'Modelling agencies used to hang up the phone once I mentioned my wheelchair'
Brinston Tchana, 26, is a successful model who has worked with global brands like Mercedes, Tommy Hilfiger, and Hugo Boss and has acted in shows such as Doctor Who, Hollyoaks and Sex Education. He also uses a wheelchair.
For the up and coming star, who lives in Birmingham, modelling and acting was never the plan. In fact, he was destined to be a professional footballer and at just 17 was about to sign a contract with Atlético Madrid in his home country Spain when a freak accident changed his life forever.
He told the Mirror: “I was walking back home with my friends, the four of us, and we got hit by a car. A drunk driver came from behind and just crashed into us. I was the only one to survive.” The terrible accident left Brinston with spinal injuries and needing to use a wheelchair - which left him with no choice but to give up on his footballing career dreams.
Brinston Tchana has been modelling now for over six years
Brinston was going to be a footballer but now models for global brands like MercedesHe recalled: “I was in hospital for 10 months after the accident. Going back home after and being in a wheelchair just felt weird. I didn't feel right for me to be the only one to survive the accident. It felt like if I stayed in Spain, I would have taken my own life.”
Struggling to adapt to his new way of life and learning to live without his best friends, he made the bold decision to move to the UK for a new start - which is where he set out to build his modelling career six years ago. But as a wheelchair user, it wasn’t easy. He was constantly turned down from jobs and rejected by agencies all because of his disability.
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“I started doing it by myself, putting myself out there, but I got rejected every single time." he said "As soon as I mentioned that I'm a wheelchair user, they would hang up the phone or ask me when I am going to be out of the wheelchair. It brought me down so much that the first year I started, I was gonna give up,” he said.
Laura started the agency with Zoe after they noticed a lack of disabled representation in the mediaBut, before he had the chance, he was discovered by ground-breaking talent agency Zebedee -who would go on to change his life. Zebedee Talent was set up by Laura Winson and Zoe Proctor with one goal in mind: to tackle the prejudice and misrepresentation of disabled people in our media.
Laura said: “We couldn't believe in 2017, that there was such a large section of society that were essentially being ignored in the media, and we kind of set out to change that.” They have more than succeeded. Since its conception in 2017, Zebedee’s models have appeared on the cover of Vogue, posed for global brands such as Victoria’s Secret, Gucci and Primark and starred in shows on BBC, Netflix and HBO. One of the aims of the agency is to change people’s perceptions of disability.
Zebedee has a roster of over 2000 models and actors on their booksToo often, Laura explained, disabled people were either cast as Bond-style villains who were bitter and seeking revenge or as characters you are made to feel sorry for simply because they’re disabled such as the Hunchback of Notre Dame. She said: “We are moving a little bit away from the previous stereotypes that we've had like the villain, or the victim. But of course, it still does exist. We want disability and [visible] difference to just be kind of incidental to a role. We want people with disabilities to have access to the same roles as anybody else.”
With a background as a social worker, Laura had previous experience working with vulnerable people and after a conversation about the lack of representation with Zoe, a performing arts teacher to people with learning disabilities, Zebedee was born. “There weren't really any agencies doing what we wanted to do," she said. “The first people that we had join us were people from Zoe's performing arts group. And we reached out to lots of local disability groups, and started to get a few people on the books then. We've had to do everything from scratch, like reach out to everybody and try to inform and educate people about why they need to be doing this but then we had a little feature on This Morning, and the floodgates opened.”
The young model has faced barriers when on set (Mark Radford/Daily Mirror)
He's starred in popular TV shows (Mark Radford/Daily Mirror)Despite their huge success, it still isn’t always easy convincing production companies and magazines to take on disabled actors and models. Laura said: “There's still some issues with some agencies or some brands not wanting to take that first step [in using disabled talent]. I think it kind of comes down to they’re worried that they're not going to meet people's needs on set, worried about saying the wrong thing - and also just general discrimination sometimes still, I think that's obviously still a big problem.”
Brinston signed with Zebedee and has gone from strength to strength ever since. He said: “Since then, it’s just been going uphill, and it's been amazing to be honest.” In the six years he’s been with the agency, Brinston has been able to launch his hugely successful modelling and acting career, working with huge brands and even landing a permanent role as “the burger van man” in Hollyoaks.
Brinston with the cast of Hollyoaks while on setIt hasn’t always been easy, and the young model often faces barriers on set when shooting for jobs. “I've got stuff where they'll book me knowing that I'm a wheelchair user and that I can't go upstairs. They asked me to do the casting. I did the casting. I got the job. But as soon as I get there, there'll be like ‘oh sorry, there’s no lift’. It's incomprehensible really."
Brinston believes that better disabled representation in the media will help change perceptions about people with disabilities. “Before, I was literally being cast out of society - people saying to me ‘just because you’re in a wheelchair you can’t do it’. The difference that I've seen since I started, after all this representation, it is like we’re not viewed so differently now. It is so important that disability representation has to be there to show others that we are just like everyone else. Disability doesn't define a person. Don’t look at the disability, look at the person."
Baby Nate made his TV debut in Call the MidwifeAnother Zebedee talent is three-year-old Nate Court, who has Down’s Syndrome. Nate was just one when he first starred on the screen, featuring in an episode of Call the Midwife. Since then, he has featured in a range of campaigns for a number of top brands including Mothercare, Primark, Smiths Toys and is set to reprise his role on Call the Midwife next season.
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Nate’s dad, Matt Court, 38, from Solihull said this “would never have happened without Zebedee existing". “We've had people message us on Nate’s Instagram account to say ‘thank you guys, I've just received a diagnosis that the baby I’m carrying has Down Syndrome and it's accounts like yours that help us to see what life can be like,’” he said.
Matt stresses how important representation is in educating people about disability. He said: “Bring your children into the world with a wider awareness that there are so many other people out there with needs and disabilities that may differ from the typical to drive that level of kindness and inclusivity. Why wouldn’t you want to see representation?”
Nate's dad Matt thinks inclusivity should be a natural thing for childrenSix years later, Laura told of her delight in watching Zebedee’s talent grow in confidence and try new things as they take on more jobs via the agency. She said: “It is brilliant to be able to support people to get to the point where they are making good money for themselves, learning new skills, meeting new people, making new friends, seeing new places - just the opportunities that come from this.”
She added: “We get so much amazing feedback with people saying what they would have given to have representation as it is now as a child, to have seen people with disabilities or differences like themselves and would it would have done for their self esteem and their feelings of self worth. You can’t measure it. It is so important to feel represented.”
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