DEXTER MAYFIELD: Oh, yes!
COMM: California-based dancer Dexter Mayfield
hasn’t let his size get in the way of his ambitions.
DEXTER MAYFIELD: It’s just been an amazing
wild ride. I have been fortunate enough to work with Ms Jennifer Lopez, Sara Bareilles,
DreamWorks and on the new Ghostbusters film.
COMM: Dexter has always been a little bigger than his peers.
DEXTER MAYFIELD: The lightest I’ve been
as a dancer was maybe 240 pounds. My last weigh-in, I was 325 pounds.
DEXTER MAYFIELD: Embracing my size is definitely
been the longest battle. When I came into my 20s and I started to do what I love, which
is dance, I just really went to dance class just to do something fun. And I was keeping
up with the professionals. I actually moved to Houston and that’s where I really dived
in and became a full time dancer. That really taught me to embrace my size, not only because
I could do what people didn’t expect, but simply because it made me happy. I felt good
doing it.
DEXTER MAYFIELD: My diet…I’m a big fan
of McDonald’s and I’m a big fan of Burger King. I love chicken, I really love ribs.
My main guilty pleasure when it comes to my diet is like chips or fries.
COMM: But his size helps him stand out from the crowd.
DEXTER MAYFIELD: I do love me as me ‘cause
I’m different. And it’s something that gives me a signature within the industry.
If it’s my choice, I love my body as it is. But I’m not afraid to lose weight.
COMM: As his profile grows, Dexter has had
some unwelcome comments.
DEXTER MAYFIELD: When it comes to people criticising
or judging me for my size, no one does it to my face. I’ll go online and read some
of the comments. Some of them like, they like sting really hard but at the same time it’s
like, “Listen, I’m doing what I love, I’m excited to do what I love.” So just
focus on that, focus on the love and support, and I get through it every time.
COMM: Now his career is going form strength to strength.
DEXTER MAYFIELD: I became a model nine months
ago. This past October, Marco-Marco, who is an amazing fashion designer, he designs for
Britney Spears, Iggy Azalea. He was like, “Dexter I would love to put you on my fashion
show”, and I was totally down, sweating like crazy, ruining my look, ruining my hair
and my makeup. Some of the drag queens backstage were like fanning me down. I didn’t foresee
the impact that it would have to have a plus-size male model walking the runway. The overall
message is that if you’re bigger, if you have more to love, you are worth it.
DEXTER MAYFIELD: Oh, yes!
COMM: And speaking of love, Dexter hopes to
find a special someone to share his success with.
DEXTER MAYFIELD: I am extremely single. I
am an acquired taste as I like to say. Hopefully the man and love of my life comes along and
everything will be roses and white-picked fences. At this point in time, that’s not
what it is, I guess. The hopes for the future for me is to be that triple threat - to be
that dancer, to be that actor, to be that model that creates a brand for himself, that
inspires people.
DEXTER MAYFIELD: Whatever your dream is and
whatever makes you happy, you can do it as you.