CARLTON DANK
My name is Carl R. DeForest but I go by Carlton Dank.
I almost died 10 times and have had over 20 surgeries.
I was born on October 17, 1989 at 10:51 p.m.
My birth mom is Caucasian and my birth dad is black.
At the time of me being born my birth mom was living with her mother whom was against black people. So my birth mother told the judge “She was raped by a black man”. That’s just one of the few reasons why I was put up for adoption. My birth mom did crack which caused one of my health problems. I have only one working lung. People say I’m a fighter. When I was born I was put on a lot of machines to help me breathe and stay alive. One of the medications they put me on end up causing me to lose my hearing. Yes, I am hard of hearing. I’ve been put into a couple different foster care families.
As I was growing up I was picked on about the sound of my voice, how I couldn’t hear like the others, how my body looked, or how I just looked different from everybody else.
“The impossible is possible, just believe in God.”
At around the age of 7 years old I played basketball and baseball. I’ve always been doing something with running. When I got to middle school I kept doing sports even got into track. But never took anything serious until I got to the 8th grade. In high school I played basketball for a year. I told myself that I didn’t find that sport fun. So I gave up on basketball and decided to go back to track. I did indoor and outdoor track and almost broke the 4 by 100 meter record as a freshmen. My sophomore year I wanted to run cross country and I did. My coaches, foster mother, and doctors told me not to do it. I ran a reasonable time and placed 8th in states for indoor track. In the 11th grade I added wrestling to my list of activities. Everybody thought that wrestling would really be an ending for me, but it wasn’t. In the same season I ran track, I placed 6th in states. In the spring, I placed 1st in my conference in the 4 by 100 meter race. Three weeks before that meet I got injured and never told anyone until about four days before my track meet. I finally had to tell my coach that I dislocated my big toe and could only run one race. This time around I went to states and lost.
The same year went to regionals and lost because one of my teammates pulled a hamstring. My senior year I only ran indoor because my toe injuries came back. June 7, 2009 I graduated from Beachwood High School. In August of 2013 I became the first hearing impaired model from Cleveland, Ohio.
I’m an inspiring model. I chose modeling because there aren’t many males doing it, plus I love taking pictures. I feel that I am very photogenic. I am deaf and use American Sign Language to communicate. I am an easy person to work with and can also read lips.
“Never ever apologize for what you are. You were created for a reason.”
My biggest dream is to be published on a magazine, catalog, website, or in worldwide stores. I love challenges! If you’ve never worked with a deaf model before then give me a chance! I can guarantee you will come back wanting to work with me again.
I believe in developing a great relationship with my photographers because that will also result in a great product from the two of us.
“The impossible is possible, just believe in God.”
At around the age of 7 years old I played basketball and baseball. I’ve always been doing something with running. When I got to middle school I kept doing sports even got into track. But never took anything serious until I got to the 8th grade. In high school I played basketball for a year. I told myself that I didn’t find that sport fun. So I gave up on basketball and decided to go back to track. I did indoor and outdoor track and almost broke the 4 by 100 meter record as a freshmen. My sophomore year I wanted to run cross country and I did. My coaches, foster mother, and doctors told me not to do it. I ran a reasonable time and placed 8th in states for indoor track. In the 11th grade I added wrestling to my list of activities. Everybody thought that wrestling would really be an ending for me, but it wasn’t. In the same season I ran track, I placed 6th in states. In the spring, I placed 1st in my conference in the 4 by 100 meter race. Three weeks before that meet I got injured and never told anyone until about four days before my track meet. I finally had to tell my coach that I dislocated my big toe and could only run one race. This time around I went to states and lost.
The same year went to regionals and lost because one of my teammates pulled a hamstring. My senior year I only ran indoor because my toe injuries came back. June 7, 2009 I graduated from Beachwood High School. In August of 2013 I became the first hearing impaired model from Cleveland, Ohio.
I’m an inspiring model. I chose modeling because there aren’t many males doing it, plus I love taking pictures. I feel that I am very photogenic. I am deaf and use American Sign Language to communicate. I am an easy person to work with and can also read lips.
“Never ever apologize for what you are. You were created for a reason.”
My biggest dream is to be published on a magazine, catalog, website, or in worldwide stores. I love challenges! If you’ve never worked with a deaf model before then give me a chance! I can guarantee you will come back wanting to work with me again.
I believe in developing a great relationship with my photographers because that will also result in a great product from the two of us.
Please use Button text below to contact Carlton Dank