What it means to this Philly native that he’s ‘one of the first and only one-armed models’

Julian W. Lucas packed up his ’99 Mercury Mystique and left his Bucks County hometown for Southern California. He wanted to be a fitness model or an actor, never mind he’s missing something most weightlifters rely on: part of his right arm.

That was five years ago. Today, you can find the now-Instagram famous Lucas prominently featured on Tommy Hilfiger’s website, modeling the brand’s Adaptive line, which caters to people with disabilities through features like magnetized buttons and Velcro closures. He’s also modeled for Champion and Nordstrom, and recently wrapped up a photoshoot with T-Mobile.

Sometimes, the arm missing since birth is a prominent feature in the photos. But other times Lucas, 30, originally of Holland, Bucks County, is the sole focal point, arm be damned.

The Inquirer talked with Lucas about changing beauty standards, why he got his confidence from Tinder, and how, depending on the day, he sees his arm as a distraction or an opportunity. The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Growing up was definitely interesting. My parents played a very big role. My dad was always big with sports and baseball, so he wanted me to play at a young age. That definitely affected my upbringing and my personality, in general. My level of self-efficacy was probably too high. I looked at a car and truly believed that I could pick it up and throw it.

As I got older, I tried to steer the conversation. I tried to stop being defined in that light. It was really frustrating. I was always the one-armed baseball player.

Over time, it’s changing, but also in the short term it goes up and down. Some days you’re feeling extroverted and some you’re introverted. Some days I get behind it and I love it, because I see the lives I’m impacting. I get messages on Instagram and people say, ‘You’re helping me so much.'

I ended up moving to California; this was five years ago. At the time, Tinder was coming out. And so all my pictures in all my dating profiles were always hiding my arm and concealing it.

At this time I had been working out more. My body kind of transformed. I was getting more confident. I was, like, “screw it” and posted a shirtless picture and I made it my profile picture on my Tinder, and I just got more matches than I had ever gotten ever. It was genuinely the first time I had ever had a picture where you could really see my arm.

When I got out there and explored the acting world, I had an “ah-ha” moment because I’ve always loved comedy. I started to get a lot more confident and really kind of rooted in that community.

I started to get more comfortable on stage with my arm. I was always getting auditions for war vets and people who had crazy disasters, and that was just so frustrating. In comedy, you really kind of create your own way, and you don’t have to play a character that got his arm blown off.

It honestly often makes me speechless. It really is mind-blowing to me that I’ve literally become one of the first and only one-armed models, actors, ever. Which is just crazy to say out loud.

Every time I get a job that would be considered “big,” like Champion or Tommy Hilfiger, my mindset is always, like, “OK, at least you can look back on your life and say that when you pursued your dream and took a chance, you didn’t fail.” The truth is, I’m so grateful for just one “big” job, because I don’t have to wrestle with the feelings of “I took a risk and failed miserably.”

I think we still have a far way to go. We’re now showing people with disabilities in the media, but it’s like “this person is beautiful” and it feels like lip service, I guess. You’re not really highlighting the person. There is no equivalent of, like, “Look how hot this person is” or “They are sexy just because.” And I just don’t think that’s really there. It’s just not fully authentic.

There’s still a lot of discomfort. If you have a disability of some sort, when people come into a room, they’re less likely to sit next to you.

The community is really kind of spread out in a way that it’s hard for me to identify with someone who is in a wheelchair or has Down syndrome. Even someone with one leg it’s like, sure, they can’t leap out of bed and just run. But they can put on pants and a shirt and walk outside and no one would know they had anything going on. I can’t hide. There’s eyes on me all the time. I go to the grocery store, it’s like I’m a celebrity. I think when we get more connected in that regard [things will change].

I really hope that I can make a big enough mark on redefining beauty and what you can accomplish despite your “limitations,” that when kids who look different have the dream of pursuing an unlikely dream, that they can look at me and my story as a source of inspiration and say, “Well, he was able to do it, and so maybe I can, too.”