After being denied job at Six Flags because of his dreads, Texas teen recruited by modeling agency

A teenager in Fort Worth, Texas, was rejected from a job at Six Flags because of his hairstyle, but his physical traits have instead opened doors to a potential modeling career.

According to the Dallas Morning News, Kerion Washington, 17, was told to cut his hair by Six Flags Over Texas managers after he arrived for an interview because his long dreads violated company policy.

“They told me I could cut my hair and come back, that it’s just hair and it would grow back,” Washington said in an interview with the Dallas Morning News. “But they compared it to having a tattoo. I didn’t want to cut it.”

Kerion turned to look for employment elsewhere, while his mom Karis Washington posted the disappointing incident her son had at Six Flags on Facebook. Her post went viral, receiving 20,000 reactions to date.

Then, a friend shared Karis’ post with Corrie Caster, head of development for IMG Los Angeles, an agency that represents models including Gigi and Bella Hadid, Kate Moss and Ashley Graham.

“I scout the world looking for talent and stories,” Caster told the paper. “I didn’t know his story then, but he had a lot of the physical features we look for in our models.”

Caster referred Washington to a modeling agency in Austin, Jones Model Management, with hopes of the teen developing a portfolio that could be presented to IMG Models in the future.

“I hope he’s successful and able to have a platform to use his voice to talk about things that mean something to him, because he will be put in those positions,” Caster said. “I truly believe this story has to be told, and has to be told over and over again.”

Kerion Washington said his current training is going well and he is being taught how to walk a runaway, what expressions to make and how to pose for photos.

“The shoot wasn’t exhausting at all,” Washington said. “It was easy work, and it was really fun.”

Washington said that although he had an upsetting experience with Six Flags, he is blessed to have the opportunity to model.

Karis Washington said she believes that her son was discriminated against by Six Flags, and that there should be laws against biased hiring, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Six Flags has changed its policy, the paper reported, now allowing males to have dreads if they do not extend beyond the bottom of the collar.