Shaun Ross: Meet fashion's first albino male model

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Meet Shaun Ross, the first African-American male model with albinism.

He has taken the world of style by storm, appearing in fashion campaigns for British GQ, Italian Vogue, Paper magazine and Alexander McQueen.

theGrio slideshow: African-American albino celebrities

The 20-year-old Bronx native was recently featured in Katy Perry’s video for “E.T.” and also Beyoncé’s video for “Party.”

WATCH theGRIO’s CHRIS WITHERSPOON INTERVIEW MODEL SHAUN ROSS:
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In an interview with theGrio, Ross talked about how he got his start in the fashion industry from a YouTube video he posted 5 years ago, and the many obstacles he has overcome in order to be the first ‘albino male model doing it.’

Ross says that he finds inspirations from his friends and family, but also in his achievements.

“My accomplishments inspire me to do more. My drug is to inspire people. To give people hope that they can be anything they want to be.”

Along the way to fame, Ross has rubbed shoulders with many celebrities including Beyoncé. He is friends with her stylist Ty Hunter, who introduced him to the “Love On Top” singer two years ago. Beyoncé complimented him on his striking appearance saying “you are so beautiful.”

“She allowed me to listen to her song “Party” two years ago before it came out, and she said ‘when the song comes out I want you to be in the video,’ and she kept her promise two years later,” Ross said.

As for his future plans, Ross says he wants to become an inspirational figure, “I want to be there for people that are finding this gap in their lives, that they just for some reason can’t cross. I want to be their inspiration to help them get over that gap.”

Follow Chris Witherspoon on Twitter at @WitherspoonC