A man named Jesús Aceves, dubbed “The Wolf Man,” has struggled most of his life as he became the second person in his family diagnosed with a rare condition called hypertrichosis. This meant that almost his entire body, including his face, was covered with hair.
Because of his looks, he became a circus attraction at a very young age, and when he finally had a family, he desired a regular job to be closer to them and decided to shave his face.
According to an article published by the BBC in 2015, there are over 30 members of his family who also suffer from the same medical condition.
Aceves spent his early days in Loreto, Mexico, and because of his appearance, he was rejected by his community.
At the young age of 12, he started working. His first job was selling tickets for a Ferris wheel, and he later worked at a gaming stall. At the time, he was discovered by a circus owner.
By the time he was 13 years old, he was offered to work at the circus along with two of his cousins. The owner told him he’d house them, feed them, and give them good money. But even though they have enough food and a comfortable place to stay, he revealed that they were “always locked up.”
Regardless, he said that he didn’t regret working at said circus because it was a “decent job,” and he considered himself an artist who entertained people.
Things didn’t go well when he faced challenges when traveling overseas for his job and resorted to alcohol to cope with loneliness. Fortunately, he was able to get out of that situation and change his life.
Be sure to reach the end of this article to see the full video
Jesús Aceves shared intimate details about his life in a documentary by A True Story. The video featured his three children, all of whom had the same condition as their father.
Unfortunately, none of them were safe from the harsh reality and the offensive remarks from other people as his oldest daughter, Karla, who was left behind by her mother, revealed that people would call her names and they would even tell their kids not to be friends with her.
She also noted in the BBC article that it’s harder for her as a woman as Eva Aridjis, a filmmaker, said in the movie “Chuy, The Wolf Man,” “it’s less socially acceptable for a woman to be very hairy… Most of the women have been abandoned by the non-hairy partners that fathered their children. But for the men, they are actually considered virile and tend to have a lot of girlfriends.”
As of 2015, Aceves’ daughter lived in Texas in the United States as a single mother because after she gave birth to their baby, the father abandoned her.
When Aceves decided to stop working at the circus, he wanted to look for a decent job that wouldn’t make him an attraction to the public. However, it was not easy for him because of his physical appearance.
He and his wife later agreed to do something in order for them to have a solution to his problem: shave his face.
In the A True Story documentary, he was shown getting his face shaved by a barber, and in the end, his massive transformation was shown, and he looked completely different without hair covering the entirety of his face. Unfortunately, his condition will make it a necessity to keep up meticulously with his abnormal hair growth.
Later in the video, he could be seen having interviews for different jobs, but it was unclear what work he landed in.
What do you think of the man’s dedication in order to provide for his family? Did you find this story inspiring? Let us know your thoughts, and make sure to pass this on to your friends and family.
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