{"id":242668,"date":"2021-04-06T17:41:19","date_gmt":"2021-04-06T22:41:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=242668"},"modified":"2021-04-06T00:08:42","modified_gmt":"2021-04-06T05:08:42","slug":"18-year-old-model-syndrome-walmart-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/18-year-old-model-syndrome-walmart-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"18-year-old model with Down syndrome featured in Walmart ad campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An 18-year-old with Down syndrome is seeing his modeling dreams come true as he has been hired for numerous ad campaigns. Ethan Holt has been chosen to pose for companies ranging from local surf shops to a nationwide ad campaign for Walmart, and it all started with what his mother calls a premonition.<\/p>\n

Holt said the family took a trip to New York, and he had a vision of being a famous model, according to ABC Action News<\/a>. Then his mother, Phoy Holt, saw that the non-profit organization\u00a0Help Us Gather (HUG)<\/a>\u00a0was giving away free headshots, and she helped Holt sign up \u2014 and the dream he envisioned during their trip to New York began to come true.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said they\u2019re giving a free headshot and you can wear anything you want,\u201d she said. \u201cSo he picks out his three-piece suit, and I\u2019m like, are you gonna wear that?\u201d But it worked. Holt impressed the photographers and was hired by SurfStyle, a Clearwater beach wear company. Next, he began appearing in commercials for Advent Health \u2014\u00a0and now, he’s in a nationwide ad campaign with Walmart.<\/p>\n