Text by Ted Kawalerski, Copyright 2021
.
James McLeod: That Vitiligo Guy
.
When I walked through the doors, I immediately heard this supersonic voice above the constant noise of gym rats working out. It was really crowded so I couldn’t immediately pick out the source.
After hitting the locker room, I was ready to start my ritual – the one that has kept me close to sanity for thirty years. Now I’m hearing that voice again and it’s really close. I see him from the back – a super fit black guy who’s training a young woman and without question she is responding because the guy has the gift. He’s got the mojo – he knows how to get into your head. All of a sudden he turns around as though he knows that I was checking him out. WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO HIM? Was he in a fire? Did someone throw acid on his face? He turned back to his client and continued the workout.
I continued mine as well but I couldn’t stop thinking about that face. He would move around the gym and greet people in an incredibly uplifting way. You could not help but like the guy. Over the next few weeks I got to know him better and eventually we became good friends. I spoke with my two partners, Gene Mayer and Matt Stanton, and we decided to make a short film about him.
This meeting happened several years ago and I am still stunned by this man’s life and by the way he crawled out of a sewer and ultimately won the game with a shitty hand. His childhood was a mess and he gravitated to selling drugs. This ultimately led to a five year federal prison term for trafficking. It’s hard to imagine, but he turned this all around and became a motivational speaker and author of children’s books. I’m a photographer and director – I’ve met many people in my forty year career – James McLeod, That Vitiligo Guy, is right up there!!!
.
.
Photo: Brian Stanton, Copyright 2022
.
To access interview with Ted Kawalerski by Tony Ward, click here: https://tonywardstudio.com/ted-kawalerski-interview/
To access Ted Kawalerski’s website, click here: https://corkfactoryfilms.com