Living Between Fashion and Epilepsy Thomas Mezger never planned on becoming a model. For much of his early life, his focus was on sport, education, and managing a body that often felt unpredictable. Modelling entered his world almost by accident in his late teens, when a photographer invited him into a studio for a test shoot. He agreed with little expectation, and from that moment doors began to open. At the same time, Thomas was learning how to live and work with epilepsy in an industry defined by image, pressure, and perfection. Born in Sydney, Thomas left Australia at the age of three when his father accepted a job in Singapore. His childhood unfolded across international schools in Singapore and Hong Kong, shaped largely by American-based education systems. That upbringing exposed him to multiple cultures and languages and strongly influenced how he communicates and connects with others. His accent shifts depending on who he is with, reflecting a life spent adapting to different environments. He speaks Mandarin, some Spanish, and German, and language has long been a bridge for understanding people quickly and intuitively. Over the years, Thomas has worked with brands such as Calvin Klein, Givenchy, Karl Lagerfeld, Venroy, and David Jones, walked Australian Fashion Week, and appeared in international runway shows, including one in his hometown of Hong Kong. A modelling career spanning around fifteen years is rare, particularly in Australia. He attributes that longevity to determination, resilience, and his ability to build rapport. In a highly competitive global industry, he believes connection and trust are just as important as appearance. Behind the scenes, Thomas’s life has always been shaped by epilepsy. At eighteen months old, he was diagnosed with meningitis and meningococcal disease and nearly lost his life. A few years later, he began experiencing seizures. During childhood, medication allowed him to live relatively normally, but everything shifted during adolescence as his body changed and treatments stopped working. Doctors entered years of trial and error, and school became increasingly difficult. Stress could trigger seizures, and seizures brought memory loss, exhaustion, and confusion. Isolation followed, along with a sense of being misunderstood by those who could not see what he was dealing with. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
