Changing the world one view at a time
MBOMBELA - Born and raised Lowvelder JP Labuschagne is making waves the world over through his social media platforms.
Living with one eye, Labuschagne has become a champion of body positivity and a beacon of hope for those who find themselves in a similar situation.
An alumnus of Laerskool Bergland and Hoërskool Nelspruit, Labuschagne was only seven years old when he suffered a freak accident while playing rugby, severely injuring both of his eyes. “I woke up in the hospital and the doctor informed me that I had suffered retinal detachment in my eyes, and that I was going blind,” he said.
The doctors had to perform an emergency operation. They were, however, unable to save his left eye. “After the surgery, I was left with a shrunken and deformed eye. I was devastated.”
After a lengthy recovery, Labuschagne returned to school where he started to be bullied.
“After this experience, I didn’t know what to do. I went home crying and I told my parents about what had happened. My dad’s solution was for me to wear an eyepatch - if the kids couldn’t see my eye, they would stop bullying me.”
But the bullying only got worse with the eyepatch. “All of a sudden I stood out even more, which made me an even bigger target. I got called a pirate and was made fun of for being different, yet again.”
When he was 14, Labuschagne’s mum learnt about a prosthetic eye that could fit over his damaged left eye. “This prosthetic gave me a chance to be normal. I started wearing it, and all of a sudden, people treated me differently.”
But this wasn’t the ultimate solution for Labuschagne. “As an adult, I got tired of pretending to be normal. I realised I wasn’t happy, as I wasn’t being true to myself.”
This was when he started posting his story on social media. “I was showing the world that I wasn’t scared of being different, and people noticed. I started reaching millions of people and gained a large following on TikTok and Instagram,” he said.
He now has just shy of 300 000 followers on TikTok and just short of 100 000 followers on Instagram. Labuschagne moved to New York City in 2021 to pursue a career in modelling. “I started getting noticed because of my resemblance to Thor in the movie Thor: Ragnarok.”
This led to the start of some charity work too. “The New York Avengers, a charity group, noticed me and asked me to join their group. This group is filled with remarkable people who go to children’s hospitals dressed as superheroes to inspire kids with cancer.”
Labuschagne went on to model during the New York Fashion Week too. “This experience created a lot of opportunities for me, and now I am blessed to say that I started modelling for the biggest eyepatch companies in the world,” he said.
“I became the person I needed when
I was a child. I healed from my trauma and became the most confident version of myself,” Labuschagne recalls.
“I have become the world’s first one-eyed model, I have a beautiful wife, May, who supports me, and I live in New York City. I hope my story inspires someone to be authentic, and more importantly, to dream big.”
Now 29, Labuschagne is currently studying to become an orientation and mobility specialist through the Borough of Manhattan Community College. He also works as a personal trainer while pursuing his studies.
As to why he started posting his story on social media, Labuschagne felt the world needed it. “Somewhere in the world, someone has just been in an accident or has retinoblastoma [eye cancer] and they feel broken and alone. They need to know there are people out there going through the same thing, and that they can still be confident in their current situation.”
‘I hope my story inspires someone to be authentic, to dream big’
Ordinary people doing extraordinary things