propel you to where you are today because I know as being a woman of color, we have so many battles that we have to fight. And so, I can't even imagine the type of battles that you have to fight as well on top of being a woman of color. So, just can you just explain how that has helped you to reach the point where you are today? So, it's a great question because that happens all the time and you end up in a room and you're like, why am I the only person here? Although, there's like 60 people there. You're always the only one. And I feel like that's always been me in some way or shape or form. Luckily, I use what they call weakness as strength. So, I'm loud. And so, if I don't see someone in a room that's like me or I can kind of relate to, I make it known that this is not going to end well if I'm the only one here. And there's like a billion people out there and how am I the only one representing my community? So, yeah. People might say I'm too loud but I'm just trying to help my brothers and sisters out get further along. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. I think we're out of time. Please join me once more. Thanking Jillian for coming today. This is awesome. Thank you.