“People Only Know Me as a Freak,” The Wolf Man Struggles to Find a Job Outside the Circus

Jesús Aceves has hypertrichosis, which makes his hair grow abundantly over his face and back. Because of his condition, he’s also known as The Wolf Man. But he’s tired of this alias and wants to live a normal life.

Meet Jesús Aceves, a 55-year-old man born with a condition called hypertrichosis, which means he has abnormal hair growth over his body, especially his face. Although married with kids, Jesús isn’t fully happy with his living conditions. He says he and his family suffer discrimination. In an interview, one of his kids mentioned, “People call me names, and they even tell their kids not to be my friends.”

He worked in the circus all his life, traveling through several cities. But now, he’s tired of being seen as a freak. As a consequence of years on the road, he’s been known as The Wolf Man.

Back home and not in the circus anymore, he’s facing another challenge: finding a “normal” job. He needs to support his family since his wife works in temporary jobs.

After several failed job interviews, he agreed to try something he had always avoided: shave his face. He relied on his family barber to transform him, even creating eyebrows and lashes.

The experience was difficult since the face is an extremely sensitive body area, but both he and his wife believed that simply by shaving, he would be able to find a job.

Jesús did several interviews, and it’s confident that now he’ll find somewhere to work besides the circus. If this happens, he must shave his face every 2 days.

Although rare, some conditions aren’t impossible to have. Luckily, people find a way to overcome the difficulties a rare condition brings and strive in life. Hannah Tyre, for example, was born with osteogenesis imperfecta, meaning that her bones break very easily. But her love for makeup made her an internet influencer, reaching millions of followers. We hope that, by reaching the mainstream media, people with genetic diseases won’t suffer more discrimination.

Preview photo credit A True Story / Youtube

Man in Walmart Demanded That I Give up My Wheelchair for His Tired Wife – Karma Got Him before I Could

I never expected a trip to Walmart to turn into a showdown over my wheelchair, with a stranger demanding I give it up for his tired wife. As the situation spiraled and a crowd gathered, I realized this ordinary shopping day was taking an extraordinary turn.

I was cruising down the aisles in my wheelchair, feeling pretty good after scoring some deals, when a guy—let’s call him Mr. Entitled—blocked my path.

“Hey, you,” he barked, “My wife needs to sit down. Give her your wheelchair.”

I blinked, thinking it was a joke. “Uh, sorry, what?”

“You heard me,” he snapped, gesturing to his wife. “She’s been on her feet all day. You’re young, you can walk.”

I tried to keep my cool. “I actually can’t walk. That’s why I have the chair.”

Mr. Entitled’s face turned red. “Don’t lie to me! Now get up and let my wife sit down!”

My jaw dropped. I glanced at his wife, who looked mortified.

“Look, sir,” I said, patience wearing thin, “I need this chair to get around. There are benches near the front of the store.”

But he wasn’t having it. He stepped closer, looming over me. “Listen here, you little —”

“Is there a problem here?”

I’ve never been so relieved to hear a Walmart employee’s voice. A guy named Miguel appeared, looking concerned.

Mr. Entitled whirled on Miguel. “Yes! This girl won’t give up her wheelchair for my tired wife. Make her get out of it!”

Miguel’s eyebrows shot up. “Sir, we can’t ask customers to give up mobility aids. That’s not appropriate.”

Mr. Entitled sputtered. “What’s not appropriate is this faker taking up a chair when my wife needs it!”

People were starting to stare. Miguel tried to calm things down, speaking in a low tone. “Sir, please lower your voice. We have benches available. I can show you where they are.”

But Mr. Entitled was on a roll. He jabbed a finger at Miguel’s chest. “Don’t tell me to lower my voice! I want to speak to your manager right now!”

As he ranted, he stepped back—right into a display of canned vegetables. He stumbled, arms windmilling, and went down hard.

CRASH!

Cans went flying everywhere. Mr. Entitled lay sprawled on the floor, surrounded by dented tins of green beans and corn. For a moment, everything was silent.

His wife rushed forward. “Frank! Are you okay?”

Frank tried to get up, but slipped on a rolling can and went down again with another crash.

I couldn’t hold back a laugh. Miguel shot me a look, fighting a smile too.

“Sir, please don’t move,” Miguel said, reaching for his walkie-talkie. “I’m calling for assistance.”

Frank ignored him, struggling to his feet again. “This is ridiculous! I’ll sue this whole store!”

By now, a small crowd had gathered. A security guard and a manager appeared, taking in the scene—Frank standing unsteadily, cans everywhere, Miguel trying to keep things calm.

“What’s going on here?” the manager asked.

Frank opened his mouth to rant again, but his wife cut him off. “Nothing,” she said quickly. “We were just leaving. Come on, Frank.”

She grabbed his arm and started pulling him towards the exit. As they passed me, she paused. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

Then they were gone, leaving a mess of cans and confused onlookers in their wake.

The manager turned to me. “Ma’am, I’m so sorry for the disturbance. Are you alright?”

I nodded, finding my voice. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just… wow. That was something else.”

He apologized again and started organizing the cleanup. People began to disperse, but a few helped pick up cans.

An older woman approached me, patting my arm. “You handled that so well, dear. Some people just don’t think before they speak.”

I smiled. “Thanks. I’m just glad it’s over.”

As the commotion died down, I decided to finish my shopping. No way was I letting Frank ruin my entire trip. I rolled down the next aisle, trying to shake off the residual tension.

“Hey,” a voice called out. I turned to see Miguel jogging up to me. “I just wanted to check if you’re really okay. That guy was way out of line.”

I sighed. “Yeah, I’m alright. Thanks for stepping in. Does this kind of thing happen often?”

Miguel shook his head. “Not like that, no. But you’d be surprised how entitled some people can be. It’s like they forget basic human decency when they walk through the doors.”

We chatted for a bit as I continued shopping. Miguel shared some of his own customer service horror stories, which honestly made me feel a bit better. At least I wasn’t alone in dealing with difficult people.

As I left the store, I couldn’t help but shake my head at the whole experience. What a day. But you know what? For every Frank out there, there are way more decent folks—like Miguel, that nice older lady, and curious kids.

I headed home, my faith in humanity a little battered but still intact. And hey, at least I had a wild story to tell. Plus, I got some free cereal out of the deal. Silver linings, right?

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