0:00:01.667,0:00:03.101
When I was young,

0:00:03.125,0:00:04.458
I wanted to be on TV:

0:00:05.500,0:00:08.309
the lights, the cameras,

0:00:08.333,0:00:09.976
the makeup,

0:00:10.000,0:00:11.417
the glamorous life.

0:00:12.417,0:00:14.101
And from my vantage point,

0:00:14.125,0:00:17.726
just outside of a military base[br]in Lawton, Oklahoma,

0:00:17.750,0:00:21.726
I didn't make the distinction[br]between TV reporter or actor.

0:00:21.750,0:00:23.351
It was all the same to me.

0:00:23.375,0:00:24.643
It was either,

0:00:24.667,0:00:26.059
"Reporting live from Berlin"

0:00:26.083,0:00:30.518
or "I shall attend her here and woo her[br]with such spirit when she comes."

0:00:30.542,0:00:31.809
(Laughter)

0:00:31.833,0:00:33.434
It was all special,

0:00:33.458,0:00:35.184
it was all the spotlight,

0:00:35.208,0:00:37.833
and I just knew that it was for me.

0:00:38.833,0:00:40.833
But somewhere along my journey,

0:00:42.625,0:00:43.875
life happened.

0:02:18.083,0:02:20.143
Ah, much better.

0:02:20.167,0:02:24.101
(Applause)

0:02:24.125,0:02:25.875
I have a disease called vitiligo.

0:02:26.500,0:02:28.708
It started early in my career.

0:02:30.542,0:02:32.792
It's an autoimmune disorder.

0:02:33.875,0:02:37.184
It's where it looks like your skin[br]is getting white patches,

0:02:37.208,0:02:38.875
but it's actually void of color.

0:02:39.625,0:02:42.018
It affects all ethnicities,

0:02:42.042,0:02:43.750
it affects all ages,

0:02:44.625,0:02:46.226
all genders,

0:02:46.250,0:02:47.643
it's not contagious,

0:02:47.667,0:02:49.851
it's not life-threatening,

0:02:49.875,0:02:52.417
but it is mental warfare.

0:02:53.458,0:02:54.708
It's tough.

0:02:55.417,0:02:57.268
Now, I was diagnosed with this disease

0:02:57.292,0:03:00.125
when I was working on[br]"Eyewitness News" in New York City.

0:03:00.875,0:03:03.934
I was in the biggest city in the country,

0:03:03.958,0:03:05.875
I was on their flagship station

0:03:06.750,0:03:11.018
and I was on their top-rated 5pm newscast.

0:03:11.042,0:03:13.643
And the doctor looked me[br]right in the eye and said,

0:03:13.667,0:03:15.434
"You have a disease called vitiligo.

0:03:15.458,0:03:18.917
It's a skin disorder[br]where you lose your pigment.

0:03:19.750,0:03:22.851
There is no cure,[br]but there a-la-la-la-la".

0:03:22.875,0:03:24.393
Charlie Brown's teacher.

0:03:24.417,0:03:25.434
(Laughter)

0:03:25.458,0:03:30.583
He said there is no cure.[br]All I heard was, "My career is over."

0:03:32.042,0:03:33.583
But I just couldn't give up.

0:03:35.125,0:03:36.375
I couldn't quit,

0:03:37.458,0:03:41.184
because we put too much into this.

0:03:41.208,0:03:43.476
And by "we" I mean Mr. Moss,

0:03:43.500,0:03:47.851
who sent me to speech and drama club[br]instead of to detention,

0:03:47.875,0:03:51.934
or my sister who paid[br]part of my college expenses,

0:03:51.958,0:03:53.208
or my mom,

0:03:54.667,0:03:59.042
who simply gave me everything.

0:04:03.667,0:04:04.917
I would not quit.

0:04:06.625,0:04:11.125
So I decided to just put on makeup[br]and keep it moving.

0:04:12.000,0:04:15.976
I had to wear makeup anyway.[br]It's TV, baby, right?

0:04:16.000,0:04:20.041
I just put on a little more makeup,[br]and everything's cool.

0:04:20.708,0:04:24.476
And that actually[br]went very well for years.

0:04:24.500,0:04:28.018
I went from being a reporter[br]in New York City

0:04:28.042,0:04:30.726
to being a morning show anchor in Detroit,

0:04:30.750,0:04:32.643
the Motor City.

0:04:32.667,0:04:35.559
And as the disease got worse,

0:04:35.583,0:04:37.643
I just put on more makeup.

0:04:37.667,0:04:39.518
It was easy.

0:04:39.542,0:04:42.250
Except for my hands.

0:04:43.458,0:04:46.809
See, this disease is progressive[br]and ever-changing.

0:04:46.833,0:04:49.309
That means it comes and goes.

0:04:49.333,0:04:52.476
At one point, for about a year and a half,

0:04:52.500,0:04:55.250
my face was completely white.

0:04:58.500,0:04:59.768
Yeah, it trips me out too.

0:04:59.792,0:05:01.101
(Laughter)

0:05:01.125,0:05:02.375
Yeah.

0:05:02.958,0:05:06.768
And then, with a little help,

0:05:06.792,0:05:09.768
some of the pigment came back,

0:05:09.792,0:05:12.559
but living through this process

0:05:12.583,0:05:14.292
was like two sides of a coin.

0:05:16.125,0:05:18.184
When I'm at work[br]and I'm wearing the makeup

0:05:18.208,0:05:20.518
or wearing the makeup outside,[br]I'm the TV guy.

0:05:20.542,0:05:22.726
"Hey, how you doing everybody? Great."

0:05:22.750,0:05:24.226
At home without the makeup,

0:05:24.250,0:05:27.625
I'd take it off[br]and it was like being a leper.

0:05:29.083,0:05:32.018
The stares, constantly staring at me,

0:05:32.042,0:05:35.393
the comments under their breath.

0:05:35.417,0:05:37.434
Some people refused to shake my hand.

0:05:37.458,0:05:40.184
Some people moved[br]to the other side of the sidewalk,

0:05:40.208,0:05:42.143
moved to the other side of the elevator.

0:05:42.167,0:05:44.958
I felt like they were moving[br]to the other side of life.

0:05:47.125,0:05:49.518
It was tough,

0:05:49.542,0:05:52.042
and those were some tough years.

0:05:54.417,0:05:55.809
And honestly,

0:05:55.833,0:05:58.851
sometimes I just had to shelter in place.

0:05:58.875,0:06:00.184
You know what I mean?

0:06:00.208,0:06:03.125
Kind of just stay at home[br]till I get my mind right.

0:06:05.250,0:06:07.292
But then I'd put my blinders back on,

0:06:08.250,0:06:09.625
I'd get back out there,

0:06:10.750,0:06:12.434
do my thing,

0:06:12.458,0:06:14.393
but in the process of doing that,

0:06:14.417,0:06:16.167
I developed this --

0:06:18.167,0:06:20.708
angry, grumpy demeanor.

0:06:21.833,0:06:23.601
Anger is an easy go-to,

0:06:23.625,0:06:25.851
and people would leave me alone,

0:06:25.875,0:06:28.125
but it just wasn't me.

0:06:29.417,0:06:30.976
It wasn't me.

0:06:31.000,0:06:36.458
I was allowing this disease to turn me[br]into this angry, grumpy, spotted guy.

0:06:37.208,0:06:38.542
It just wasn't me.

0:06:39.583,0:06:41.000
So I had to change.

0:06:42.583,0:06:45.750
I knew I could not change other people.

0:06:46.750,0:06:49.458
People are going to react[br]and do what they gonna do.

0:06:50.708,0:06:52.958
But there was a cold hard reality as well.

0:06:56.500,0:06:58.101
I was the one

0:06:58.125,0:07:02.143
that was showing anger, sadness

0:07:02.167,0:07:04.101
and isolating myself.

0:07:04.125,0:07:05.417
It was actually a choice.

0:07:07.250,0:07:09.559
I was walking out the door every day

0:07:09.583,0:07:13.976
expecting the world[br]to react with negativity,

0:07:14.000,0:07:16.708
so I just gave them that mean face first.

0:07:18.958,0:07:23.625
If I wanted change,[br]the change had to start with me.

0:07:25.417,0:07:27.542
So I came up with a plan.

0:07:29.667,0:07:31.708
Two-parter, not that deep.

0:07:33.000,0:07:36.518
Number one: I would just let people stare,

0:07:36.542,0:07:39.268
drink it in, stare all you want,

0:07:39.292,0:07:41.351
and not react.

0:07:41.375,0:07:44.018
Because the truth is[br]when I got this disease,

0:07:44.042,0:07:47.601
I was all up in the mirror[br]staring at every new spot

0:07:47.625,0:07:50.268
trying to figure out what is going on.

0:07:50.292,0:07:53.833
So I needed to let other people[br]have that same opportunity

0:07:55.083,0:07:57.458
to get that visual understanding.

0:07:59.250,0:08:00.500
Number two:

0:08:02.625,0:08:04.500
I would react with positivity,

0:08:06.125,0:08:08.226
and that was simply a smile,

0:08:08.250,0:08:10.393
or, at the very least,

0:08:10.417,0:08:13.625
a nonjudgmental, kind face.

0:08:14.875,0:08:16.125
Simple plan.

0:08:17.042,0:08:19.583
But it turned out to be[br]more difficult than I thought.

0:08:21.333,0:08:22.583
But over time,

0:08:23.458,0:08:24.958
things started to go OK.

0:08:27.000,0:08:31.143
Like this one time, I'm at the store[br]and this dude is like staring at me,

0:08:31.167,0:08:33.226
like burning a hole[br]in the side of my head.

0:08:33.250,0:08:34.851
I'm shopping, he's staring at me,

0:08:34.875,0:08:37.058
I'm going to the checkout,[br]he's staring at me,

0:08:37.082,0:08:40.601
I'm checking out, he's on the other line[br]checking out, he's staring at me,

0:08:40.625,0:08:42.726
we go to the exit,[br]he's still staring at me,

0:08:42.750,0:08:44.851
so I see he's staring

0:08:44.875,0:08:47.726
and finally I turn to him[br]and I go, "Hey buddy, what's up!"

0:08:47.750,0:08:49.018
And he goes ...

0:08:49.042,0:08:50.643
(Mumbles nervously) "Hi!"

0:08:50.667,0:08:51.684
(Laughter)

0:08:51.708,0:08:53.976
Awkward.

0:08:54.000,0:08:56.518
So to relieve the tension, I say,

0:08:56.542,0:08:58.309
"It's just a skin disorder.

0:08:58.333,0:09:00.559
It's not contagious,[br]it's not life-threatening,

0:09:00.583,0:09:02.643
it just makes me look a little different."

0:09:02.667,0:09:05.309
I end up talking to that guy[br]for like five minutes.

0:09:05.333,0:09:07.726
It was kind of cool, right?

0:09:07.750,0:09:09.833
And at the end[br]of our conversation, he says,

0:09:11.833,0:09:14.726
"You know, if you[br]didn't have 'vitilargo'" --

0:09:14.750,0:09:17.809
it's actually vitiligo,[br]but he was trying, so --

0:09:17.833,0:09:19.309
(Laughter)

0:09:19.333,0:09:23.018
"if you didn't have vitilargo,[br]you'd look just like that guy on TV."

0:09:23.042,0:09:24.309
(Laughter)

0:09:24.333,0:09:28.434
And I was like, "Haha,[br]yeah, I get that, I get that, yeah."

0:09:28.458,0:09:29.934
(Laughter)

0:09:29.958,0:09:31.875
So things were going OK.

0:09:33.208,0:09:36.125
I was having more good exchanges than bad,

0:09:37.542,0:09:40.792
until that day.

0:09:42.792,0:09:44.309
I had a little time before work

0:09:44.333,0:09:46.851
so I like to stop by the park[br]to watch the kids play.

0:09:46.875,0:09:48.143
They're funny.

0:09:48.167,0:09:51.476
So I got a little too close,[br]this little girl wasn't paying attention,

0:09:51.500,0:09:53.226
she's about two or three years old,

0:09:53.250,0:09:56.684
she's running, she runs directly[br]into my leg and falls down, pretty hard.

0:09:56.708,0:09:58.059
I thought she hurt herself,

0:09:58.083,0:10:00.476
so I reach out to try[br]and help the little girl

0:10:00.500,0:10:02.143
and she looks at my vitiligo

0:10:02.167,0:10:05.667
and she screams!

0:10:13.000,0:10:16.143
Now kids are pure honesty.

0:10:16.167,0:10:18.101
She's like two or three.

0:10:18.125,0:10:22.184
This little girl,[br]she wasn't trying to be mean.

0:10:22.208,0:10:24.684
She didn't have any malice in her heart.

0:10:24.708,0:10:26.417
This little girl was afraid.

0:10:27.875,0:10:29.125
She was just afraid.

0:10:32.750,0:10:34.059
I didn't know what to do.

0:10:34.083,0:10:36.542
I just took a step back[br]and put my hands by my side.

0:10:40.750,0:10:45.208
I stayed in the house for two weeks[br]and three days on that one.

0:10:47.458,0:10:50.684
It took me a second[br]to get my mind around the fact

0:10:50.708,0:10:52.750
that I scare small children.

0:10:54.583,0:10:57.875
And that was something[br]that I could not smile away.

0:11:03.125,0:11:04.833
But I jumped back on my plan

0:11:07.875,0:11:10.542
and just put on my blinders,

0:11:11.542,0:11:12.833
started going back out.

0:11:14.250,0:11:17.559
Two months later, I'm in a grocery store[br]reaching on the bottom shelf,

0:11:17.583,0:11:20.333
and I hear a little voice go,[br]"You've got a boo-boo?"

0:11:21.583,0:11:25.268
It's like a two-year-old, three-year-old,[br]same age, little girl,

0:11:25.292,0:11:26.708
but she's not crying,

0:11:27.875,0:11:30.768
so I kneel down in front of her

0:11:30.792,0:11:33.393
and I don't speak two-year-old[br]so I look up at the mom,

0:11:33.417,0:11:34.893
and I say, "What did she say?"

0:11:34.917,0:11:37.601
And she says, "She thinks[br]you have a boo-boo."

0:11:37.625,0:11:41.059
So I go, "No, I don't have[br]a boo-boo, no, not at all."

0:11:41.083,0:11:42.851
And the little girl says,

0:11:42.875,0:11:44.167
"Duh-duh-hoy?"

0:11:45.167,0:11:47.601
And so I look to mom for the translation,

0:11:47.625,0:11:48.976
and she says,

0:11:49.000,0:11:50.292
"She thinks you're hurt."

0:11:51.542,0:11:56.059
And I say, "No, sweetie,[br]I'm not hurt at all, I'm fine."

0:11:56.083,0:11:59.351
And the little girl[br]reaches out with that little hand

0:11:59.375,0:12:01.684
and touches my face.

0:12:01.708,0:12:04.101
She's trying to rub[br]the chocolate into the vanilla

0:12:04.125,0:12:05.434
or whatever she was doing.

0:12:05.458,0:12:06.708
It was amazing!

0:12:07.667,0:12:08.917
It was awesome.

0:12:09.875,0:12:11.934
Because she thought she knew what it was,

0:12:11.958,0:12:13.934
she was giving me everything I wanted:

0:12:13.958,0:12:16.684
kindness, compassion.

0:12:16.708,0:12:18.625
And with the touch of that little hand,

0:12:19.792,0:12:23.226
she healed a grown man's pain.

0:12:23.250,0:12:25.809
Yee-ha.

0:12:25.833,0:12:27.083
Healed.

0:12:30.333,0:12:32.625
I smiled for a long time on that one.

0:12:35.708,0:12:39.875
Positivity is something[br]worth fighting for,

0:12:40.958,0:12:43.934
and the fight is not with others --

0:12:43.958,0:12:45.208
it's internal.

0:12:46.458,0:12:50.125
If you want to make[br]positive changes in your life,

0:12:51.625,0:12:56.417
you have to consistently be positive.

0:13:01.167,0:13:03.476
My blood type is actually B positive.

0:13:03.500,0:13:06.851
(Laughter)

0:13:06.875,0:13:09.268
I know, corny TV guy dad joke,

0:13:09.292,0:13:11.268
my daughter hates it, but I don't care!

0:13:11.292,0:13:13.018
Be positive!

0:13:13.042,0:13:15.500
(Laughs)

0:13:20.583,0:13:23.226
A 14-year-old boy years ago --

0:13:23.250,0:13:25.309
this kid had vitiligo --

0:13:25.333,0:13:29.268
he asked me to show my face on television.

0:13:29.292,0:13:30.726
I wasn't going to do it,

0:13:30.750,0:13:33.559
we've been over this,[br]I thought I was going to lose my job,

0:13:33.583,0:13:35.792
but the kid convinced me by saying,

0:13:36.875,0:13:41.226
"If you show people what you look like[br]and explain this to them,

0:13:41.250,0:13:43.417
maybe they will treat me differently."

0:13:44.458,0:13:47.042
Boom! Blinders off.

0:13:47.833,0:13:50.184
I did a TV report,

0:13:50.208,0:13:52.250
got an overwhelming response.

0:13:53.375,0:13:54.934
So I didn't know what to do.

0:13:54.958,0:13:57.684
I took the attention[br]and focused it back on the kid

0:13:57.708,0:13:59.458
and other people that have vitiligo.

0:14:00.417,0:14:01.958
I started a support group.

0:14:03.125,0:14:06.059
Pretty soon, we noticed "VITFriends"

0:14:06.083,0:14:10.792
and "V-Strong" support groups[br]all over the country.

0:14:12.333,0:14:18.208
In 2016, we all came together[br]and celebrated World Vitiligo Day.

0:14:20.833,0:14:23.059
This past June 25,

0:14:23.083,0:14:25.976
we had over 300 people,

0:14:26.000,0:14:30.893
all in celebration of our annual event.

0:14:30.917,0:14:32.167
It was amazing.

0:14:32.792,0:14:34.351
(Applause)

0:14:34.375,0:14:35.625
Thanks.

0:14:40.208,0:14:42.768
Now, I'm not going to lie to you

0:14:42.792,0:14:45.768
and say it was quick or easy

0:14:45.792,0:14:50.083
for me to find a positive place[br]living with this disease,

0:14:51.417,0:14:52.667
but I found it.

0:14:54.708,0:14:56.417
But I also got much more.

0:14:58.083,0:15:01.018
I became a better man,

0:15:01.042,0:15:03.309
the man I always wanted to be,

0:15:03.333,0:15:09.018
the kind of guy who can stand up[br]in front of a room full of strangers

0:15:09.042,0:15:12.292
and tell some of[br]the toughest stories in his life

0:15:13.625,0:15:15.250
and end it all with a smile,

0:15:17.458,0:15:22.208
and find happiness in the fact[br]that you all just smiled back.

0:15:23.250,0:15:24.518
Thank you.

0:15:24.542,0:15:27.083
(Applause)