Chelsea Werner has proven to be an inspiration for millions of people that are struggling with adversity. Against the odds not only was she able to become one of the world’s most well-known models with a disability she was also able to climb to the top of the Olympics and merge a champion four separate times.
Today we may take it for granted that people with disabilities are able to take part in society more or less without any kind of setbacks. The world has not always operated this way and it is solely because of people like Chelsea and others that have pushed forward against adversity and carved a new path that we have the world we live in today.
Early Life
Chelsea was born on the West Coast of the United States in California. She did not take her first steps until she was two years old. Undeterred by their daughter’s condition her parents introduced her to a number of sports and eventually she fell in love with gymnastics. She began her sports life at the age of eight years old against the wishes of her doctor. He believed that she would never be able to compete because her genetic condition would limit her ability to build new muscle. Chelsea did not let this deter her and instead began to train vigorously to make up for any perceived deficits. It would not be too long before all of this extra hard work and sacrifice would start to pay off for her. Little did she know that before the age of 30 she would be destined to become one of the world’s most well recognized and respected athletes who has a disability.
Gymnastics Champion
Over the course of her life, she spent hours dedicated to training gymnastics. Her parents constantly supported her and allowed her to push to become a well-known athlete. Eventually, she was able to claim the US national Special Olympics championships title four times and by 27 years of age, she was a world champion twice over.
Fashion World
after conquering the world of athletics Chelsea developed a newfound interest in fashion. While she continued training her gymnastics she began to explore more and more options in the fashion and modeling industries. She applied to be a model for several different companies but was rejected. It was not until after she posted an ad online that she was contacted by a company willing to hire her.
After being brought on by the modeling agency she was able to start working on making necessary changes in the modeling industry. The company that hired her, We Speak, has stated that they are happy to have her on their team because she is able to bring much-needed diversity to the fashion market.
Chelsea has taken an active role in helping to shape the discourse around her involvement in this industry. Instead of solely sitting on the sidelines and allowing the managers to handle all of the public relations she is active on social media accounts. This has given her the ability to speak out and promote positive change. She hopes that she can continue to be a positive role model for young women across the country that are highly influential.
