This woman is 26, and she is on a mission to redefine beauty

Beauty means many things across cultures. Aspiring American model and social media sensation Sara Geurts has created a meaning of her own. The 26-year-old from Minneapolis looks decades older because of a rare disease. Undaunted, she has built up a huge fan following (12.4K) on Instagram and plans to break into the big league of modelling.

Sara was only 10 when she was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which impedes the production of collagen (the protein essential for good skin) and makes one’s skin sag and wrinkle even in youth. “I noticed symptoms as early as 7-8 [years of age] and it started to show more after puberty,” says Sara, in an interview with us. At 18, her body was hurting and “life started to change”.

She adds, “I don’t think everyone was open to the idea of me wanting to be a model; even some of my old acquaintances didn’t think it was possible. It wasn’t until I had hit an all-time low in my life, rock bottom, after a break up around the age of 22-23, did I really analyse my mindset, myself, and my mentalities. Through the ‘Love Your Lines’ campaign on Instagram, I submitted my story of living with Ehlers, and the unhealthy mindsets and relationships it had caused, and that’s really when my mindset changed.”

She has no qualms posing in bikinis and tank tops, and has become the new poster girl for the body positivity movement around the world. Sara says, “When individuals started to reach out to me to show their love and support, I knew right then and there I was on a mission.”

SARA GEURTS WANTS ‘TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERY INDIVIDUAL KNOWS THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL, NO MATTER WHAT SOCIETY TELLS THEM’