Chelsea Werner

Chelsea Werner (4’9’’) is a model, gymnast, and Olympic champion! Chelsea, who was born with down syndrome, has been breaking barriers her whole life, first in the world of gymnastics and now in the fashion industry. Despite having a hard time finding a coach who believed in her, Chelsea went on to win the Special Olympics US National Championships four times and is a two-time Special Olympics World Champion, and now competes with her non-disabled peers in USA Gymnastics. For Chelsea, the transition to modeling from gymnastics was a natural one - she has been performing in front of cameras and judges for most of her life, and she loves and feels comfortable in the spotlight. Her hard work and talent as a model has clearly paid off - she walked in New York Fashion Week in both 2016 and 2017, and recently has been featured in the #aeriereal campaign. She believes that this campaign will help raise the bar on diversity and hopes that other brands will follow suit. Despite all her successes, it isn’t easy being different in the fashion industry especially since diversity is only just starting to become part of the conversation. Chelsea hopes that her work will promote diversity and representation in the industry and allow for everyone to be recognized for her own unique beauty.